Most of the time, I cook simply out of basic necessity. I spend a goodly amount of time thinking about food because (like all people) my husband and I need to eat and I prefer that we eat things that are budget-friendly and relatively healthful.

However, sometimes I choose to cook because I’m looking to experience new flavors or I want to recall an experience I had sometime in the past. Food is a far more affordable way to “revisit” a familiar town or region than buying a plane ticket and is decidedly more instantaneous to boot.

When I’m homesick for my hometown of Portland, Ore., I marinate chunks of white-meat chicken in teriyaki sauce, grill it up and serve it over steamed white rice with some sweet chili hot sauce on the side (this PDX-style bento was big when I was in high school). When I long for my grandmother’s Southern California backyard, I eat sturdy salads dressed with a pungent vinaigrette of Meyer lemon, rosemary and olive oil.

This week, with the temperatures dipping down below zero here in Philadelphia, I’m looking for a cheap trip to points south where it’s a little bit warmer, and so I’m traveling via Damaris Phillips’ Fried Chicken Salad Sandwiches. They are crisp, rich and just a little bit spicy (if you’re cooking for kids, consider skipping the cayenne).

If you’re similarly stranded in a snowy, frigid location, try making these sandwiches for your Weekender. Pair them with a glass of sweet tea and imagine hot, humid days.

Marisa McClellan is a food writer and canning teacher who lives in Center City Philadelphia. Find more of her food (all cooked up in her 80-square-foot kitchen) at her blog, Food in Jars. She's the author of the cookbooks Food in Jars and Preserving by the Pint.