Test Run #1

Last night was my first night in my new dorm complete with kitchen space. I don't have my copy of Everyday Italian yet, so I improvised and made Pasta with Chicken and Artichoke Hearts. It didn't turn out too badly for my first meal in a new kitchen, but it could've been better.

For starters, the actual stoves are in a different part of our building (they trust us with everything else, but god forbid they give us an oven and electric stove. Madness could ensue). So I stood in my own kitchen feeling a bit overwhelmed at first at everything I would need to schlep to the actual kitchen in order to make this simple meal. After a few minutes of worry, I gathered everything up and headed down to the kitchen.

I started with some chopped garlic and a bit of olive oil in the pan. As I mentioned before, the stoves here are electric, so the two just sat in the pan for a while doing nothing as the pan heated up. I cut up the chicken meanwhile then threw it into the pan once it was hot enough. Of course, I brought my smallest pan and the chicken was cramped up, and then when I washed my knife and cutting board, I realized I didn't bring an towel to dry them or my hands off. My pants ended up doubling as a dish towel.

As all this was going on, I was heating up the water for the pasta. It took FOREVER. I had to turn the burner up almost as high as it would go because, of course, I didn't bring a lid for the pot to speed up the process. Once I forced that into a boil, I added the angel hair pasta into the water that I had forgotten to salt.

Meanwhile, I chopped up two artichoke hearts and added them to the chicken along with some basil. I then realized how bland this was all going to taste if I just added it to the pasta. I decided I should deglaze the pan (thank you Food Network and Mom) with something to pick up all the flavors from the bottom of the pan. Brilliant idea, till I realized I had nothing to do this with. I settled on a bit of water which created a faux chicken stock once it was added to the pan.

Once everything was cooked, I combined it, threw all my semi-rinsed cookware into my strainer to carry upstairs, and headed back to my room. I put a bit of parmesan cheese on top of the pasta, then gave it a try. I wasn't quite as flavorful as I had hoped, but it was my first try in a new place, so I was pleased overall. I would have included a picture, but I pretty much devoured it since I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours prior to that.

I plan on making attempt #2 tonight, so check back to see if it's a success!