A Good Start to the Weekend

Tonight....I made something new....

That's right, I cooked something new for the first time in a while! I do cook a lot, but usually recycle old recipes or play "what's in the fridge!" and add it to some pasta. But not tonight.

See, I was given an awesome surprise yesterday when I received a package at work. I was not expecting anything, and I assumed it was the usual promo merch. But no. This package was from my mom, so I knew it would be full of things I love. And it was!!! She packed it with a new running shirt (it says "Run Happy" with a cupcake on it. Perfect. Wearing it tomorrow), a new plaid hat, a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups, a Bills tissue box, some Ghiradelli chocolates in a Halloween tin, and two packets of seasonings.

These seasonings gave me some inspiration to cook. The brand is McCormick Gourmet, and the one I chose tonight was Chicken Scalopine.

I've never made this on my own, and I don't think I've ever had it anywhere. I didn't really know what to expect, but I opened the little pack and it smelled good. And the recipe on the back included wine. Can't really go wrong with a wine sauce.

I started by mixing 2 tablespoons of the seasoning with 3 tablespoons of flour, and dredged the chicken in it. I had two chicken breasts that I butterflied, then used the meat tenderizer on them. I've had bad luck with trying to get chicken to cook on time because the piece was too thick, so a couple months back I bought a meat tenderizer. The package told me it tenderizes meat. Which I guess is a good thing...because, well...yeah. Anyhow, it worked great, and I was able to get all the chicken pieces about the same thickness.

After dredging the chicken, I cooked it in some oil on medium heat for about three minutes on each side.

This took two batches, and when they were done I placed them on a plate and kept them warm in the oven (at about 200 degrees).

Next, I added in some sliced mushrooms (8 oz. to be exact, which is an entire package. I love when I can use all the food before it goes bad). You let those brown for a couple minutes, then deglaze with 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, and 1/2 cup of white wine. You also add in the rest of the seasoning. Just looking at the color of the sauce, I knew it would be awesome.

That came to a boil, then I added in some rice, covered the pan, and lowered the heat for 25 minutes. What you saw above is my biggest pan, and I don't have a lid for it. So I improvised with a plate, and nearly burned my fingers in the process. It was interesting...and I think I need to just buy a lid.

So I sat back and relaxed while this finished cooking and my apartment started to smell like comfort food. It almost smelled like scalloped potatoes. Oh hey, maybe it's kind of similar...

After time was up, I took the chicken out of the oven, scooped some rice, mushrooms and sauce over top, poured a glass of the wine I had cooked with, and sat down to enjoy.

Yeah I know, not the prettiest presentation. And I know it looks like there's a ring of oil around the outside, but this wasn't greasy at all. And really, who am I trying to impress? I live alone with my cat.

The chicken was cooked perfectly, didn't get dried out at all, and the seasoning/flour dredge held the sauce well. The mushrooms soaked of the sauce well too (obviously, it spent the most time with it), but the rice wasn't great. I bought jasmine rice from Trader Joe's, so it's all organic and whatnot, and probably something I'm not used too. The package also told me to rinse the rice well before using and I didn't, which could account for the crunchiness...

You really couldn't tell that I had used packaged seasoning. Julia Child certainly wouldn't approve, but Julia Child probably didn't experience the spice prices that I do at the store. I'll take a pre-packed seasoning for a fraction of the price of the spices I don't have any day.

Oh yeah, and I have leftovers for DAYS. Always good on weekends when I plan on being lazy.

Kind of lazy anyway. I'm going to go for a long run tomorrow even though I'm not training anymore. I bet I'll end up running it faster than in training because that's just how my body likes to do things.

As for other foods, I made another trip to S'mac with some friends and tried their Parisienne. It used brie, shitake mushrooms, and figs. FIGS! Delicious. I felt pretty fancy eating this decadent mac n cheese. If you're ever in the city on a weekday and want something that's not overrun with tourists, visit S'mac in the East Village (I recommend weekdays because the line is seriously out the door on weekends, and tables are pretty scarce).

That pretty much covers life right now. There's an interesting episode of SVU on that I surprisingly haven't seen where Hillary Duff guest stars and I'm completely distracted.

Enjoy some photos I didn't upload from Long Lake!