Moon Over Chicken Parm-a

I'm a sucker for terrible puns and wordplay. I apologize. If you can't tell by the title, I made Chicken Parmesan tonight. This was the first recipe from the "Everyday Cutlets" section of the "Everyday Entrees" chapter. It's another one of those recipes that I always expected to be so complex and time-consuming, but it really can't get much easier.

The most time-consuming part of the recipe had to due with my lack of marinara sauce. I had to whip up some before attempting the recipe and, luckily, I had double-checked this earlier today. Had I started the recipe not knowing I would need sauce, I would still be cooking and very hungry.

The marinara sauce takes between and hour and an hour and a half, but after that it was smooth sailing. I tossed the chicken cutlet in some EVOO spray and Italian seasoning (no fresh herbs here, but come next year when Katie and I have our herb garden, my dishes will be singing a different tune). I then cooked the chicken for one minute on each side in a smoking hot pan just to brown the outsides.

The toaster oven was preheated at about 450 degrees (the recipe said 500, but anything higher than 450 on the toaster oven is broil, and I knew that wasn't how this should be cooked). I put the chicken on the cooking tray, covered it all around with some sauce, then topped it lightly with mozzarella cheese. Giada says in her introduction of this recipe that she lightens it up by not smothering the chicken in cheese (hey look! Someone else thinks healthy like me!) and, in case you haven't noticed at this point, by not breading it.

I finished it off with some Parmesan cheese on top (obviously) then let it cook till the cheese was melted and browned, about 5 or 6 minutes.

That's it! That is Chicken Parmesan ala Giada. I have to say, it was just as good without all those bread crumbs clouding the chicken flavor. I liked that the recipe called for more actual Parmesan cheese than mozzarella, and the dish did taste lighter overall. I'm used to being in a food coma after a serving of chicken parm and spaghetti, but this cutlet alone was just enough! I must also say, that I can now make marinara sauce in my sleep, and it's a damn good marinara sauce (sorry Mom and Dad, but yes, I did just use the word damn).

I'll be taking tomorrow off for the national holiday. It's my birthday in case you haven't heard. I'll be turning the big 2-1 so hopefully I can find some dinner off-campus so I can enjoy a glass of wine on the side! Until next time!

Delicioso!!

OK. So I didn't cook a Giada dish tonight (see previous entry), but I did cook and I was going through blog withdrawal, and so here we are! My intention was to make the Hungry Girl Crazy Good Coconut Chicken Taco. I didn't have any coconut, so I knew that wasn't going to be part of it (the recipe said to use coconut syrup anyway, but who has that?). It also wanted me to use pineapple salsa which I also didn't have. Instead, I took my excellent sweet corn salsa from the cider mill and mixed it with a cup of pineapple. Same thing right?

Bottom line, I ended up completely reinventing the recipe, but kept it to a simple five WW points (woohoo!). I started by cooking a clove of chopped garlic with half a chopped onion in my pan on the new double burner (let's hear it for the double burner, it truly is fabulous). I then added half a chopped red pepper. I seasoned all of this with some salt and some chili powder (heat is definitely necessary in Mexican cooking).

To the veggies I added a chopped chicken tender that was also seasoned with some salt and chili powder. For future reference, I might add more chili powder to the raw meat or maybe treat it more like a rub, or even make it into a marinade. Thankfully the other flavors of the dish were able to flavor the chicken enough. As all of this was cooking, I mixed some chopped pineapple with two tablespoons of the corn salsa and let them sit. Just as the chicken was done cooking, I threw in the pineapple salsa and turned off the heat. I wanted the flavors to emulsify but not actually cook the salsa (plus, I LOVE fruit that's been roasted or grilled in some way so this was a plus).

As I let it cool a bit, I put my tortilla onto a plate and sprinkled some Gorgonzola cheese in the middle. I then put the hot mixture on top of that and attempted to roll up the burrito. No such luck. The filling was far too big for the tortilla. I suppose this is something I will need to work on in the future, though it really didn't take away from the dish at all. Anything that fell out of the burrito I scooped up with my fork :)

The dish came out VERY well. The pineapple, corn salsa, and cooked onions were all sweet in flavor and it was balanced out by the chili powder. The sharpness of the Gorgonzola also helped to cut the sweetness. I'm glad I added the salsa to the pan at the end because it actually helped to deglaze it and pick up all the flavor from the bottom of the pan. It ended up making a nice chili powder sauce. Not too shabby for throwing it all together without much of a plan!

It's days like today that I wish I was on the show Chopped on Food Network. I think it would be so cool to be given this random set of ingredients and try to make an edible dish out of them. Granted, I wouldn't want to work as fast as they have to or feel that crazy pressure, but I would love to have these random things in front of me and somehow make them work. Yes, I am a food nerd to the max. This, I will admit.

It's about halfway through the week and I'm trying to survive without my Everyday Italian!! I plan to start again this coming Sunday (possibly Saturday if I'm feeling adventurous) so please check back then for another dessert!!

P.S. Obviously I did not include a picture of my meal tonight, but check out the pretty view outside my window! Don't you love fall?

OK. Now I really don't mean to be braggadocious, but what you see pictured above, is my best dish yet. I have no idea what to call it, and it was nothing difficult to make, but I'm sitting here eating it right now, and I'm having trouble typing because I just want to keep eating more of it.

I decided to explore the kitchen above me today which is actually a lot bigger than the one I've been using. I had no real plan going into this meal. I basically took veggies from the fridge that needed to be used before they went bad, some chicken, and tomato paste (I knew for sure I wanted some sort of tomato sauce) then Rachael Rayed my way up the stairs (I'll know I'm truly successful if the term "Rachael Ray" becomes a verb in Webster's dictionary).

This dish is basically chicken in a tomato sauce with roasted vegetables. It doesn't sound all that interesting, but I'm so proud of it at this moment! I started by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. I then sliced a zucchini into very thin slices. I was hoping it would become some sort of zucchini chip. Then, I halved an onion and thinly sliced one half and added it to the zucchini. I had a few remaining green beans, so those were also tossed in the mix. I added a bit of EVOO, salt and pepper, then into the oven it went.

Next, I chopped some garlic (side note: Ever since my mother taught me how to make meals that were more than Kraft Mac and Cheese, I was taught to smash the garlic to make it easier to peel. Word to the wise, if you get a little overzealous in your smashing, the garlic WILL be crushed. And the smell WILL stay in your hands.) and the rest of the onion and put those in my pan with some EVOO. I let the two cook till the onions started to turn golden brown. As they cooked, I cut my chicken into strips (might I add that I let it defrost properly this time) and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

At this point in time, a new friend came into the kitchen and asked if he could use a burner. I told him "of course!" since I only needed one and it's always nice to have someone around as you cook. He was making scrambled eggs (I know this because I actually initiated some conversation), and I think I may have intimidated him a bit when I told him I wasn't quite sure WHAT I was making and it was obvious that I had quite a few things cooking.

Once the onions caramelized more, I added the chicken. I then took the veggies out of the oven and flipped them to roast the other side. I sat back awhile and cleaned up my used cutting boards and knife and let the chicken cook all the way through. I then moved onto my tomato sauce. I cracked open a six ounce can of tomato paste (with some trouble I might add. My can opener hates me. I think it's because I neglected it till yesterday) and tried to add it to the pan. Of course, since it is a paste, it took some maneuvering. Luckily, I gave up on trying to shake it out of the can (I was and still am wearing a white shirt) and used my handy dandy spoonula. If you don't know that gadget, perhaps you're more familiar with its scientific term: rubber scrapper.

Since tomato paste alone probably would've overpowered the dish, I added two and a half cans full of water to the pan to mellow it out. I also added some oregano and crushed red pepper. Note to all spice manufacturers: the holes in the top of your crushed red pepper shakers are NOT large enough for crushed red pepper to actually come out. Granted, you're probably trying to prevent cooks from adding too much of the stuff, but I don't believe you can have too much of it. So perhaps your spice shakers should come in varying sizes. You can call the one that allows the crushed red pepper to come out the "Brianne size." You're welcome.

I digress. As the paste became more of a sauce, I took my roasted veggies out of the oven. The zucchini hadn't really become crunchy as I had hoped, but the green beans browned rather nicely as did the onions. I put those onto my dish and then added my chicken creation next to it.

Now after reading this entire process you may be wondering, what the heck is so special about this dish? Well, not only was the chicken perfectly moist and juicy, but the dish had so many levels of flavor! The tomato sauce wasn't over powering at all and the crushed red pepper added a really nice spicy kick to it. Since I caramelized the onions before adding anything else to the pan, they became even darker and added a smoky taste to the sauce. A bit of Parmesan cheese in the sauce also added a little salty taste and another flavor level. Honestly, I ate this food like a barbarian. Luckily, I ate it alone in my room. I was tempted to lick the plate, but then I remembered I am well-mannered 20 year old young lady and such behavior is well...barbaric.

Anyhow, I'm on cloud nine at the moment and am going to think of anyway I could possibly improve this dish (I'm sure there are things I can do). I may have a new signature dinner to impress future guests :)

Trial & Error

Today was a day of learning. Not only in cooking, but in life. It was my first day of classes and it started off pretty well. I had plenty of time to get ready in the morning, I put together a great outfit, and made it to all my classes with more than enough time. I met up with Katie for lunch again and we dined al fresco seeing as it was a beautiful day.

I had to go to the field house during my lunch break to get into my practice clothes, then went to my 2 p.m. class then straight to the turf for practice. Being that it was the first practice after preseason, our team was beat. We really didn't have much spark left in us. However, since we didn't lock the shed Saturday night and forgot to bring a bunch of equipment to the high school clinic yesterday, we had to run a timed mile on the spot. Lesson learned: Make sure the little things are taken care of.

For me, practice was terrible. I couldn't seem to do anything right, and if I did do something right, I didn't know because I wasn't told so. There were moments when I focused solely on field hockey and it seemed as though I improved, but those were few and far between. Lesson learned: Concentrate on one thing at a time.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that it rained during practice like it has all throughout preseason? I can't tell you how sick I am of being outside in the rain. However, lesson learned: There's no sense in complaining about things that we can't control.

When I got back to my dorm, not only was I hungry, but I was relieved because it was time to cook and that is what I look forward to all day! As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to make something with chicken and eggplant. Not to toot my own horn, but I definitely need to give myself an A for creativity tonight. What is pictured above may not be the prettiest of dishes, but it was sure delicious.

Let me first start by saying I went in and out of my room at least five times to grab something I forgot before heading down to the kitchen. Hot start, right?

I started by peeling a huge clove of garlic and cutting a tomato in half. I seasoned both with salt and pepper and a teaspoon of EVOO, and let them roast in the oven at 450 degrees. I then cut the end off the eggplant and peeled it while a big pot of water was set to boil. My intention was to create a faux pasta out of the eggplant, so I used my vegetable peeler (which is pink) to create some eggplant "ribbons." This was much easier in theory. Eggplant should come with a warning that reads: "If you intend to peel this, it WILL take you an eternity." As I got down to the middle of the eggplant, I halved it and then just cut thin strips to save some time.

Once the water came to a boil, I added some salt and tossed in the eggplant ribbons to cook. Next, I chopped some garlic and heated it in a pan with another teaspoon of olive oil. I then cut my chicken into smaller pieces and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Once the pan was hot enough, I added in the chicken.

At this time, the tomato and garlic clove in the oven were perfectly roasted. I pulled them out of the oven, let them cool, then put them into a glass bowl. Now this next part is not my original idea, therefore, I will now give my mother MORE credit. I smashed the tomato halves and garlic together to create a light sauce for my dish. Note to self for next time: add some basil too!

I then put the boiled eggplant into a strainer (which is also pink) once it was nice and soft. As that sat, I continued to cook the chicken. Chicken is another thing that should come with a warning that should read: "If you do not properly defrost this, it WILL be tough and you WILL have a difficult time checking to see if it is completely cooked." I had thought about putting the chicken in the fridge this morning while I was getting things together, but never followed through since I was trying to do ten things at once. Lesson learned: Concentrate on one thing at a time.

Once everything was ready, I put the eggplant on the plate, added the chicken, then topped it with the sauce. I gathered all my supplies and pulled a major Rachael Ray back upstairs to my room (I'm pretty sure I could give her a run for her money. She only carries all her ingredients from the fridge or pantry to the counter. I carry all of mine up and down two flights of stairs). As I walked back, I looked down at my dish and noticed a lot of water collecting along the sides. I knew I hadn't added too much oil to anything, then realized I didn't fully drain the eggplant. Lesson learned: Make sure the little things are taken care of.

The dish turned out very well overall after I drained the watery-ness out of it. The sauce turned out great and the eggplant was perfectly al dente. We'll work on the chicken for next time.

After a long and stressful day, my food therapy and writing therapy were exactly what I needed. I now must get ahead on my reading for classes so I will have time in the future for MORE cooking and writing :)

Update: I forgot to mention that I did add a bit of parmesan cheese to the sauce. Just in case anyone wanted to try it for themselves!

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!