Chicken Curry-Like Dinner

This blog is definitely inspiring me to cook every night, so I guess it's a good thing.

Tonight I did manage to run by the grocery store because Megnar2 was in need of Zesta crackers. He will only eat Zesta--he doesn't like Premium brand, which is the only brand my regular store carries, so I had to go to Kroger. I decided to pick up a natural chicken breast from the meat counter (I try to stay away from saltwater-injected meats) and some broccoli. I came home and marinated the chicken in a little yogurt and spices. I sauteed onions, ginger, garlic, more spices (including some amchur I've been meaning to use) and simmered it with a can of fire roasted tomatoes. It was ready by the time the brown rice was done in the rice cooker. The chicken was a little overdone, but that's what I get for using such small pieces...

Slightly lumpy pumkin polenta with sausage

This afternoon I went in search of a recipe that used pumpkin, sausage and black beans, because those were three things I had on hand. Most of the recipes I came across were soups, and it's not exactly soup weather here.

As much as I am ashamed to admit it, this recipe is a variation of one by my most despised TV chef superstar. However, it was fast, and I had everything it called for, including the roasted red peppers. My changes: turkey andouille instead of chorizo; Mexican oregano and chevre in the polenta instead of thyme and Manchego; and fresh cilantro (trimmed from my own plant) instead of parsley.

I'm not happy with the pictures--I only took two before I dug in and this one was the least unfocused--but I will say that pumpkin polenta is quite yummy.

Dinner out

We met friends at their new place and went out to dinner at a little French bistro I haven't been to in ages.

I didn't bring my camera because it's just too dark for non-flash food photography.

I had lamb, which was unfortunately a little more rare than the medium rare I requested, but the gently cooked haricots verts, dauphinoise potatoes and delicious wine (along with a bite of Megnar2's pork filet) made it all worthwhile.

Megnar makes homemade ravioli!

For some reason I had a hankerin' to finally break out the pasta attachments to my KitchenAid mixer. They were wedding presents, and although I couldn't see registering for a new mixer (the Classic I have works just fine), I had no problem registering for attachments. Tomorrow night we're meeting friends for drinks at their place and heading out for tapas, but tonight we're home watching Tivoed America's Cup racing. It was a perfect night for a good bottle of wine remaining from last year's Memorial Day weekend trip to Sonoma and a little couple's cooking.

I started the dough before he got home from work.

(Is it dough or is it a butt??)

I didn't break out the camera during the rolling as it was too much to fool with. My verdict: the roller works great. It is a million times better than the crank-y pasta machine, but the ravioli filler will take more practice. My biggest beef with it was that it didn't do a very good job of cutting the ravioli into pieces. It sealed them just fine, but in the end I had to whip out my own rolling pastry/pasta cutter to finish the job.


The stuffing was a no-recipe concoction using stuff I had on hand: a whole boneless skinless chicken breast (poached first with an onion), goat cheese, fresh basil, and some quickly cooked pancetta. The sauce was a quick sauce made with fresh organic roma tomatoes, basil and garlic. I served it with fresh green beans that I quickly cooked in the boiling water before I added the pasta and a slice of warm ciabatta from my most excellent local grocery store.

mmmmm!

Maple-Mustard Seed Salmon with Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

We're going to see a show tonight, so I promised I'd cook and have dinner ready in time for us to meet our friends. The squash was just sauteed and the potatoes were roasted with fresh rosemary, thyme, and for a little something different, lavender salt.


I love this pan. I bought a few in Spain several years ago. This particular one was only 3 Euros, (while not such a good deal now, the exchange rate was a little better then). I would have bought them in all sizes, but I would have had a little trouble carrying my suitcase.

Going underground for photos

For over a year I had a food blog on a major metropolitan newspaper. I had a lot of readers (even a few I didn't know in real life), but due to a lot of other things going on in my life, it started to become a chore. Besides, new food blogs crop up every day. I'm never going to be famous like Clotilde Dusoulier.

When I look back at it, the thing I notice most is how crappy my pictures were. In many cases they did not entice me to want to make them again. I cook every day, so I figured I'd start practicing better food photography. I probably wont bother with posting recipes though, because that's just too much trouble.