I thought you were a Fungi. I ain't got Thyme for this. Zzzzz....

You've met that guy.  Or maybe you are that guy.  You know.  The one who only wants really basic food, salt and pepper is okay, but don't go crazy with those spices, and forget about going out to any restaurant but a steak house or a pizza place.  That guy annoys the crap out of me.  But for some reason, yesterday I was that guy.  I really just wanted chicken. With mushrooms. And maybe some vegetables.  The foodie in me was horrified for seeking out foods that so simple - I should really be challenging my taste buds as well as my culinary knowledge...But as we all know, the heart wants what it wants, and who are we to question it?

Recipe #33: Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Recipe #34: Chicken with Thyme Mushroom Sauce

Choice of libation: Beringer Pinot Grigio. In general, I find Beringer to be fine, as in slightly better than 3 buck Chuck.  It's crisp and dry enough to cook with, and pleasant enough to drink.  Also, $4. So.

Choice of music: The Nat King Cole Trio's "Hit that Jive, Jack." I listen to it at least once a year. I have no idea why, but Nat King Cole's voice has always meant autumn to me.  I guess because it's as smooth as a soy chai latte and as comforting as a plum colored pashmina.  

Truthfully, I chose this side because I really didn't feel like making a salad. Also because we had garlic I was afraid would go bad, so I minced up a crap ton and tossed it in.

Lemon, garlic and Parmesan are not only great together, but we also happened to already have them in the fridge.

So it turns out I should have gotten thinner pieces or at least pounded them out a little because it messed with the cooking time a bit.

While the chicken baked in the oven, I started on the mushroom sauce. Mushrooms and thyme sweat it out till you add the booze and the other liquids. 

"With enough butter, anything is good." - Julia Child. And, now, me.

The acidity of the lemon on the garlic-parm broccoli and cauliflower really did balance the richness of the thyme mushroom sauce on the chicken.  I was actually really pleased.

But here is a prettier picture of what the chicken is supposed to look like, stolen from the website I got the recipe from.  I figured you deserved to see what it looked like without the awful yellow tint from my kitchen lighting.

5 cups broccoli and cauliflower florets

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

lemon juice

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

generous handful of Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a baking sheet 

In a large bowl, mix the florets, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper

Spread the bowl's contents onto the baking sheet

Sprinkle with juice of 1 lemon and a handful of cheese

Bake for 15 minutes

stolen and adapted from www.droolworthydaily.com/

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs  (just make sure they're not too thick)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup white wine

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter 

Preheat oven to 400F.

Season chicken breast with garlic salt and pepper. Place in a lightly oiled baking dish. Cook for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and thyme; saute for 4 minutes or until mushrooms are slightly browned. 

Stir in wine, broth, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until sauce starts to bubble and thicken. 

Remove from heat; add butter, stirring until butter melts.

Pour mushroom mixture over the chicken and return to the oven; bake for another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (I actually had to bake for 15-18 minutes, but it didn't dry out...)

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

HELP! HELP! My caramel apple was a-SALTed: Adventures in French Toast Casseroles

It's autumn, y'all.   And like many a girl from Seattle (where it is perpetual autumn), I love this season.  Not only because my closet consists mainly of boots, sweaters, and adorable light jackets, but because the flavours associated with fall are just drool-worthy -- pumpkin spice lattes, curried butternut squash soups, and glorious apple everything.  Ooh.  Especially apple with caramel.  Ooh especially salted caramel with apple.  Yes? YES.

Recipe #32: Salted Caramel Apple French Toast Casserole

Choice of libation: Chad, who makes excellent beer, has never made a cider before.  This one does not disappoint.  Crafted in time for the opening of the show "Isaac's Eye" at Writers Theatre, it was aptly named "Isaac's Cider." I hate it when hard cider just tastes like apple juice, and this one doesn't.  You can tell it's a little boozy and because he added some ginger, there's a little bite to it.  

Choice of music: Food, Kelis's amazing new album. Of course I would love it.  It's a lot of throwback R&B soul.  AND IT'S CALLED "FOOD." I have rotating favorite tracks on this album, but right now, I'm jamming on the first two, "Breakfast" and "Jerk Ribs."

Spiced rum obviously goes with all those fall flavours.  Also, the recipe called for it.  Well.  Vanilla extract.  But whatevs. 

I tend to like my french toast really cinnamon-y, so I actually put a lot more in than the recipe calls for. Ditto for the nutmeg.

Make sure that each bit of the bread is soaking up some liquid before you put in the fridge overnight. 

You don't want no dry french toast casserole.

There.  That's better.  It looks gross, but in the morning, you will be not be sorry.

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can do most of the work the night before, so that if you're, say, hosting an all day marathon of Lifetime movies at your house and you'd rather not spend the whole morning in the kitchen, aside from a few simple steps, all you have to do that day is pop it in the oven!

And here is a picture of badly diced apples.

Oh, did I mention, YOU GET TO MAKE YOUR OWN CARAMEL SAUCE? 

Yeah.  Good morning.

                           
                         \ 

Then you stir those badly diced apples into that caramel sauce.  And your kitchen will smell divine.

Now.  You could just sit around and do nothing while you wait for the glorious casserole to bake.

OR.  You could do something productive and educational, like ask your hilarious and adorable friends to read aloud excerpts from Tori Spelling's memoir, "Unchartered TerriTORI." While I don't have video of that, I do have a clip of Tori Spelling in the Lifetime movie, "Death of a Cheerleader."