The boneless, skinless chicken breast is probably one of the healthiest foods around.  Packed with protein and easy on the calories, it is definitely the staple of protein-starved body builders (along with tuna fish).  That being said, I found a great way to fatten them up, because we all need a break from the healthy chicken breast once in a while.

 

Last Sunday I visited the new house of a friend of mine and what else is there to do besides break in the kitchen?  Even though I arrived early, we did a little bit of drinking, made a few trips to Home Depot and had pizza for lunch.  So the cooking didn't even come until later.

 

She had a few things on hand, so I figured I would work with that.  We also made a quick trip to Winn-Dixie to pick up some extras, and ended up with some interesting ingredients that, well, turned out pretty good!  I had brought some goat cheese with me, and figured we might try stuffing the chicken breasts, but with no toothpicks or twine, I surrendered to just topping them.  And here is what resulted - "Baked Chicken Breasts, topped with Roasted Peppers, Spinach and Goat Cheese."  I served it with a side of angel hair pasta.  Here is the recipe I hastily typed up.  Try it and let me know how you liked it, but just don't eat it if you're on a diet!

 

 

Ingredients

Boneless Skinless chicken breasts

1 Bag fresh spinach

2 Red Bell Peppers

1 Green bell pepper

4 Cloves Garlic

Olive Oil

Angel Hair Pasta

Goat Cheese

Kosher salt

Ground pepper

 

 

Method

Roast the peppers

 

Pound the chicken breasts until thin, season with salt and pepper, sear the chicken breasts in a nonstick pan with a bit of olive oil, then remove and put into baking dish. 

 

In the same pan, sauté peppers and garlic in a bit of olive oil, add spinach, drizzle with olive oil and season with  kosher salt and ground pepper.  In a baking dish put mixture on top of chicken, then top with goat cheese. 

 

Place baking dish in oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 until cheese is melted.

 

In the same pan, throw in the extra roasted peppers, garlic and sauté in olive oil, then throw in cooked angel hair pasta and toss.

 

Serve pasta on plate and top with the chicken breast.

  Tuesday night a friend came over and we cooked enchiladas.  This was after a few drinks, but we were still coherent enough to cook well.  I already had the chicken cooked, as we grilled a couple of chickens on Sunday, and I had picked up the rest of the ingredients from the store on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. 

 

While shopping at Sav-A-Center on Monday, I browsed the isle with all of the Mexican food, and decided that I needed to try some new things.  I had seen Bobby Flay cook with canned chipotle peppers before, but never used them myself, so I picked up a small can of chipotles in adobo sauce.  In the midst of cooking enchilada sauce on Tuesday, my friend T mentioned, "you really need to get some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce."  I think he was a little shocked when I reached down into the plastic grocery bag and pulled out a can.  He immediately opened the can and pulled out a couple of peppers to use for the enchilada sauce (the recipe will be finished soon), and gave me some to try.  It was the first time I had tried the peppers in that form, but it was just then that I realized that I was familiar with the flavor!  I loved it, couldn't get enough of the smoky, spicy taste!

 

Trying the chipotle peppers gave me the same feeling as solving a mystery.  While the flavors were those that I have tasted, the source was always unknown to me.  But by tasting a new ingredient, it gave me the insight to a new layer of flavor I could use in my cooking. 

 

In our society, I find people are in such a hurry to eat and run, that few ever get the satisfaction of TASTING their food.  And in my case, a familiar taste came from an unfamiliar ingredient.  So instead of just tasting my food, whether it is a good taste or bad taste, my goal will be to uncover the ingredients that ultimately result in the flavor.  I suggest you try the same.  I know that it will help me in my cooking; I hope it will do the same for yours.

In the midst of preparing ground beef this weekend for some hamburgers, a strange thing happened.  Well, it wasn't really strange, but it shocked me a bit.  My friend T was standing next to me, and after I seasoned the meat, he took a piece of raw, seasoned ground beef and ate it!  Although I was shocked at first, he reassured me that it wouldn't be harmful to try just a bit, especially with my strong immune system.  I trusted him; after all, he spends most of his life in the kitchen.  So being the adventurous diner I am, I reached down, broke off a piece of visibly seasoned pink ground beef and stuck it in my mouth.  What came next shocked me!  I actually LIKED it!  I really couldn't believe that for the first time in my life, I had eaten raw ground beef.  Or I guess you could say it was the first time I had tried ANY kind of raw beef.  Why was this so strange?

 

Unfortunately most of us have been conditioned that raw food is dangerous.  While it CAN be dangerous, there are so many instances in which raw food is superior to the cooked version.  Although this was the first time I had eaten raw beef, I can't wait to get my first taste of steak tartare.  It was only in the past couple of years that I have begun to eat sushi, and now there are days when I crave a piece of ice cold raw tuna, with a little soy sauce and wasabi.  I just can't fathom what life would be like without sushi, though I lived many years without being brave enough to eat it.  Sushi is not the only seafood that I will eat raw.  I just love sitting down with a cold beer in front of a tray of raw oysters on the half shell.  

 

At this point in time, I can't imagine cooking my meat to be well-done.  Steak?  Medium rare.  Tuna?  Seared.  Now I've found a new food that I like to eat raw, it's time to start experimenting.  I just wonder how far I will go...

I just finished reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and I have to say that I am infatuated with the life of a chef.  With that in mind, it's a life that I am not sure that I'd want to pursue.  Do I love to cook?  Absolutely.  But cooking a great meal for a dinner party of ten is far different than cooking on the hot line for hours on end.  Exhorbant temperatures, orders coming in every few seconds, expeditor yelling, servers bitching about the guest's food and a whole lot of pressure.  Sounds like a pretty cool gig to me.  As much as I like the fast paced environment and the pressure, being a cook or a chef is a commitment, not just a job.  And I'm not sure I'm ready to make that commitment.

 

This weekend I was talking to a chef friend of mine and joked (pretty seriously) about taking a spot in a professional kitchen to fill in for a no-show.  He surprisingly urged me to consider doing it, especially in the summer, when business is slow at most restaurants and no-shows among transient kitchen workers is rampant.  Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.  Could I do it for a living?  I consider it from time to time, but I guess a part time gig would give me the taste I need to help make a decision.  Only time will tell.

 

 

After a holiday weekend of eating, drinking and debauchery, I rationed that a visit to the gym on Tuesday was in order. I even woke up a few minutes early to pack my gym bag, with the full intention of using it. I loaded it into my trunk, nestled between my tool kit and a fold out lawn chair, where it sat for the nine hours while I toiled away at work. Unfortunately, after a full day at work, in the trunk it remained. Early in the afternoon I got a call from a friend who mentioned she would be in the area and invited me for a drink. Now, I had every intention of making it to the gym, but a drink with a beautiful girl (even if she is just a friend) surpassed any desire for a workout. The way I figured, if I got hit by a garbage truck the next day, at least I could say I had fun the night before. So drinking it was. She met me at my office and we caravanned over to the RiverShack tavern in Harahan. After only a couple hours of drinking, we decided to trek back to my house uptown and play around in the kitchen.

 

Upon arrival, we were quick to uncork (notice I said “uncork,” more on that later) a bottle of Coppola Bianco, a refreshing blended white wine. I had two vacuum sealed pieces of mystery meat (that’s a whole other story) from Omaha steaks defrosting in the fridge. The unknown meat created a bit of adventure in my cooking, as I didn’t know what to prepare with it. Upon closer inspection, the meat turned out to be some sort of chicken parmesan, a boneless-skinless chicken breast with a bit of marinara sauce and a slab of mozzarella cheese on top. I decided to toss them in the oven atop a sheet of aluminum foil for baking. I accompanied the chicken with some angel hair pasta, cooked in saltwater with shallots and drizzled with olive oil and topped with parmesan cheese. After some digging in the fridge, I also found some zucchini and squash, so I sliced them up, seasoned them with Cajun seasoning and utilized the steaming basket of my stock pot. The meal turned out fantastic and the company was great. Although I didn't end up at the gym as planned, I figure I probably burned a few calories in the kitchen. Oh well, the gym will always be there, but sometimes its necessary to jump on a good opportunity while it's available.