Chicken on the fly

Today's dinner conversation went a little something like this.

Me: "What kind of meat do you have in the freezer?"
Kyle: "Just chicken. We should probably thaw some for dinner."
Me: "Hmmm. Okay!"

So I got the chicken out to thaw and promptly set about making gingerbread cookies, not giving the chicken a whole lot of thought until 9:30 when I realized we had plenty of cookies and no dinner. Not wanting to go to the store for a third time today, this is the ingenious dish we concocted.

I'm not sure it has a name yet. I'll have to think on that one.


2 chicken breast halves, boneless/skinless/trimmed, and all that.
Italian breadcrumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
Rosemary
Thyme
Garlic / garlic powder
Butter


Combine your breadcrumb mixture. I gave Kyle some direction and he went to town, so I can't even approximate measurements. A bunch of Parmesan, plenty of rosemary, a good-sized helping of garlic (or garlic powder, since he didn't have any fresh), and less thyme. Dip your chicken in that heavenly stuff. Make sure you coat it well. Set it in a greased baking dish and cover with a few cubes of butter. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.

In the last 10 minutes, prepare a tomato chutney thing. Wash some grape and yellow grape tomatoes. Chop 'em in half. Toss them in a pan with a little olive oil and Garlic & Wine seasoning from The Melting Pot. (If you're not fortunate enough to have that - my favorite spice - at home, some regular garlic should do the trick.) Cook it up until the chicken is ready. No more than ten minutes. It should be super fragrant and the tomato skins should be slightly blistered.

When your chicken is good and hot, add a slice of Jarlsberg cheese to each breast. Pop it back in the oven for a few minutes for the cheese to melt. Serve chicken topped with tomato salsa.

This received some of the best reviews of anything I've ever made, I do believe. In Kyle's words, "I'd pay for that in a restaurant." High praise coming from the aspiring French-restaurant chef and owner. Enjoy!

Ciao!

Ode to tri-tip.

I should preface this by saying I fail at grilling. Like, super fail. I've only grilled once and the result was so horrifying I haven't been able to stomach trying again.

But when Fresh & Easy had tri-tip on sale last week for $3/lb, I had to buy some. This was a bit of an experiment for both of us, since Kyle had never grilled a roast before, and I didn't realize he was out of aluminum foil, so there went the red wine idea. The result was still brilliant.

My photography skills haven't improved in my absence. Also, it didn't occur to me
to photograph anything until after I'd chowed down. Oops. 

I rubbed it in sea salt, cracked black pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder. I added a dash of jalapeno powder as well (which is something I've only found in Arizona - sorry for you out-of-towners). Kyle plopped it on the grill with the gas on super low and let it slow roast for almost an hour.

Absolutely divine. Especially with the Valsacro Rioja Dioro 2005 we paired it with. On sale for $16.99 right now at work. Fantastic bottle.

Now is probably the time to apologize for disappearing for several months as well. Between a death in the family, college happenings, and the ex reappearing in my life, I've been a busy little bee and I either don't cook as often, or I forget to take photos. I plan on being back at least once a week with an update of some kind!

Ciao!