Wednesday, June 20, 2007

How it Went

All-in-all, it was pretty damned good. I think next time I'll either avoid the chocolate or use less. It was a bit overpowering, and the chicken was awesome on its own.

- Tomato-basil spaghettini with garlic and butter.
- Yellow and green zucchini
- Bone-in chicken breast with skin
- Some tasty spices (chili powder, cayenne pepper, spicy red pepper, ground coriander seed, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh ground salt, fresh ground black pepper, smoked paprika)
- Vegetable oil and a few drops of hot chili sauce (ie.- Tabasco, but I used Susie's Tear Drops, which is funny if you know my dating history)
- Organic 70% dark chocolate

I'll assume you can cook pasta and veggies.

Chicken's a breeze. Dry it, rub the oil mix on it, sprinkle with the spices. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a cast iron frying pan and when hot, place the chicken skin-side down for 2-3 minutes to brown. If the chicken is sizzling too fast, turn down the heat, you're starting the fat rendering here, not cooking the chicken. Don't turn chicken (but you can tilt it so the sides brown a little). Put the pan in the preheated oven for 20-25 min or until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

Take out the chicken and put it on the pasta and let it rest. Deglaze the pan and pour the sauce on the chicken.

If you want the chocolate, melt it in the microwave (30 seconds at time, stirring in between), and pour on the chicken.

Bon apetit.


Before the chocolate hits


Damn that looks good


And here's the organic 70% chocolate


Time to eat


Moist


Tasty

5 comments:

katitude said...

First it's food tilt a few days ago, and now it's food porn. You're a bad, bad man.

Now I'm off to go eat my cheese and tomato sandwich because I'm hungry now, but still lazy.

BTW, do I count as a foodie if it's 5 year old cheddar from St. Jacob's and an organic heirloom tomato on Ace bakery multigrain?

Astin said...

Yah, I'm a jerk. If I don't go out after work tomorrow, it'll be another round.

It certainly better than Kraft singles with a field tomato on wonder bread.

Now I'll have to go eat some applewood smoked cheddar or roasted garlic havarti. Thanks :)

Alan aka RecessRampage said...

This is fantastic. Generally, cook books are hit or miss in terms of whether they help you or not (I start off the way they tell me to but I kinda employ my own style that works for me)... but in your case, if I eff up, I'll just get on here and ask you a question... Sweetness!

Astin said...

Yah, I find cook books helpful for baking, but not so much cooking. Baking recipes are far more precise, but cooking allows for a lot of room to adjust.

The trick is knowing what works. I often overuse herbs and spices - they taste great, but sometimes take over the main ingredient.

Anyway, I'm always happy to help.

Alan aka RecessRampage said...

Also... LOL at moist... and tasty... lol... don't know why but it just made me laugh.