Thinking Out Dinner

This is entirely for my benefit.

So I've decided I must make dinner tonight. The question becomes... what?

I have some leftover homemade fresh pasta from my friend. I believe it is in a vodka sauce, so whatever I have will have to blend with that.

I also have a bunch of fresh chicken breasts in my fridge. These should be frozen today, so I'll use one last fresh one.

I also have a bunch of vegetables. Broccoli, green beans, snow peas, and a bunch of salad stuff.

Dessert will likely be the last of my butterscotch rice pudding.

So the bones are there, and somewhat fleshed out.

Veggies - with pasta as a side, it will either be the beans or broccoli. Either way, they'll be steamed. Easy.

Chicken - here's where I need to think. I thought about the jalapeno raspberry sauce, but that's at odds with everything else. BBQ? Again, not quite the flavour harmony I'm looking for. With pasta, a more herbal melange would be good. Oregano, basil, garlic... almost too obvious. Nope. Got it. Sundried tomato. I believe I've still got some leftover rub from the rack of lamb from a little while ago. Should still be good. If not, there's my trusty sundried tomato hemp pesto, and even then I've got a jar of sundried tomatoes in reserve. Hmm... perhaps a blend with roasted red peppers. Perhaps not. No... not roaste red pepper. Some heat would be a good touch. Habanero powder, and maybe a wee bit of some caribbean hot sauce could be just the thing. Would finishing it off with a little bit of fresh lemon be too much? I think I've got half a lime kicking around too, which might be a better match to the the sundried tomato taste. Done and done.

So... tonight's pre-MATH dinner:

Grilled chicken in a spicy sundried tomato rub with lime. Homemade (fettuccine I think?) pasta in a vodka sauce, and steamed broccoli finished with butter and garlic.

While poultry generally calls for a white wine, I can't shake the feeling a red would work better here due to the strong flavours involved. A strong beer might also work - Maudite, Fin Du Monde, or even a good Belgian Trappist Ale. It will all depend on if I feel like opening a bottle or not.... which would give me a chance to use my wine pump finally. If any of the blogger games lends itself to a drink or two beforehand, it's the MATH. 6-max requires aggression and no fear, especially with 3000 chips.