It’s my birthday next week and I usually don’t do a lot on my B-day. This year I’m talking a little weekend trip down to Atlantic City – the town of gambling and Rascal scooters!
I’m actually in AC right now! I managed to pull myself away from the craps table just long enough to post this. See how much I care about you?!
Now for some links:
I had a good friend from high school (@ryanstewart) over for dinner last week and I wanted to make something from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. It was also a work night so I didn’t have a lot of time to toil over a hot oven.
I had honestly never heard of this dish, chicken saltimbocca, before I read about it in the cookbook, but it looked perfect for my meal:
This worked better than I could have imagined.
The idea behind the dish is that you have a nice chicken cutlet that is lightly floured. On top of that cutlet you have a slice of good prosciutto that has been seared onto the cutlet so they become one. The prosciutto forms a crispy layer of awesome on top of the chicken and the whole thing is flavored with some fresh sage.
I’ve never at all had a problem eating vegetables. In fact, I usually crave them. That said, I do have a few friends (Hi Scott) that absolutely will not touch vegetables. Especially green ones that rhyme with Choccoli.
For those people that do not under any circumstances eat vegetables, let me introduce you to something:
Eat your vegetables!
I don’t understand how anyone could not like this dish. It is cheesy and delicious! If a broccoli-hater were forced to eat this blind-folded, I imagine they might say: “Oh wow. That tastes like pure cheesy Heaven!” And then they would open their eyes and see all that green and probably pretend they don’t like it, but secretly sneak some into their backpack.
Last weekend I posted a four course meal that I made for Betsy and I for Valentine’s Day. Well, actually I made it the week before, but I made it. Here is the entire meal:
First Course – Artichoke Fritters
Second Course – Pear and Pecan Salad
Third Course – Mussels and Frites
Fourth Course – Chocolate Lava Cakes
After I posted this I got a few emails and comments from people asking how I organized this meal because it was kind of a lot for one guy to do. One reason why I think people get frustrated with cooking is that it seems like a lot of work. I think a lot of the stress can be taken off though with proper planning.
In this post I’ll give a few tips in case you ever find yourself planning a meal. These tips will help streamline any dinner you have to cook be it four courses or one.
If you happen to follow me on Twitter you’ll know the actual meal that Betsy and I had for Valentine’s Day wasn’t the four course deal I posted last week. She asked for nachos and Coronas. Sounds good to me!
She may have asked for this dish because these are my nachos:
It doesn't look like real food. But it is. Real good food.
Let me start with a warning. If you make and consume these nachos it’s seriously possible that it will ruin all other nachos for you. I’m not saying that I don’t eat other nachos. I definitely do. But when I get them at a restaurant they tend to be more of a mushy chip dish with too many toppings and stale store bought chips. I still eat all of them, but the warning is that this could be one of those instances where ignorance is bliss.
Every weekend, I review a cookbook in an attempt to lend some guidance in a field that has become overrun. These days everyone is writing cookbooks and it is incredibly upsetting to buy a dud and have it sit on your shelf for years – staring at you, mocking your poor judgment.
I was first introduced to America’s Test Kitchen on TV. I saw the show awhile ago and was intrigued by the idea because it seems like such a simple concept and yet I had never seen anything like it. When I saw that they were coming out with, “The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2009“, I had a feeling it was going to be a keeper.
What is the test kitchen? The idea behind the test kitchen is so simple. Take some of the best chefs around, give them the food and tools they need, and let them try recipes until they are perfected. The problem with recipes these days are that there are hundreds of different versions and the average at-home chef has no idea which one will actually produce good results.
Last weekend Betsy and I were running some errands when we passed a small market that had berries on sale. And they looked really good. I couldn’t help but pick up a few pints.
The next morning I was looking for something quick to make because, after all, I had a kitten to play with all day. I also happened to have a few cups of granola left over from the last batch of homemade granola I mixed up.
Add some vanilla yogurt and these were an obvious choice:
It's all in the levels.
Parfaits are fantastic. They are pretty, easy, and healthy. What more could you want in a breakfast meal?! I like to get the tallest glasses I can find and make as many levels as possible, but you could just do one level of each ingredient if you wanted.
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