One of the benefits I'm discovering with cooking is that every now and again you're faced with a quickdraw situation where you just have to "Eat NOW". With Megan this can be quite frequent as she and her schedule combined with overwhelming hunger can put a guy in a bind. Fortunately, though, I've been doing this long enough now to be able to apply some techniques quickly and still make something delicious in just under 30 minutes.





Chicken di Rockney + Emiril

2 Chicken Breasts (around a pound)
Olive oil
Herbes de Provence
Emiril's Essence


Emiril's Essence (Found on Food Network site)
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme



This was a bit of improvising. Chicken di Rockney is what Megan's parents make quite frequently, and it's pretty good. It's basically just an herb chicken; olive oil, then add Herbes de Provence (the main flavor) and then Basil. Bake and serve. But instead of just throwing that in, I decided to bring out my container of Emiril's Essence and toss that on there.

Good idea.

Emiril's essence is a little spicy and definitely zesty and peppery. It's really good and quite easy to make and store. I first made it back when I did the Chicken Marsala recipe and I've used it about three times on a whim since then adn have had great results every time. I do forget to say "Bam" though.

Anyway, oil, Essence, Herbes de Provence. I use tin foil to increase ease of cleaning. Bake in oven at 375 for about 25-30 minutes (45-50 if breast is frozen). Then you're pretty much done! Super easy peasy.


Sweet Vegetables

Red Bell Pepper
White Onion
Zucchini
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Cinammon

Ah, now this is where I got creative. Megan brought home these vegetables and told me to sautee them with olive oil in a pan (just a bit of olive oil). So as I was doing so, I glanced over my shoulder and waited until she wasn't looking, then opened up the spice cabinet and went to town.

My theory was this: I knew that the chicken would be a little spicy because I'd used the Essence before. So if I was going to season the vegetables in a direction, I should take it sweeter.

Good idea.

Just a tiny bit of salt (two twists from my sea salt grinder), much more ground peper (10-15 twists?), two pinches of cumin and just a dash of cinammon. When sauteed, both bell peppers (especially red, in my opinion) and white onion become sweeter as they are cooked longer. The cinammon is REALLY key in bringing out the sweetness even further while I feel like the cumin sort of neutralized any remaining harshness from the peppers and onions. Cook until you are satisfied with softness.

The sweetness was an amazing off-set to the spicyness of the chicken and was quite enjoyable. Not bad for 30 minutes, huh? Watch out Rachel Ray, I'm coming for you.

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My hope is that tomorrow I'll be stir-frying. Stay tuned.

The Food Labs will be opening soon. You'll see what it is when my brother finishes the banner, but Pizzadillas would've been part of the Food Labs had it been around.

I've become enamored with this concept of chile peppers and chocolate. Anyone that's ever seen Chocolat knows or if you're a chocolate lover like me knows that the ancient Mayans used to drink this bizarre drink that was a combination of chile water and chocolate. I'm really curious to see what happens when you mix those ingredients together...maybe when I have some time...

Yipes!

Why are you looking at a picture of a distressed tomato? Well, that's simple. I forgot to take a picture of the meal I made yesterday. And as such, the tomato, who has been waiting quietly in the corner fully content at the use of pictures in each entry, was quite fretful that there would be no picture today. So he volunteered his services. Hopefully we won't see too much more of the Worried Tomato in the future, but at least he's around in case we need him.

Anyway, yesterday I made the Pepper Chicken, previously featured on this blog, and roasted cauliflower for Megan's parents yesterday and it was a smashing success. It was also the first time I used the public grill and I have to say, it's quite a bit better than fighting that grill pan. It's not too far from the apartment, and since no one else ever uses it, why the heck not, right? So me and public-grill will be getting far more familiar with one another in the coming days as my cooking skill sharpens.

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The original entry on Pepper Chicken. I skipped the lime sauce this time, but did nothing different in terms of ingredients. Cooked it on the grill for about 20-25 minutes total on medium-high heat, although I changed the heat settings many times since I was getting used to it. I'll have to try a more controlled test next time.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 really big head of cauliflower
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Have you ever wanted to eat something that looks like a white brain but the idea of boiling/steaming it just to chomp on a mushy vegetable puts you off? Well, have I got the thing for you. Roasted Cauliflower is an Ing Family staple (although a relatively recent one) and has been acclaimed as a favorite by all who have chomped into it.

The process is simple. Preheat your oven to 450. Take the head, chop it into chunks. No real shape or size is needed, I'd say no larger than 2 inches long at the most. Megan did it much smaller and it came out fine, so meh. Spread out the pieces on a baking sheet (lipped, as you'll be using oil and you don't want to start a fire in your oven...I have personal experience with that one.) and coat lightly with olive oil. Add salt and pepper and mix it up with your hands. The cauliflower will shrink considerably from the heat, so don't worry about it being too much. Throw in oven.

The only real downer of this recipe is that it takes 45-min to an hour to roast thoroughly. Check it every 20 minutes and stir it up with a spoon, keeping the cauliflower even. Once the cauliflower has shrunk and is golden brown on the edges, take it out and eat. It's really simple, really good, and a fun new way to deal with vegetables you may not otherwise eat.

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Not much else for this week: My dad's retirement party is Wednesday so no cooking on that day. Megan leaves this weekend for a women's retreat leaving me alone. I may try a few solo runs with some steak ideas I have, but we'll see how motivated I end up being.