Recipe Tryouts #2: Rosemary Chicken

[cjsmith]

Recipe from erisian_fields. Mmmm, rosemary!

Lesson Number One: It is much easier to separate a chicken breast from the little pantiliner it sits on when it's not frozen. Often I repack such things, but this time I had the space and wouldn't have them in there long. Oops.

I put a big pile of chicken breasts in the crock pot. Then it said to sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Oh, maybe I should have sprinkled each layer? But the meat had started to fuse. It had been in the freezer only overnight in a big stack and thus some wasn't fully frozen. I pried the layers apart to do the sprinkling. The rosemary smelled so good!

Liquids in -- and all the stuff I'd sprinkled on the topmost piece washed off. Duh! As the hours went on I stirred the top ones under.

Many hours later I pulled the meat out and tried for sauce. I strained some of the fat off, the stuff that wasn't liquid at crock temperatures. There was an awful lot of that floating around and I probably halved it. I poured all the rest (rosemary and all) into a pot on the stove. I stirred a couple tablespoons of cornstarch into cool water until it was smooth, then poured that in the pot too. I boiled it, and boiled it, and boiled it, and boiled it... and then gave up 'cause guests were coming! I poured the still-very-thin "sauce" onto my single-portion bits of meat and popped them all in the freezer for the future.

This morning I took one portion out, opened the lid a crack for heating, and mmmmmmmmm did it smell good. Even frozen! I adore rosemary, have I mentioned? I noticed the sauce did have little spots that looked like they had tried to become thick. I made some rice with that broth/sauce.

The kitties followed my every move. BOY were they interested.

It was good! Rice with the broth was a good idea. Next time, a tinch less lemon (I kinda went on the high side for that) and a bit more rosemary and pepper. The chicken breast was falling apart at a touch, and was a tad dry, so maybe also cook it less long?? And if I want a sauce, maybe more cornstarch.

Comments

[tytso.livejournal.com]

... but of course, one can't live on Anna Taqueria alone, and when one's fiance perfers nice restaurants like EVOO (two people, with appetizers, main dish, dessert, and wine will generally run us a little under $100), it can be quite a bit cheaper to cook at home, and whip out the candles and wine from the wine center for a nice romantic dinner. (And getting to a couch or bed for some postprandial cuddling is more convenient when you eat at home. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Another big advantage of having a romantic meal at home is that you don't have to wait until you've sobered up to head back! :-) O'course, you know how many romantic dinners I've had in the last twenty years. Heh. Fine dining, with Rob, is ihop.

Me, if I go to a really fancy $50/person restaurant, it's because the food and the ambiance and probably the twilight view over the Bay are all better there than anything I can create at home. (I suppose if I had a house with a stunning view and beautiful candlelit bay windows and and and, I probably wouldn't care about the price of the restaurant and would go just so I didn't have to do dishes.)

[tytso.livejournal.com]

For me at least, $50/person restaurants are in the "nice" category, but not necessarily in the "really fancy" category. If you're ever in New York City, I would heartily recommend the restaurant Acquavit (restaurant review here (http://www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/2270.htm)). Marcus Samuelsson is a really imaginative chef, and I strongly recommend the $125/person mutltiple (usually 15+) course tasting menu. The flavors are truly amazing, and the presentation of each bite-sized tidbit is always imaginative. Good stuff, but including wine, it's easily $150/person. And of course, with the waterfall located in a multi-story high dining room lined with black marble inside a skyscraper in midtown Manhatten, it has a very nice ambiance as well. A good place for fancy anniversary celebration (at least if your partner is into such things).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

For me "really fancy" tops out before a place starts having "this menu" and "that menu". Probably $80 a head? See, there are things I can't/won't eat, and I've heard that some places with Menus (or even some places with Chefs) get seriously aggravated when their customers have individual issues. I have chosen to simplify my life by not going to places that would feed me (or charge me for) fish or seafood without giving me a choice about it.

I also tend to avoid crowded high-traffic snarly city situations with no place to park and long walks (particularly with the feet now). And then, well, there's Rob. So... I'm sure some of the things presented would be truly wonderful, and I do have a tinge of regret that I'll miss them, but I think maybe you can have my share of Acquavit's delights! :-)