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indiana_jSeeing as I spent most of January 2010 not cooking due to family issues, I was quite keen to get back on the horse, so to speak. I normally cook between three and four times a week, trying to time it so that I have enough leftovers to supplement most of my work lunches. Generally, I try to only buy one, maybe two, lunches per week in an effort to cut down on money spent and crap ingested.
At least if it's crap I made, then I know what went in it, you know?
After threeish weeks most decidedly not cooking and eating out (necessity for the most part, exhaustion and my mom visiting for the rest), I nearly exploded as I went grocery shopping for the upcoming week.
Sadly, the first night of cooking was not the raging success I had been hoping for. (I think I'm a decent cook - my friends think I'm a good cook. This met neither expectations.)
The what? Pepper Peach Chicken Skewers
From where? Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
Side dish? Yes, regular white rice
End result: This needs help (except for the rice)
Wooden skewers (this called for 24 small, 6-inch skewers, but I was unable to find any but the longer ones)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons bottle minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 firm, ripe fresh peaches, pitted, each cut into cubes
Salt
1. Soak wood skewers in water for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, mix oil, lemon juice, garlic pepper, and cumin for marinade. Toss chicken cubes in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat broiler. Place chicken-peach-chicken-peach, etc onto each skewer. Sprinkle with salt. Place on a broiler pan. Broil until chicken is cooked through and beginning to brown. Turn skewers halfway through cooking to brown on all sides, about 12 minutes total.
4. Arrange skewers on platter and serve immediately.
I probably should have known I was in trouble after about the fifth time I stabbed myself in the hand getting the stupid peaches and chicken on them. And I don't know if I was cutting small or what because I had to do quite the juggle to get all the chicken onto the skewers and a few pieces ended up just dashed about the pan as I gave up with the sharp, pointy objects after that.
Part of the problem with the recipe was my own error - I had misread the measurements for (not just one) both the olive oil and lemon juice. I did one teaspoon of each instead of one tablespoon. Looking back, that explained why I thought the marinade lacked gumption. Though it did a passable job, I suppose.
I started to get concerned with the goings on in my oven about 6 minutes into the affair when I had to flip thelittle ba ... wait, my mother might read this ... stupid little sticks. (Hi mom!) The peaches were looking a little worse for wear as they proudly started showing off some of their burned marks. The chicken still obviously needed some time so I was forced to moved the sheet a little further away from the heat of the broiler. And then I stared into the oven as it cooked for the next 6 minutes like a woman possessed, unwilling to turn away in case my oven somehow turned into Dante's Inferno, forcing my dinner into the never ending flames of hell and pain that is burned chicken.
6 minutes passed with a lack of any seeable fire (trust me, that's to come...) and I rescued my dinner. I did have to wait for the rice, though by this time my worry that dinner was going to be ruined and I was going to end up weeping in a corner (my rice looked like rice soup at the 6 minute mark for the chicken, so I'd been a tiny bit concerned), had passed. My rice was looking like rice and I hadn't yet had to pull out the fire extinguisher.
...do I even have one of those? Maybe I should...
I ate from one of the sticks as I waited for the rice and found it to be okay. Not bad but not great either, you know? The peaches, despite the burn marks, turned out to have fared better - crisp and juicy but obviously cooked. The chicken was a bit tough and the flavor was not what I had been expecting. Sandra Lee and myself had failed to meet my expectations.
To make matters worse, this dish did not stand the test of time. i.e., leftovers for lunch. The chicken did not reheat well and the peaches got all ... soggy. Gross would be an understatement. Tuesday's lunch was essentially rice and butter, during which I glared daggers at Sandra Lee on the Food Network in the lunch room.
I'm not sure how I could possibly rescue this dish, what I could use instead of the marinade she put forth in her book. Obviously I need to pay better attention and I really should read the recipe in-depth well in advance of making dinner.
To quote River Tam, my food proved to be problematic.
I just don't know if I should bother to try and fix this recipe.
Any helps, hints and suggestions are welcome!
At least if it's crap I made, then I know what went in it, you know?
After threeish weeks most decidedly not cooking and eating out (necessity for the most part, exhaustion and my mom visiting for the rest), I nearly exploded as I went grocery shopping for the upcoming week.
Sadly, the first night of cooking was not the raging success I had been hoping for. (I think I'm a decent cook - my friends think I'm a good cook. This met neither expectations.)
The what? Pepper Peach Chicken Skewers
From where? Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
Side dish? Yes, regular white rice
End result: This needs help (except for the rice)
Wooden skewers (this called for 24 small, 6-inch skewers, but I was unable to find any but the longer ones)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons bottle minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 firm, ripe fresh peaches, pitted, each cut into cubes
Salt
1. Soak wood skewers in water for 10 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, mix oil, lemon juice, garlic pepper, and cumin for marinade. Toss chicken cubes in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat broiler. Place chicken-peach-chicken-peach, etc onto each skewer. Sprinkle with salt. Place on a broiler pan. Broil until chicken is cooked through and beginning to brown. Turn skewers halfway through cooking to brown on all sides, about 12 minutes total.
4. Arrange skewers on platter and serve immediately.
I probably should have known I was in trouble after about the fifth time I stabbed myself in the hand getting the stupid peaches and chicken on them. And I don't know if I was cutting small or what because I had to do quite the juggle to get all the chicken onto the skewers and a few pieces ended up just dashed about the pan as I gave up with the sharp, pointy objects after that.
Part of the problem with the recipe was my own error - I had misread the measurements for (not just one) both the olive oil and lemon juice. I did one teaspoon of each instead of one tablespoon. Looking back, that explained why I thought the marinade lacked gumption. Though it did a passable job, I suppose.
I started to get concerned with the goings on in my oven about 6 minutes into the affair when I had to flip the
6 minutes passed with a lack of any seeable fire (trust me, that's to come...) and I rescued my dinner. I did have to wait for the rice, though by this time my worry that dinner was going to be ruined and I was going to end up weeping in a corner (my rice looked like rice soup at the 6 minute mark for the chicken, so I'd been a tiny bit concerned), had passed. My rice was looking like rice and I hadn't yet had to pull out the fire extinguisher.
...do I even have one of those? Maybe I should...
I ate from one of the sticks as I waited for the rice and found it to be okay. Not bad but not great either, you know? The peaches, despite the burn marks, turned out to have fared better - crisp and juicy but obviously cooked. The chicken was a bit tough and the flavor was not what I had been expecting. Sandra Lee and myself had failed to meet my expectations.
To make matters worse, this dish did not stand the test of time. i.e., leftovers for lunch. The chicken did not reheat well and the peaches got all ... soggy. Gross would be an understatement. Tuesday's lunch was essentially rice and butter, during which I glared daggers at Sandra Lee on the Food Network in the lunch room.
I'm not sure how I could possibly rescue this dish, what I could use instead of the marinade she put forth in her book. Obviously I need to pay better attention and I really should read the recipe in-depth well in advance of making dinner.
To quote River Tam, my food proved to be problematic.
I just don't know if I should bother to try and fix this recipe.
Any helps, hints and suggestions are welcome!