Day of Delights

This morning I ran seven miles. That is the furthest I have ever run, so I felt quite the sense of accomplishment afterwards. I also felt kind of zapped for a while. In the afternoon there was a hot chocolate pick-me-up but, the real treat of the day came later.

 

For dinner, Jason prepared Circassian Chicken. According to "The Best International Recipe" book it is a dish served on special occasions in Turkey and often with pita bread. I wished for bread but I hadn't made any, so... did I mention I was tired? We did have nice large pieces of steamed broccoli which I dredged through the walnut sauce on the chicken. 

 

 

Dessert was rum cake! The cake has rum in the batter and then a rum glaze was applied to the outside after baking. It was moist, flavorful but not too strong.

 

Before applying the glaze.

Jason applying glaze.

 

We may or may not have eaten half the cake before the end of the night. It was good and I was happy.

 

 

Arepas con Pollo y Avocado

Sometimes it happens that you just have all the ingredients on hand and presto meal magic! I love it when there is no shopping required. Such was the case with arepas con pollo y avocado. The Venezuelan dish was fast and flavorful. A small cornbread cake sliced in half and filled with a mixture of green onions, cilantro, avocado, chicken, lemon juice and chili powder. It was supposed to be lime juice, but the lemon was what we had on hand. This makes me want to try more food from South America in the future.

Simple Food

I am tired. Today, I ran six miles, shoveled horse manure, blocked a hole in the pond bank, scrubbed the bathtub and hacked out a new walking trail on the property. Simple and easy was the goal for cooking tonight. I lightly fried a bunch of chicken thighs and made mashed potatoes. There was also a little cornbread leftover from yesterday. The chicken cooked 10 mins in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop and then in the oven at 350 degrees for another 40 mins. For some reason I first turn the oven on to 425 which happens to be the temperature a Papa Murphy's pizza bakes at. Coincidence? I think not.

After eating I started the dough to make croissants. The first step is just a mixing of ingredients. The entire process stretches over three days. I have been curious about making croissants in the past. When I saw a sign at the local Starbucks advertising January 30th as National Croissant Day it seemed like the perfect time to try them out.

"Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash."

Or at least that's what they say in "When Harry Met Sally". Dinner tonight was chicken paprikash and French bread. Jason made the paprikash and I made the bread. Paprikash is a Hungarian dish but, it actually reminded me a lot of coq au vin, which is French. It has the same general idea of stewing chicken in an awesome wine based sauce. In truth though, the two dishes taste nothing at all alike. That could be because there is almost as much paprika as there is wine in the paprikash.

Praising the Potato: Day 2

Tonight we visit a classic upon request and have fried chicken, cornbread and mashed potatoes with gravy. In an attempt to go with antibiotic free chicken I ended up with boneless chicken thighs which were good. I would have preferred bone-in, but they weren't available in our local store.

For dessert, we have a flourless chocolate cake. No potatoes.

Sandwich Week! Day 4

Not out of ideas yet - chicken with pineapple, mozzarella, purple onion, lettuce 

and chipotle pepper sauce on ciabatta bread.