More Chicken!

Well I finally got around to making that prosciutto wrapped chicken yesterday. Robert requested it which somewhat surprised me because we've had so much chicken lately. Then I remembered that he can eat chicken every day of the week. And I suppose that if I can make it a different way each day, maybe I could too. Eh, maybe not. But I was surprised by this recipe. I couldn't quite imagine how all the flavors would come together -- prosciutto, chicken, basil, mozzarella, and sun dried tomatoes. It was kind of like caprese salad stuffed in chicken. In the end, it turned out to be really good served with a side of rice pilaf and some veggies. None of the flavors were super overwhelming. And Robert liked it too -- which was the important thing since he requested it :-P

The Return of Inspiration!

It turns out that I was right. . . Robert really does inspire me to cook. He came home this evening, and I spent pretty much all day trying to figure out what to make for dinner. It was hard though because for every meal that I thought of making, I was lacking one ingredient. And I refused to go to the store because when I woke up this morning it was five degrees below zero. I didn't even let Gabrielle go to school. Finally, I gave up and decided that we would just have breakfast for dinner. When I told Robert this on the phone, he said "Sounds great! We can have waffles." Sure everybody likes waffles, but then that got me thinking. . . We could just have waffles, or we could have Chicken and Waffles!!!! Yes, I know it sounds super bizarre, and to be honest, I was a little apprehensive. I saw an episode about it on Food Network (of course), but I've never had them. And the combination just sounds so weird. But apparently it's a pretty big thing, especially in New York and California, so I guess I've been missing out. Well, after a bit of snooping around on the internet, I decided to take my Chicken and Waffles one step further. . . the result: Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Waffles. The Sweet Potato Waffles is an Alton Brown recipe (FN again) but I had to make a little variation because I didn't have any fresh sweet potatoes. Luckily, I had a can of sweet potatoes hiding in the back. Suffice it to say that I tend to keep a VERY well stocked pantry. In the end, dinner ended up being delicious. Everyone chowed down. . . the girls especially loved the waffles. And they were actually really good. The chicken, sweet potatoe waffle, and maple syrup combination turned out to be surprisingly tasty, and if I ever go to California I will be sure to stop in at Roscoe's, or maybe I'll stick a little closer to home and visit Melba's in Harlem (which was the restaurant featured on the FN). In the meantime, I think I may just top one of those waffles off with ice cream, and call it dessert :-)

For those of you interested in the recipe for the Sweet Potato Waffles, you can find it here. Like I said, I didn't have any fresh sweet potatoes, so I used a standard sized can of sweet potatoes that I rinsed and drained before mashing. And because I didn't want my waffles to be lumpy, I actually blended the sweet potatoes together with the milk, butter, and sugar. They seem like a lot of work, but they are definately worth it for a special Sunday breakfast, or in my case, a special dinner.

Cordon Bleu -- Tres Magnifique!

Is chicken cordon bleu really a French dish? Because if so, then I am just all over the place, aren't I? Truth be told, I'm easily bored when it comes to food so am always jumping all over the place, in case that isn't obvious yet. And chicken cordon bleu is also one of Robert's favorite dishes. It's actually a relatively easy dish to pull together. I served it with a side of couscous (it's an east meets west meal :-P) which turns out is not Robert's favorite. In fact, to put it lightly, he's pretty much stated that he "will never eat couscous again." Which I don't understand, everyone else liked it. But anyway, the great thing about the chicken cordon bleu is that even though it sounds like such a fancy dish, it's actually really kid friendly, and the girls just went to town! I've been getting some requests for recipes. So here it is. This is a really good one, it's really easy to make.

4 boneless chicken breasts

1/2 lb high quality ham, thinly sliced

1/2 lb swiss cheese, thinly sliced

flour for dusting

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. Panko bread crumbs, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, & parsley

oil for frying

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place each chicken breast in between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound until 1/4 inch thick. Layer chicken breast with ham and cheese, and roll up like an eggroll. Heat oil over high heat in heavy skillet. Dust each roll in flour, dip in eggs, roll in panko crumbs to cover, and place in hot oil. Fry each piece on all sides until each side is brown. Then place entire pan in oven for 25 - 30 min. Enjoy!

P.S. -- Thanks to my honey for this super great picture. I'd eat it! Hee hee hee!