Creole Chicken (November 2011 Taste of Home)
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Waffles and Scrambled Eggs
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Yum! This Creole Chicken came out seeming more Italian than Creole -- partly due to teaspoon/tablespoon confusion on the oregano and basil, not noticed until a moment too late, but you can see how the mise-en-place to the left would result in an Italiany dish. I'm at least as happy with what we got as I would have been with more thoroughgoing Creole, though.
Husband is irrationally prejudiced against the Chicken Parmesan of my youth. But we both liked this Chicken Creole, and it's got all the same things I love going on -- tender chicken, juicy vegetables, a cozy blend of spices with just a
little kick, perfect over rice. So there's a (previously) tragic gaping family menu hole, all fixed. Furthermore, Husband served it up with his first attempt at recreating Lemon, Lime & Bitters, a delicious soda that's common in Australia, where we honeymooned, but very hard to find here in the US. Very nice indeed.
It's become traditional for us to spend the night with some good friends on New Year's Eve, playing board games in the old year and the new. This year, my dad happened to ask over the phone if we were making waffles in the morning. Now, when I was growing up, my dad made waffles nearly every Sunday morning. But the waffles of my people are Bisquick-based, with a homemade sugar-and-maple-flavoring syrup.
Both the menfolk like to flaunt their cooking chops. They did have a momentary seizure in which they hoped to be able to substitute leftover eggnog for the eggs in the waffles, but once that cleared, they valiantly procured
actual eggs and cooked up a lovely breakfast: scrambled eggs, waffles from scratch, maple syrup from trees, and strawberry syrup from our pick-your-own experiment earlier this year.* Not the waffles of my people, but a very satisfactory substitute.
*Upon which expedition the womenfolk picked a few pounds of strawberries; I stayed up late to make jam and was, in the process, demoted to "must ask an adult before using the stove." But the jam is good.
Chicken Soup with Rice
Husband started with a hotdish recipe from the awesomely titled 9 x 13: The Pan That Can, but he made several modifications to suit what we had in the pantry and fridge. The result was a southwest/Tex-Mex sort of casserole with potatoes as the main starchy component. It was fantastic.
The soup was lovely. A bit too sweet, not unlike our last Soup Adventure. The texture was extremely nice. I liked the taste, but (maybe because of the sweetness) don't think I could have eaten much more than I was served. But I finished that enthusiastically!
We had friends over for dinner and games on Monday night, and Husband made pulled pork in the slow-cooker. No unique details (although Husband says he might not bother with the from-scratch barbecue sauce to cook it the next time), but it was very tasty pulled pork. All four of us enjoyed it with cornbread and vegetables.
