Today I decided to prepare Arron's favorite dish; Chicken Parmesan and Creamed Spinach. He's been kinda down and some what in a negative mindset due to lack of funds...who isn't. In order to not be totally effected by his unhappy disposition or contagious negative attitude, I thought it would make me feel better to be in the kitchen preparing something and make him feel better to eat his favorite meal. You know what they say, "it's the thought that counts." But from the way the night played out, maybe thinking is not my strong suit; at least when it come to making something my husband likes to eat.
Arron was trying to make himself busy fixing Christmas lights, organizing the garage and painting. I thought he needed a break so I dragged him along with me shopping for ingredients to prepare tonight's meal. First mistake. Leave it up to Arron, he would have made the frozen pizza we purchased a few days ago as opposed to spending money we don't have to prepare a real home cooked meal. I wasn't going to let that stop me. Ten minutes, twelve items and twenty six dollars later, I was back home getting ready to don my apron. I was all set to start my chicken parmesan when Malik comes home with news that he's been invited to a party at a classmates house! Hooray! So, of course he can't go empty handed. I quickly whipped up the no-bake peanut butter rice krispies cookies in fifteen minutes for him to take. This recipe is pretty simple and quick. I love the fact that no baking is involved. Corn syrup, brown and granulated sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and rice krispies are combined to make this tasty treat. Bring the corn syrup and sugars to a boil over medium heat and stir. Once that's been incorporated well, remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter until that's incorporated. After that, add the vanilla and rice krispies. Pour out into a parchment lined baking sheet, spread out and let cool. Wait fifteen, twenty minutes, then lift the entire lining out of the pan, cut into squares and serve!
Now that Malik is gone and Arron is busy doing something else, I can be about the business of cooking. First, I made homemade breadcrumbs to coat my chicken breasts. Anybody could do this in a cinch. Cut the ends off the bread, cut into cubes, then place them into a food processor and pulse until you've reach the desired crumb size. If you don't have a food processor, place dry bread into a sealed bag and smash with a rolling pin or wine bottle. That aside, I add olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes to my hot saucepan and stir. Then I added the tomatoes I pulsed earlier and some salt for taste. While that's simmering for thirty minutes I proceed to wash and cut my chicken breasts in half horizontally through the middle. I grab my breadcrumbs, add some parmesan cheese and spread it out to cover the bottom of a baking sheet. I brought my chicken to the mixture, added salt and pepper, then coat; one side, then the next. Once all the chicken is done, I swirled some olive oil and butter in my hot skillet to coat the pan. I added the chicken, cooked on each side for five minutes then repeated the process for the remaining pieces; adding oil and butter as needed. Meanwhile, the oven is preheating at 400 degrees. I greased a 9x12 baking dish, spooned some tomato sauce on the bottom and spread it out, layered the chicken, topped it with mozzarella slices and shreds, added more tomato sauce, then sprinkled some parmesan cheese to cover. Just as I'm adding the top layer of tomato sauce, Arron appears with his comments. "If it was me, I'd add an extra layer of that vodka sauce in the fridge to make sure it has a lot of sauce. You know how much I like sauce." I just looked over at him with that, "who's-making-this" look, but added it anyway; thinking, who the hell died and made him Wolfgang Puck? Go back to making yourself busy! Nevertheless, I baked it for forty minutes until it was golden and bubbling. Yum! Once it was done the directions tell me to let it sit for fifteen minutes before serving. Earlier I found out that this is to ensure that the juices are distributed or settled in all the cracks and crevices.
With the chicken in the oven and Arron back upstairs, I started on the dessert. Lemon Souffle Pudding. I never for once thought that the word "souffle" and "rochelle" would ever be in the same sentence, but here I was, souffle-ing. The hardest part of this recipe was separating the eggs. I beat egg whites until stiff, then put aside. Then took the yolks and beat those until frothy and light in color for about five minutes. Slowly I added sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Once all combined, I gently folded the mix into the stiff egg whites, then added the batter to my buttered baking dish. Twenty minutes later, this light and airy dessert was ready to be cooled; just in time to consume after dinner.
Since this was Arron's favorite meal, I asked him how he would like the spinach prepared. "Whatever, creamed is fine." So, that's what I did. I steamed the spinach for three minutes, drained, then chopped. While the spinach is waiting in the wings, I started on the bechamel. That's the cream in the creamed spinach. Butter and flour are whisk until combined, then milk is stirred in until fully incorporated. Once that's done, I stirred in some salt, pepper and nutmeg. Moments later, I folded the spinach in and served it immediately with the chicken parmesan. Oh, the aroma was divine! Only thing missing was the garlic bread.
I thought everything turned out great...a little too salty, but still good. Arron had one spoonful of spinach and two helpings of chicken. He mentioned the salt was a bit much, but overall it was delicious. Guess I wasn't convinced considering yesterday he plucked all the rosemary off the "fish fillet with rosemary" during dinner. Ugh! I'm beginning to think that all this fancy cooking is wasted on my plain-jane of a husband who could eat nachos and frozen pizza for dinner every night. He didn't even taste the souffle. It tasted so good and felt so light going down. Not like those desserts that leave you feeling bloated and guilty.
I thought making this dinner would lighten the mood, render a few laughs and make him proud to have a wife that can prepare a made-from-scratch meal. Instead, I was left feeling like I couldn't do anything right and that I was wasting my talents cooking for someone who could care less about what he puts in his mouth. Gourmet is not only lost, but forgotten on Arron.
This set back however will NOT impede my talents or stifle my desire to prepare gourmet meals; even if I'm cooking just for a party of one; ME! Oh wait, my child thought it was "pretty good." And that's saying a lot coming from a thirteen year old.
For those that enjoy cooking, even if you're the only one tasting, click (or copy and paste) the link below and be your own food critic.
http://blog.madhungry.com/2010/11/recipes-from-todays-show-chicken-parmesan.html
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