Cooking~
So...the other night I thawed a chicken breast, then decided I didn't really want to cook and made a sandwich instead. Now having the opportunity to marinate the chicken in something, I decided to experiment.
See, when I cook, I either stick to stuff I know how to make or I go through my cabinet, smell stuff, take out stuff that seems appetizing at the moment, and toss it all together haphazardly. I don't measure, and I usually don't keep track of what I've added, which sadly means that when it turns out delicious I don't have a recipe. D: Thankfully, with the current absence of my roommate, I was the last one to touch the spice cabinet and therefore I've decided to show exactly what I mean when I say that my cooking experiments should likely be feared.
I used one of those Gladware containers since it was about the right size for the chicken (which I added after I made and smelled the concoction so I knew it wouldn't be gross). I filled it about a fourth of the way with some mojo (pronounced 'mo-ho') that I had in the cabinet, then added balsamic vinegar until it was about a third to halfway (5/12? XD) full. Then I added the following in varying amounts:
- A liberal layer of garlic powder
- A sprinkle of Adobo
- A sprinkle of basil
- A few shakes of Emeril's Southwest Essence
- Ground cumin powder
- Ground coriander powder
- Just a tiny bit of rosemary, as I normally don't like it too much, but it smelled right with the rest.
Put the lid on the container and shook it all up, then removed the lid and smelled it. I didn't realize at first just how much balsamic vinegar I'd added, but I quickly did once it turned a dark reddish-brown. It smelled weird, but not really in a bad way, and I decided to go for it. Stuck the cleaned chicken breast in there with a few cuts in it to makes sure the marinade really soaked in, then stuck it in the fridge for the next day.
When I was ready to eat, I put it in a small pan and poured all of the marinade in with the chicken breast. I set that to a simmer and then realized that I hadn't thought of what to have with it! Due to the holidays, my kitchen isn't at all stocked with much of anything perishable, so no fruits or veggies. Bread and butter just didn't seem to mesh with it in my mind. But aha! I had some bowtie pasta left over from when I had bought it to eat with pesto sauce (mmm). I could recall eating what was deemed 'pasta salad' before, which consisted of the spirally pasta whose name escapes me currently and Italian dressing. I have some Italian dressing mix, oil, white vinegar, and balsamic vinegar (as I tend to prefer balsamic Italian dressing over regular). Voila! I had my side.
I boiled and strained the pasta, then doused it with a liberal amount of dressing and even got to stick it in the fridge to cool for a bit. Next time I'll try the freezer, since it was still a little warm when the chicken was done, and while it was still good it wasn't as good. I flipped the chicken over every couple minutes, and dear god it smelled mouth-watering (even if the smell of the vinegar was a little strong). The outside of the breast had been stained a dark brown, but the inside was still white once I cut it open (barely needed a knife as it was falling apart!).
I got a small plate for the chicken and made the small mistake of pouring all of the mix on top of it. Not that it was bad! It was just really strong-tasting, and I think it would have been better as a drizzle or perhaps put into a little container to be dipped into. It had gotten a bit thicker over the course of the cooking, and if it didn't smell so good I might have balked at it. :P
It turned out to be incredibly sweet, which I was not expecting at all. Most of the stuff I put in there smelled spicy or very tart. Perhaps that's a characteristic of balsamic vinegar, but I haven't actually cooked with it before, so I'm not certain. The pasta salad went with it very well, perhaps because it had a common element and perhaps because it was slightly more bland and balanced the strong flavor of the chicken.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I just finished the small bit of the pasta salad I was too full to finish yesterday. I might offer to make it for the roomie to get feedback later on. :3 (And I like cooking, but cooking for one is usually such a pain!) Anywho, any input on what you think or what could have made it better is most welcome! (And if you make it yourself, let me know!) :D
See, when I cook, I either stick to stuff I know how to make or I go through my cabinet, smell stuff, take out stuff that seems appetizing at the moment, and toss it all together haphazardly. I don't measure, and I usually don't keep track of what I've added, which sadly means that when it turns out delicious I don't have a recipe. D: Thankfully, with the current absence of my roommate, I was the last one to touch the spice cabinet and therefore I've decided to show exactly what I mean when I say that my cooking experiments should likely be feared.
I used one of those Gladware containers since it was about the right size for the chicken (which I added after I made and smelled the concoction so I knew it wouldn't be gross). I filled it about a fourth of the way with some mojo (pronounced 'mo-ho') that I had in the cabinet, then added balsamic vinegar until it was about a third to halfway (5/12? XD) full. Then I added the following in varying amounts:
- A liberal layer of garlic powder
- A sprinkle of Adobo
- A sprinkle of basil
- A few shakes of Emeril's Southwest Essence
- Ground cumin powder
- Ground coriander powder
- Just a tiny bit of rosemary, as I normally don't like it too much, but it smelled right with the rest.
Put the lid on the container and shook it all up, then removed the lid and smelled it. I didn't realize at first just how much balsamic vinegar I'd added, but I quickly did once it turned a dark reddish-brown. It smelled weird, but not really in a bad way, and I decided to go for it. Stuck the cleaned chicken breast in there with a few cuts in it to makes sure the marinade really soaked in, then stuck it in the fridge for the next day.
When I was ready to eat, I put it in a small pan and poured all of the marinade in with the chicken breast. I set that to a simmer and then realized that I hadn't thought of what to have with it! Due to the holidays, my kitchen isn't at all stocked with much of anything perishable, so no fruits or veggies. Bread and butter just didn't seem to mesh with it in my mind. But aha! I had some bowtie pasta left over from when I had bought it to eat with pesto sauce (mmm). I could recall eating what was deemed 'pasta salad' before, which consisted of the spirally pasta whose name escapes me currently and Italian dressing. I have some Italian dressing mix, oil, white vinegar, and balsamic vinegar (as I tend to prefer balsamic Italian dressing over regular). Voila! I had my side.
I boiled and strained the pasta, then doused it with a liberal amount of dressing and even got to stick it in the fridge to cool for a bit. Next time I'll try the freezer, since it was still a little warm when the chicken was done, and while it was still good it wasn't as good. I flipped the chicken over every couple minutes, and dear god it smelled mouth-watering (even if the smell of the vinegar was a little strong). The outside of the breast had been stained a dark brown, but the inside was still white once I cut it open (barely needed a knife as it was falling apart!).
I got a small plate for the chicken and made the small mistake of pouring all of the mix on top of it. Not that it was bad! It was just really strong-tasting, and I think it would have been better as a drizzle or perhaps put into a little container to be dipped into. It had gotten a bit thicker over the course of the cooking, and if it didn't smell so good I might have balked at it. :P
It turned out to be incredibly sweet, which I was not expecting at all. Most of the stuff I put in there smelled spicy or very tart. Perhaps that's a characteristic of balsamic vinegar, but I haven't actually cooked with it before, so I'm not certain. The pasta salad went with it very well, perhaps because it had a common element and perhaps because it was slightly more bland and balanced the strong flavor of the chicken.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I just finished the small bit of the pasta salad I was too full to finish yesterday. I might offer to make it for the roomie to get feedback later on. :3 (And I like cooking, but cooking for one is usually such a pain!) Anywho, any input on what you think or what could have made it better is most welcome! (And if you make it yourself, let me know!) :D