Challenge Yourself!

Staring into the open refrigerator, I recognized my food fatigue. Do you ever get tired of making the same dishes or the same genre of food? When I don't have a set recipe in mind, the end result usually lands at Italian. Chicken, garlic, onion, oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary. Sometimes tomatoes. At lunch with friends, Kristen, a teacher friend of mine who each summer undergoes a tremendous transformation into a fearless chef, encouraged us to "Challenge yourself" by trying new recipes. Last night, I decided I wanted to cook with wine. And rosemary. My friend Mel lives in the middle of the city and has this amazing garden. She brings me bouquets of fresh herbs tied with raffia, and I feel compelled to use them for something special. I found Chicken Provençal online and asked the hubby to open a bottle of red. Cooking with wine takes food to a whole 'nother level. Plus, it makes me feel legit. Too legit too quit. Instead of cooking oil, I used olive oil. And I omitted the anchovy paste, because I didn't have any. I used pitted Kalamatas, because I didn't have any Nicoise, and they are probably more expensive anyway. It was very good. We're talking, lift the bowl to drink the sauce good. So, we now have another favorite in the rotation. My sweet husband told me, "This is so good, you should be making it for our friends." Guess I'll be breaking out the calendar and scheduling some dinner dates.

Paleo Pioneer Woman

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Ree, The Pioneer Woman. Almost three years ago, my dear friend Tiffany told me about this blog I HAD to check out. Her writing captured my attention and cooking her recipes kept me busy in the kitchen. At one point, I even contemplated a Ree and Jenn Marie Project where I cooked through all her recipes. HA! Anyone who knows how frequently she posts and how sporadically I do knows that is a mathematical impossibility. Anyhoo, I have cooked several of her recipes, taken awfully composed pictures of many, had my husband take better pictures recently, and still only a pitiful few made it into posts. What is it they say is paved with good intentions? Yes, so last week we started fully embracing the Paleo lifestyle, and I'm trying to incorporate some of our favorite dishes. Last night, I cooked her Chicken with Olives, making some modifications, and was pleased with the result. And as I scarfed the leftovers at lunch today, I remembered there was no photo, so I whipped out my Android and took a quick photo. Can someone please inject me with good photography skills so I don't have to think about it? I start reading posts about it, and then I see a link to recipes on the right, and I'm off on a rabbit trail, and I "save" the article for later. Squirrel!

The following changes Paleoized this recipe. Use coconut oil instead of butter. Remove the skin from the chicken thighs. Use coconut milk instead of cream, and increase to 1/2 cup. Serve over spaghetti squash instead of pasta. Last night, I forgot the olives. Ten minutes before I'm supposed to pull dinner from the oven, as I'm prepping other food for later this week and feeling pleased as punch with myself that I'm so with it on a Monday night, it struck me...I'm making Chicken with Olives and forgot the olives. So, I threw them in real quick like and then announced to hubby how duncelike I felt. Can you imagine if we had people over? Yes, I'm a great cook, I forgot the main ingredient. Oops. If you happen to have any leftovers, this dish tastes even better the next day. This is the fourth time I've made this dish, and it is now being elevated to "Showcase Dish." There are certain meals I cook for company, South American, Greek, Thai, Meatloaf, Pot Roast, and now this will be added to the list. Guess I need to evaluate and Paleoize the others. And post before and afters so that I preserve the recipes for posterity and friends.