Gals Two's April Results

DAY ONE

I started April's menu the day before we ate it be making the cake.

 I looked into buying egg whites instead of a carton of eggs, but the plain old eggs were cheaper.

 However, after cracking a dozen eggs those egg whites were looking pretty good!

 Finally done with the messy, egg cracking part.

 Here are my eggs at the foamy stage

 And my extracts. I really need to buy a good almond extract to go with my vanilla.

 The cake pre baking

 This is my chicken after I gave it a good pounding with the meat tenderizer.

 And my first ever attempt at homemade breadcrumbs. What a pain! The stale bread just didn't get crushed fine enough. And it left a powdery film everywhere. Urgh. The not stale bread was a lot cleaner to deal with, but it still didn't get as fine as I wanted it. I think despite the rants against store bought crumbs I will stick to it next time around! At least panko crumbs.

 Here's my cake. I think I pulled it out a few minutes too early... but it still tastes good.

DAY TWO

My chicken was flat and had marinated over night. My breadcrumbs were ready. My cake was baked. All I had to do was coat and fry the chicken and make the veggies.

 Look at those knife skills.

 I have grated ginger in a little jar, but I decided to go with fresh.

 And here's the final product. (Yeah, the breading on the chicken mostly stayed in the pan...). WARNING! Watch the oil. I felt like both recipes called for too much oil. The chicken and veggies were greasy. Way greasy. I liked the flavors of both things, but next time I'm eye-ing how much grease I use to cook and it wont be nearly as much!! Also, I knew those stupid homemade breadcrumbs weren't worth it. Next time I will use panko crumbs and keep the rest of the recipe the same.

 Mr. #2 wasn't sure about the celery salt flavor. I loved it! You might try cutting it in half if you're not sure. The few crunchy bits we had were lovely.

I think this is a keeper menu (well, maybe not the veggies since it's a bit of work for something my husband wont eat) but I have to make it again with a few tweaks.

April's Menu

There are about 10 recipes in my Nigella Kitchen cookbook that I want to try. I seriously considered a lamb recipe. I've never tried it at home, and every time I read about cooking up a lamp chop I think of Rosamund Pilcher's book September. However, I skipped the lamb and decided on a chicken recipe instead. It looks easy and delicious. She says you can even marinate, coat the chicken and then freeze it raw and cook them later straight out of the freezer (just adding an additional 2-3 minutes per side).

The second recipe is from my Alton Brown cookbook. I'm not sure about the mint... but otherwise I'm willing to try it despite the fact that my husband, I know, will not eat any of it. I'm sick of the same old sides and this sounds good to me!

I can't help it, dessert isn't anything real new and exciting. But I've been positively craving angel food cake! But I give you cart blanch; make it from scratch or from a box (heck, buy it!), make a cake, make it into cupcakes, try Ina Garten's lemond curd recipe to go with it, or just add fresh berries, or try my mother-in-laws frosting which is equal parts cool whip and strawberry yogurt. The bottom line is, I want some angel food cake!

Crisp Chicken Cutlets - Nigella Lawson

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast fillets, skinnless and boneless

1 C buttermilk

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 C fresh breadcrumbs (and by fresh it just means you threw actual bread, fresh or stale, into your food processor)

1 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

Frying oil (like vegetable or peanut)

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Unroll a large piece of plastic wrap, then open out the chicken breasts and lay them on the plastic. Cover the fanned-out chicken breasts with another piece of plastic wrap, and bash with a rolling pin until they are thin, but still whole.

2. Whisk the buttermilk with the Worcestershire sauce in a shallow bowl, or put it into a resealable bag and squish to mix. Then add the flattened chicken pieces to the bowl or bag and leave out for about 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 300°F (to keep the chicken warm after it’s fried). Mix the breadcrumbs, celery salt, cayenne, thyme, and Parmesan in a wide, shallow dish. Then, once the chicken has had it's steeping, lift out the buttermilky pieces and press into the breadcrumb mixture one at a time.

4. Coat the chicken on both sides with the seasoned crumbs and then lay them on a wire rack

5. Heat the oil in a frying pan – using just enough to cover the base with about 1/4 inch of oil.

6. Once the oil is hot, fry the bigger pieces of chicken for about 3 minutes per side, and any smaller bits that fell off during the bashing fun can be fried for 2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and blot with paper towels to remove excess oil. Put them in the warm oven until the last piece is cooked. To serve, sprinkle with chopped parsley (optional).

Carrots & Zucchini w/ Garlic & Ginger - Alton Brown

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

2 large carrots, cut into 2 inch sticks

1 large zucchini (unpeeled), cut into 2 inch sticks

1 Tbsp. mint, cut into a fine chiffonade

1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan over high heat until you just begin to smell them.

Directions:

1. Heat a saute pan an, when hot, add the oil.

2. Add garlic and ginger to the pan and toss for 30 seconds.

3. Add the carrots and toss until they are half-cooked, about 2 minutes.

4. Add the zucchini and toss for 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

5. Add the mint and vinegar; if carrots are still too firm, cover and steam briefly.

6. Sprinkle with S&P, toss and turn out onto a serving platter. Top with sesame seeds.

Dessert

Heavenly Angel Food Cake - Betty Crocker

Lemon Curd - Ina Garten