September 4, 2010

Chilly Weather

With a cold front here it seemed like a good time to turn the oven on. This week was so hot it was only easy and cool things to eat. But today is a different story and I didn’t mind standing in front of the stove. Dinner was marinated lemon garlic chicken and cherry tomato pasta.


Chicken is one of those things that I’m concerned about cooking, lest I accidently poison anyone or dry it out. That is what my Honey encounters when I cook it. I figured, what did I care, I wasn’t going to eat it and he could always cook meat himself. So if it was underdone, back in it went. But now that I’m experimenting with meat I wanted it to taste good and do the job properly. Thankfully The Joy of Cooking is really helpful. I’ve made this a few times and find it quite nice, and have tried different parts (breasts, thighs) even though the recipe calls for a whole chicken. As you can see, it’s really easy to put together.


Another easy dish was the pasta. Once all the tomatoes got halved, it was easy peasy. Even though the weather was chilly, I still wanted something light. The recipe is from September’s issue of Style at Home. The spaghetti is Le Veneziane, which I pick up for a good price at DiRienzo Foods on Meadowlands (at the corner of Fisher). They have a nice selection of corn pasta (gluten free). The fresh tomatoes from the market made it so nice.



Lemon Garlic Chicken
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1-2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs Dijon mustard
½ tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper
3 ½ lbs chicken
Combine the ingredients and marinade the chicken for 1-3 hours. Cook the chicken as you like; baking, broiling and grilling work best as they brown nicely.


Cherry Tomato Pasta
200g spaghetti
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbs butter
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Shaved parmesan to serve
Cook pasta in a large pot of water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and when melted add the onions and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add vinegar, tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook another 2-3 minutes, until warmed through. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the tomatoes, parsley and toss. Sprinkle with parmesan.

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