On A Roll

Although Ani has been keeping me very busy during the past six weeks, I am experiencing more free time than I have ever had before.  I have filled the time organizing closets, doing laundry, shopping online, planning Alexa's birthday party, etc, and over the weekend, I began to run out of ideas of things to do.  I decided it was time to tackle one of my demons head-on....cooking.

On Saturday, I had some chicken breasts thawing in the refrigerator but I couldn't find a recipe that sounded good.  I decided to go out on a limb and make the chicken without following a recipe, a very bold move for me.  After conferring with Alexa, I settled upon brushing the chicken with barbecue sauce and using the oven's broil setting to cook the breasts.  I know it sounds simple, but this was a huge feat for me, as I had never used an oven setting beyond 'Bake' despite the oven having ~10 cooking options.  My broiled chicken was a hit with Alexa, and she scarfed down an entire chicken breast.  She even asked for leftovers the next day...the first time that has ever happened!  My cooking confidence was born!  I texted Damon at work to advise him that his restaurant's chef should concerned about her job security...lol. 

On Sunday, with my new-found culinary confidence, I decided to up the ante and take-charge of our family dinner.  After Damon and I settled upon the menu - steak, asparagus and rice pilaf - he left me to my own devices.  I found (and dusted off) an Armenian cookbook received as a wedding gift, and Alexa and I embarked on our first pilaf-making endeavor.  Despite some undercooked fideo, the pilaf turned out pretty well...anything made with that much butter has to be good!  Once  the pilaf was done, Alexa was incredulous to see me in the backyard grilling, but somehow I managed to pull off perfectly done steak (rare/medium rare) and asparagus.  I was on a roll!

Yesterday Alexa had the day off school, so I thought it would be fun to make chocolate chip cookies with her.  As I put the sugar and eggs into the bowl, she asked, "What are you doing?  Where's the cookie dough to make the cookies?"  I assured Alexa that cookies could be made from scratch and that they didn't necessarily require the pre-made dough from the grocery store.  It wasn't until the batter was complete and Alexa tasted a sample that I finally convinced her that chocolate chip cookies could be made from flour, sugar and eggs.

After a three-day experiment, I think my cooking spree might have run it's course.  Tonight's dinner was comprised of homemade chicken salad and ants on a log (celery w/peanut butter and raisins).  Looks like the Wildfish chef will be keeping her job afterall ;) 

Making the pilaf from the Holy Trinity cookbook.