On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 02:49:09 GMT, "Lucy" > wrote:

>I decided to make what I like.. so I stopped by the store on the way home,
>and was all ready to make my first entire meal sans cookbook. It was just
>for hubby and me, the kids ate before I got home. (lucky kids).. I intended
>to make:
>
>-boneless skinless chicken breasts sauteed in olive oil, garlic and those
>little sweet onions (not green onions and not pearl onions.. i forget the
>name)
>-fresh baby spinach leaves, sauteed in olive oil with black pepper (again,
>this isn't intended to be gourmet, it is just what my tastebuds like)
>-steamed cauliflower florets with diced red pepper
>-steamed asparagus with butter and lemon juice
>
>What I actually made, however, was:
>
>-boneless skinless chicken breasts that were raw (yes, raw!) in the middle,
>with burned garlic, and little onions. I put plenty of olive oil in the pan,
>and yet when I lifted them to turn them over.. I ripped some of the flesh
>off, as it stuck to the pan. haha
>-spinach leaves, but only one serving. Who knew it would shrink so much? I
>am tempted to email the FDA and ask them to require manufacturers to put on
>the package: WARNING: Shrinkage does occur, and all the viagra in the world
>isn't going to correct this.
>-cauliflower florets and stalk, with diced, mushy red pepper. By the time I
>cut off all the black spots, there wasn't much left of the cauliflower, so I
>added chopped up stalk.
>-steamed asparagus with butter and lemon juice, that actually turned out
>great! <gasp>
>
>So.. hubby and I fought over the spinach and asparagus, then flipped a coin
>for pizza or chinese. I won.. so it was chinese.
>
>Ok, so bring on all the shame as well as the tips!
>lucy
>
No shame. Nobody in this world was born knowing how to cook. Look at
what you learned:

1. Spinach cooks down. A lot. Your idea of sweating it in olive oil
was very good, by the way. You might try some garlic in it next time.

2. High heat scorches the tarnation out of stuff. It's good for thin
things like pounded out boneless chicken breasts and the like. It's
good for thicker things you want rare in the center like steaks. It's
good for getting color on the outside of thicker items like your
unpounded chicken, but for cooking them through you'll need to cook at
a lower temp. Maybe you could sear them on the stove top for flavor
(caramelize the outside, as they say) and finish them in the oven.

3. Somebody else suggested getting a meat thermometer. That's a
really good idea. You can find out by the temperature how done or raw
(or rare) your meat is. There are tables of recommended internal
temperatures out there for all common kinds of meat and all degrees of
doneness.

4. Garlic burns and tastes really bad when it does. Cook it less and
at a lower temperature. By the way, I've taken to zapping minced
garlic in olive oil in the microwave oven for several 30-second
bursts. It'll begin to simmer, cool down, and simmer again in the
oil. Makes a really good infusion of flavor in the oil sorta like
what's called a mojo de ajo in Mexican cooking, but easier. Allowed
to cool to room temperature and mixed with some lemon juice and a
spoon full or so of mayo, the micro-mojo makes a decent sauce for
chicken.

5. Watch what you buy at the market. Those guys want to sell
everything, even stuff that would more properly be compost.

modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore