On a recent Friday night, Aaron and I invited one of his grad school friends and wife for dinner and games. I went into this night with some wariness given the wife is pregnant and going through the sudden absence of a gag reflex and a yet to be fully realized list of foods to steer clear of. I like an exciting time when people come over, but not one involving someone becoming ill. After being reassured that my choices in food would not come back to haunt me, I started cooking.
I decided to make red potatoes and sauteed broccoli for the sides as they are simple to make and taste yummy. No special recipe for the potatoes -cut in fourths, boil until tender and let everyone salt, pepper, butter and sour cream to their preference. The broccoli I blanched and let drain and cool while I warmed up some minced garlic in melted butter with a little bit of lemon zest. I tossed the broccoli in after few minutes, squirted some lemon juice over it and let it heat up. Tasty tasty...and I got Aaron to eat lemon. Bwa ha ha!
The main course came together out of an unexpected special at the store followed by a need to free up freezer space. A few months ago I was getting groceries, trying to get a pack of chicken breasts when my endeavor was thwarted by a few ladies in front of the chicken area who were looking at every single whole chicken. What would normally prove a minor annoyance worked well for me as it gave me opportunity to see that the whole chickens were on super duper sale, hence the gaggle of women. So, I bought two, and in my freezer they have sat since. I took the opportunity of guests to bring one out for dinner.
Here is a note for all you people who think they would like to roast a whole chicken. Make sure to read the small print lest you end up like me. Because you do not want to end up like me. My chicken may have been a super duper deal, but it also had its giblets. Attached. To the chicken. Inside the cavity. Just hanging out. Squishy. Gross. And me without a latex glove or boyfriend around to scoop out whatever giblets are. Ew ew, a thousand time ew. It may have lasted only a few seconds, but I have scars to last a lifetime.
De-gibleting completed and after a moment to regain my composure, I was able to move on with my regularly scheduled chicken prepping. This was the first time I brined a chicken, something I have been curious to try. Hard to tell how well it worked, but it got its hour-long soak in salty garlic and rosemary water. After its soak, the chicken got a nice massage of olive oil, garlic and rosemary and then was placed in the oven for cooking. About an hour later, it was ready to eat. So we ate. And it was juicy and tasty and not too garlic rosemary overpowering. Yay!
Our guests brought dessert - chocolate pound cake with cream cheese frosting - which we ate between rounds of Killer Bunnies. It was a fun evening of getting to know them better and eat tasty food. And no one threw up.
(Sorry no pictures - we were too busy eating the food to think about pictures.)
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