Day Three Hundred Four: (Not So) Super Sauces

I'd like to know how to make amazing sauces...I want to make the kinds of sauces I see television chefs whip up using the juices from a steak and dryer lint.

They are like the MacGyver of Food.

In an effort to engineer some sauce magic, I tried Martha's Sautéed Chicken in Mustard-Cream Sauce.  It's really pretty simple.  The sauce is made by reducing chicken broth with the juices of the sautéed chicken.  After reducing, add cream, Dijon mustard, and tarragon.   This is my attempt.

I would have made a poor MacGyver because my sauce was mediocre.  Chicken stock, cream, Dijon mustard and tarragon did not turn into something amazing.

Maybe I should have added the dryer lint.

Day Two Hundred Sixty-Three: Acorn Squash Flop

While we were out of town for Thanksgiving, we celebrated my husband's birthday.  His idea of celebration was to grill steaks on the b-b-q for a dozen people in sub-zero weather.

I know.  I tell him he's weird all the time.

As part of the dinner, I made Martha's Roasted Acorn Squash Pasta with Kale and Almonds.  Since we had such a big group, I tripled it.  It turned out pretty tasty.  I've never cooked acorn squash or kale so it was a new experience.  I had to wrestle a large bush of kale, but I eventually got it all in the pot.

It squash part did not go well.

The recipe didn't call for you to peel the squash, but after it was roasted the skin was rather chewy and some pieces were straight-up hard.  My poor, sweet mother-in-law was actually nibbling the roasted squash off the skin.  I'm probably lucky she didn't lose a tooth. 

I'm pretty sure causing dental damage is not Good Thing.

Day One Hundred Ninety Eight: Crunchy Caramelized-Shallot Soup

In the October issue of Martha Stewart Living, there is a recipe for Caramelized-Shallot Soup.  Shallots are the cuter, milder version of onions.  Caramelizing anything is delicious. Caramelizing shallots raises them to almost heavenly levels.  In fact, I'm pretty sure if God ate soup, it would be something with caramelized shallots.

This recipe has an interesting twist: on top of the traditional gruyere cheese, it's garnished with toasted chestnuts.

Now, I like all sorts of nuts.  I like chestnuts.  But eating crunchy soup is not something I can recommend.  It tastes great. But soup, by it's very nature, should not be something that requires a lot of chewing.

Period.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Four: Chicken Lickin' Good

My kids adore chicken tenders.  Chicken nuggets.  Whatever you call them.  If I let them, they would eat those breaded chicken bits five times a week.  Unfortunately most chicken nuggets are the poultry version of hot dogs:  all the leftover bits mashed together.  As a result, I go out of my way to buy the actual breaded chicken breasts.     

But why buy when you can make it at home?  (Famous last words?) Today I decided to try Martha's Chicken Tenders with Creamy Honey Mustard.  They are breaded with egg and Rice Krispie cereal.  Yes, the stuff you use to make those marshmallow treats.  Snap, Crackle and Pop made an appearance today.  

These homemade nuggets are delicious and easy to make but I'm not a convert.  They were good, but not as good as the breaded chicken breasts I buy at the store.  The honey mustard sauce, however, was a blockbuster.   My daughter kept licking it off her chicken...until I removed it from the table.  

Finger lickin' good?  No, but it was Chicken lickin' good.