Skewered Chicken

Folks, it's Friday night and I'm in the mood for some easy cookin'. I'll confess, I've never tried anything from this celebrity chef because her recipes always seem so rich and high in cholesterol, fat and everything else that's detrimental to your health. But they also seem so delicious. So, Ina Garten, the "Barefoot Comtessa", I'm giving you a whirl tonight. She's got great screen presence and you know she just loves to cook. She so delightful. I've chosen a recipe from her book, "Family Style". It got 98 reviews on food.tv. I didn't bother to read them all but there was definitely some good and bad reviews. But, as you all know, I'll be the judge of this recipe - thoroughly! Here it is:

Parmesan Chicken Sticks

The first great thing about this recipe is that I didn't have to buy anything at all. Everything was either in my pantry, fridge, or freezer. Yay! So, I'm getting my chicken prepared. I need to bread it. This recipe, at first sight, appears to be fairly simple. Let's just hope the simplicity doesn't mean that the flavour lacks!

The news of the night is that my son is hanging out with us for the weekend. So, it's not really any surprise to me that I've chosen something similar to chicken fingers. His favorite. He just cut the chicken into thick strips. I've got the rice steaming and the peas warming.

Here we go. Time to drench the chicken strips in the flour, then the egg mixture, and then the parmesan mixture. I've got to fry them up in a mixture of butter and olive oil.

Cooking Tip: Do NOT be afraid to cook with olive oil and butter. It truly brings out flavor in the food and provides a beautiful crispness as well.

Ok, it smells delish! I just flipped the first couple of chicken pieces and they are gorgeously bronzed. Perfect. This is a very quick dish. Much quicker than the "30 minute meal" from last week. Remember that shrimp disaster??

Everything is on the plates. We're now waiting for the final word from my son and my boyfriend.....

Boyfriend: Pretty bland. Really boring. It doesn't even activate my saliva glands, that's how boring it is. (Ouch.)

Son: Juicy. I wish it was deep fried. It doesn't have much to it. Taste like chicken and breadcrumbs.

Me: I concur with the boys. I put a bit of plum sauce on my plate and that seems to help.


Well folks, another recipe that just doesn't hit the mark. Have a look. It might look full of flavour, but it's deceiving.

I give this a 2 out of 5 stars. I wouldn't make it again.

People, I'm 1 for 4 now. Let's review the past 4 recipes:

Giada Recipe # 1: Excellent. This is something that I would make at least once a month.
Giada Recipe # 2: Not bad. I wouldn't make those cookies again. I've had better.
Rachel Recipe # 1: Yuck, yuck, yuck. Please do NOT make this. Definitely not deserving of being in a cook book.
Ina Recipe # 1: Bland. Even though it was a quick meal and I didn't have to buy any extra ingredients, it turned out boring. Pass the plum sauce!!

Now, I just got 2 new Gordon Ramsay cookbooks, "Healthy Appetite" and "Cooking for Friends". I breezed through "Cooking for Friends" and I can tell you, right off the bat, I'm disappointed in the sheer absurdity of the ingredients.

Let me elaborate: rabbit legs, goat shoulder, duck eggs. Do you think if I ask the butcher, he just might have some rabbit legs in the back to wrap up for me? How about a goat shoulder? I highly doubt it. I'm going to choose something from Gordon for my next meal. I have to really review these because many of the ingredients are either unavailable or absolutely, without a doubt, something I wouldn't be interested in making.

The in-laws are visiting this weekend and I'll be making a little something from Paula Deen. It's a breakfast dish that can be prepared the night before so the bread can soak up the goodies and puff up. I'll let you know how that goes. So, Paula Deen and Gordon Ramsay, you're next on my list of recipe testing!

Cheers everyone!

Colleen