Trying something a little new...

So for dinner tonight I was going to use our new pots and pans...we just got them yesterday and they make me drool just thinking about what can be cooked in them! However...I didn't use the new pots and pans, instead I used a new recipe. I did this with an old, large skillet because I wasn't sure how big of a recipe this would be.

I tend to find one thing I like and then stick with it. Why not? If it's good, you don't need to risk eating something mediocre. Or do you? This isn't my food motto by all means. I love to try all sorts of food. Sticking with what works mainly applies to what I cook. I'm not very good at inventing recipes, I'm much better at preparing food based on established recipes. And herein lies my trap.

Recently I started reading a book entitled "Secret Ingredients" which is a collection of stories, essays, poems, and cartoons from the New Yorker all about cooking, food and anything related to the culinary world. It's an amazing book full of delicious tales and it is inspiring (except for the chapter on tripe...you'll never ever see that near my mouth).

As a result of the inspiring read I was sitting on the couch surrounded by a variety of my cookbooks and magazines with recipes, looking for something that I could cook that might taste as good as what was written in the book. Felipe paged through one of my Real Simple magazines and mentioned that he thought one of the recipes looked nice. So with my new found intrigue for recipes we haven't tried and food in general, we gave it a go tonight. It was a success! Felipe enjoyed the food as much as he enjoyed the picture of it in the magazine, and I like the taste in addition to the ease of cooking it. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Cutlets with Tomato Saute
Real Simple August 2008 (p.154)
Time: 45 minutes | serves 4

1 ½ lbs small chicken cutlets (8-12)
Kosher Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pints grape or cherry tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine (Such as sauvignon blanc)
4 scallions, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, cook the chicken until browned and cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side; transfer to plates.

Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to burst, 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the scallions and tarragon and serve with the chicken.

Summer Picnic

So it's been some time since I've written anything...I have a bit of catching up to do and will likely have more time in the near future.

On Friday, Felipe and I had a wonderfully relaxing picnic in the Hudson River Park of Pier 96. The weather was beautiful, the sunset amazing and it was so nice to sit at a table with Felipe and have a relaxing evening.

The Grass felt so nice on my bare feet, I would say almost heavenly...but maybe that gives the grass too much credit. At any rate, it's much better than hitting the asphalt all day long.




Now that we have all the Madison Reception business behind us and we have less visitors, I might have some more time to post and keep up with the photos and videos. We had a wonderful time visiting with our family and friends and I look forward to posting photos of the reception.

Art Night - Watercolor

Tonight we had another art night and this time we decided to play around a bit with watercolor. We picked up a Crayola Watercolor palette from the Duane Reade and Eda and I sat down at the dinner table and painted.

This painting is a glimpse into the park I love so much...Central park with it's great big trees, green grass lawns and green benches. Next time I will try to add more contrasting colors...