The Pan Fried Chicken and Wild Rice

This was a speedy, non-complicated mid-week meal. Serve with any green salad of your choice. I made one with romaine, white onion, and tomato with some herbs and oil and vinegar.

For the rice I picked up a box of mixed long grain wild rice at the grocery store. For the chicken, I used thighs, seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried thyme, and cooked until brown on both sides.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Slayer - Angel of Death.

The Chicken Tacos (Again)

Yes, occasionally I make a recipe more than once. More than occasionally, actually. In this case, my favourite chicken tacos were the culprit. You can't blame me though; these are so yummy.

And of course the Thrifty Sifter makes one of my favourite faces for the camera.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island.

The Cod Bruschetta

Did you ever look at bruschetta and think, "Gee, that could be three times larger with a cod fillet on it?" Me neither, but we'd both be stupid for not trying it. I don't remember where we got this recipe, but here's how it goes.

Ingredients:

two - eight ounce cod fillets
four ripe plum tomatoes on the vine, diced
half a medium red onion, diced
two cloves of garlic, minced
one clove of garlic, whole
fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
one teaspoon salt
half teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
two slices of peasant bread

Heat olive oil in a large skillet at medium. Add the garlic and onions. Cook until tender. Add diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook until soft. Keep warm and let stand.

Meanwhile, bake the cod fillets on a lightly-oiled cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

As the cod cooks up, toast the peasant bread. Rub whole garlic clove on each once toasted.

When cod is finished, place an even heap of tomato mixture on either piece of bread. Then lay cod on top.

Serve with a smile or get beaten by your guests.

Flaky!

Nommy!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five.

The Corn Pesto (with Bacon)

Corn pesto? With bacon? Jeremy, you have to be kidding me! No, I assure you Susanna (I assume the interlocutioner is named Susanna), I'm not kidding you. The Thrifty Sifter found us a scrumptatious recipe and I made it. This is also my first pesto, so it's odd for me to have gone outside the traditional bounds. Usually when I do something for the first time, I like to try the classic version first.

But, y'know...bacon.

Epicurious, as they do frequently, provided the fresh corn pesto recipe. My only comment is that I'd cut the amount of corn by 30% or double the amount of pasta. There was a bit too much corn kernelage in there. We also used perciatelli. This is my favourite type of pasta.

Post bacon, pre-corn sautée.

Breaking out the Thrifty Sifter's new food processor. Dropping most of the rest of the ingredients in here was easy.

Zoooooooooooooooooooom!

The final product was familiar, but given a fantastic kick by the addition of bacon and the cooking of the corn in a bit of bacon fat. Bacon, parmesan, and fresh basil definitely go well together, bringing out interesting flavours in each other.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Björk - Crystalline.