I’m sure we all have a list of pet peeves, correct? I mean let’s get real here, people, it’s not a crime to be annoyed by things, so let’s not waste time pretending we’re one of those “shiny happy people” 24/7, ok?
Raise your hand if you can think of at least 5 pet peeves. If you can’t, I’ll give you a dollar. I’m gonna share 5 of mine, but believe-you-me, I have more.
First and foremost: too, many, commas. I’m not an English major by any account, and I hated learning about dangling modifiers and how to diagram sentences (The former still makes me chuckle, as does anything involving the word ‘dangling’. I’m so mature.). It seemed pointless at the time, but thinking back I’ve realized how crucial those grueling days in Mrs. McCutcheon’s class were. When I read something, I can’t seem to read it for content alone; I am constantly editing, pausing when I come upon a comma, adding an oomph to a word that’s bolded or italicized, and lingering over any mis-spelled wurd. It’s a problem, and I can’t help but think I missed my calling – is it too late to make a career as an editor?!
The comma issue is my greatest source of annoyance though, and I can’t stand it when someone overuses the comma. Like I said, when I see a comma I pause, because that’s what commas are for. Sometimes the pause is mid-sentence, or mid-thought (when a pause isn’t usually needed), and it drives me batshit. Yes, I really am a tad nutty, I know.
Number two? Also, I should say here that these are not in order of importance, and if they were I wouldn’t tell you anyway. I don’t know if you’d call this a pet peeve, but I type the word “breast” so often at work that I accidentally type it all. the. time. If I’m talking about bread, I always type “breast” first (ha – yeasted breast, and Do you like butter on your breast? Or maybe just a little jam?), then I have to delete the ‘-st’ and type the ‘d’. If I’m saying something is great, I instinctively type ‘greast’ instead because my fingers naturally gravitate towards ‘st’ after any word with ‘ea’ in it. Oh, boy – someone is bound to think I have deeply-rooted issues with my boobs when they read this. I don’t, and truth be told, I like them just fine. And jam, please.
Three. Those of you who know me well know that I have a huge “social pet peeve”: rejecting commitments. I get way bent out of shape if someone bails outta something they’ve previously committed to, especially at the last minute. I try to be better about that and realize that just because it’s one of my no-no’s it doesn’t mean it has to be someone else’s and that if someone wants to be rude and inconsiderate, why not leave them be? And I don’t mean to say that if you are in the ER with kidney stones that you’re still expected to show up at my barbeque, but you get the point here, right?
Four & five: food-conscious.
Lastly, for today at least, is the ever-annoying brick of meat, the cooked-so-much-you-could-break-a-tooth-off-by-chewing-so-hard pork chop, or the we-definitely-won’t-give-you-salmonella-because-we-cooked-our-chicken-to-180 degrees chicken. Sure, salmonella’s scary, and I for one wouldn’t want to take it home after dinner, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want good chicken. Often times folks forget about carryover cooking and even though chicken is generally cooked in smaller batches than roasts, it still continues to cook a bit, nonetheless.
Enter brining – a soaking process, similar to marinating, that I’m convinced makes it almost impossible to overcook anything, especially your money-well-spent pastured, organic chicken from your local farm. I’d never planned far enough in advance to brine, but thanks to Art Smith, I’m converted, and the amount of effort is so minimal I can’t believe I never tried it before. You start the night before you want to cook your chicken, heat up the brining liquid, and cover the meat in it, with water, overnight.
The result? Like, OMG, it is totally rad. Silky smooth, ultra-moist, and just plain heavenly. Of course, this particular recipe was a gold mine anyway, and thanks to the Food Photo contest I have a whole book of Art’s recipes to try, but I’m having a hard time imagining any of them stacking up to this one. I may just have to cancel all my plans for the next week to work my through a few of them .
So now it’s your turn: what are your pet peeves? Play nicely by sharing in the comments section, and I may just come up with a ’round 2′ post. Fun times, right?
Pistachio-Crusted Chicken w/ Coconut-Chili-Ginger Sauce
Adapted from Back to the Family, 6-8
this recipe is adapted rather heavily, but the overall idea is the same. I used different quantities of herbs, and the recipe appeared to make more ‘crust’ than was needed for the amount of chicken, so the quantities are all scaled back a bit. i also tweaked the sauce some, using a couple of different ingredients and less butter to make it a little healthier. believe me, it’s still rich and as Art said in the book’s commentary, you could totally drink it…
a couple of quick notes: please don’t skip the brining. did you not read the paragraph at the end of this post?! brining = genius. also, i thought this went nicely with a serving of millet, but couscous or rice would work too, with a little lime zest, coconut, and lime juice tossed in. enjoy!
ingredients
instructions
remove chicken from brine and cut breasts in half. with a meat mallet, pound until 1/4″ thick and place in nonreactive bowl. cover with buttermilk and cover. refrigerate for 1 hour.
place pistachios in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. place in bowl. add Parmesan cheese and herbs and pulse; add to bowl of pistachios.
meanwhile, prepare the sauce. in a medium saucepan over med-hi heat, combine 1 T butter through wine and reduce by half. add broth, curry paste, tamarind, and sweet chili sauce and reduce by half. then add coconut and reduce by half. remove from heat and whisk in remaining 4 T butter until incorporated. season with salt and pepper. keep warm. (optional – take an emulsion blender to it to smooth it out, or toss it into the blender for a couple of pulses.)
preheat oven to 250 F.
place flour in a bowl separate from pistachio mixture and season with salt and pepper. remove chicken from fridge. remove one piece at a time, shake off excess buttermilk, and coat each side with flour. dip one side of the breast into the pistachio mixture and press pistachios onto that side. repeat with all chicken.
preheat a large nonstick pan over medium with a thin coating of sunflower oil. when ready, place chicken (in batches) in pan, pistachio side down, and cook 2-3 minutes. turn and cook other side the same. place chicken on a sheet pan and finish cooking in the oven for 8-10 minutes. removed, let rest for 5 minutes, and serve with warm coconut-chili-ginger sauce.
*Chicken Brine
from Back to the Family; makes 1 1/4 c
ingredients
1 c kosher salt
1/4 c sugar
5 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 T black peppercorns
chicken being brined
instructions
place all ingredients and 2 c water in a saucepan over med-hi heat. stir until sugar and salt dissolve. remove from heat and let cool.
place chicken in a large nonreactive pot and cover with water. use a plate to weigh down chicken. pour brine over, cover, and let sit in brine at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
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Tags: Art Smith, Back to the Family, chicken, coconut, lemongrass, pistachios, red curry paste
