Hey An Actual Post

So all's been quiet on the blogging front. When the rules are no blogging about work and no bitching about people who read your blog it is easy to hit a dry spell :) But this weekend I did get in the kitchen and do something fun. Friday was couples dinner party at Yoshie and Bear's, muy divertido. I got to get my cook on and the other half of my couple got to play Gears of War 2 with Yoshie (I met him through Yoshie). It really couldn't have gone poorly. So what did I choose for the big event? Keep in mind Bear only eats chicken as the protein, Yoshie only eats meat and bread, and the other half of my couple is lactose intolerant. I avoid gluten and sugar, but for special occasions (like the month of September), I indulge (hello 5lbs). So here is the menu:

Chicken Sandwich with Caramelized Onions and Paprika Aioli

This was an excellent sandwich. Kroger didn't have sourdough rolls, so we had to use sourdough bread. Not quite as classy but I got over it. The flavored mayo was delicious. Bear is a jerk and refuses to let me buy her a grill so our chicken breasts were brined and then broiled. They stayed really moist. That was the first time I bothered to brine chicken breasts, and for broiling it was so worth it.

Roasted Fingerling With Red and Yellow Piperade

Also a big winner. The only thing I would do differently is use less oil on the pan. They were a little oily for my taste. I also went light on the parsley and basil, I didn't want to scare away the less adventurous. I didn't pour the Champagne vinegar over the potatoes because I wasn't sure how it would go over. I just left it up to the individual. I was the only one who opted too...to bad suckers it really made the dish. It didn't make them taste vinegary, just better. I had to use red potatoes because Krogers produce section blows and their fingerling potatoes were all leathery and had a sell by date of 2 days prior...Krogers produce really has been letting me down lately. The basil was all brown. The red potatoes I did get weren't the greatest. It has been like this for awhile. I think I will have to stop at Schnucks on the way home from work if this keeps up.

Since Bear and Yoshie aren't veggie people I went with what my couple wanted, "crispy green beans" basically any version of green bean that hasn't really been cooked. Pretty easy. Sauteed some garlic in olive oil. Threw the green beans in the pan, splashed in some water, clamped the lid on so they steamed for a minute to get the chill off of them. Perfectly not well done green beans.

Bear was in charge of dessert and she made some peanut butter cookies, honestly they were the hit of the party. The menfolk inhaled them. It is a good thing I get enjoyment out of the process of cooking rather than the end results, otherwise with this crowd I could set out some Chicken Helper, let Bear make cookies, and get the same end result.