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Fabulous and tiring 2 weeks

We’ve had a fast furious 2 weeks with Kate’s show, the big Yule dinner, traveling up to Knoxvegas and trying to get the shopping and wrapping done in between.

We got back around 10pm last night, opened our gifts to each other and crashed. You should SEE this house! It’s wall to wall xmas paper, boxes, gifts, clothes, xmas stuff that wasn’t put away – not to mention the 4-5 loads of laundry that need to be done. GODS.

I’ve got my work cut out for me today. Kate will be here tonite and I’ve got to at least get TO the couch! LOL Nick had to return to work today but I think he’ll take the rest of the week off. He’s beat, too.

It’s noon, I’m off to run a couple of errands and then get started on this mess.

Hope everyone’s holiday weekend was great! I think we’ll just lay on the couch the rest of the week…

:-)

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Ghetto Paint Job finale

So, they “finished” my car. It is mostly shiny, as promised, but naturally the fine details were not handled. I’ll have to wax it and perhaps even use some compound to fix the places where they got over zealous with the buffer and left scratches. I’ll have to clean the clear coat off all the windows. I’ll have to toothbrush the compound out of all the crevices.

Pretty much as I expected. But overall, for $475, the job is acceptable. It’s not the paint that’s the problem, it’s the complete inability to attend to the details of the job. The paint itself is gorgeous Honda Milano Red (R-81) with blue/gold sparklies in it. It looks wonderful.

My final score for the Ghetto boys is 75. :-)

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Nick’s Chicken Piccata

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Nick's Chicken Piccata

This is Nick's version of chicken piccata. It is more like a schnitzel since the chicken is breaded. If you prefer a more traditional piccata, just dust the chicken in flour and sauté rather than bread it.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword breaded chicken piccata, chicken, chicken piccata
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 4 thinly sliced chicken breast slices 2 butterflied breasts
  • 1 egg + 2 Tbl water whisked together in shallow dish for wash
  • 1 Cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 Cup A/P flour
  • 1/4 Cup corn starch Mix together flour and corn starch
  • ½ Cup ground parmesano reggiano
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp oregano, dried sub marjoram for a lighter taste
  • 1 tsp basil, dried
  • ½ tsp sweet or smoked paprika
  • 2 lemons, zest and juice in separate bowls
  • 2 Tbl capers with brine
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbl butter, salted
  • olive oil as needed
  • ½ Cup chicken stock
  • 3/4 Cup white wine
  • 1 Tbl corn starch mixed with water or stock thickener
  • chopped parsley garnish
  • dash of sugar, if needed if sauce is too acidic
  • orzo, cooked as package directs any short pasta, but orzo is excellent
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • chopped parsley and/or basil for garnish

Instructions

  • Do all your veg and ingredient prep first. Mise en place will greatly enhance your cooking efficiency.
  • Start the pasta water. Add plenty of salt - pasta water should taste like the ocean.
  • If you did not do this first, put the egg and water in a shallow dish and whisk. Add a splash of the fresh lemon juice to this wash.
  • Combine flour + cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt, oregano, basil and paprika in second shallow dish.
  • Combine parmesan and panko in third shallow dish.
  • Heat a large skillet over med hi heat with a thin layer of olive oil in the bottom.
  • Dip each breast filet into the flour + cornstarch and shake off excess. Then dip in egg wash, then press into the panko mixture to get good adhesion. Gently add breaded chicken to the pan and do not crowd the pan - cook in batches.
  • Cook approximately 5 minutes on the first side, until it is golden brown and the edges of chicken are cooked. Moderate the heat if the breading is cooking too fast. You want a nice sizzle, but a fairly slow cook. Turn the filets once and cook another 3 minutes or so. When golden brown, move to paper towels to drain.
  • Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. In the same pan, add butter and a splash of olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add garlic and cook gently until translucent. Add lemon zest and stir for one minute. RESERVE one TSP of zest for orzo.
  • Add chicken stock, wine and capers and bring to a simmer. Add lemon juice and simmer for another minute.
  • Add cornstarch slurry and bring to a boil for one minute. If the sauce is too tight, thin with stock. It should be a slightly thin sauce, not thick like gravy.
  • Check seasoning, add salt or sugar as needed.
  • Add butter and lemon zest to drained orzo.
  • Serve over pasta with remaining sauce over chicken. Garnish with parsley and a bit more parmesan.

Notes

Serve this with the same wine you used in the sauce. 
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Kate’s Art Show

The show last night was a success. I’m not sure how much she’ll sell, but the party was well attended – around 20 people – and I’m happy with that considering the lack of advertising, etc. We left the party around 10:30 or so and headed to the EARL to drop Kate off. Kate actually rode with her friend Juliana, but they followed us over there. As we were driving away, Nick said he really wanted to go back… so we did.

Well, you know how the rest of the evening went, don’t you? Of course you do! We closed down the bar and tottered home around 2:30am. On the way, I decided that our late night deserved the proper send off so we went to WaHo in Avondale Estates. W00t! Great idea! The bacon was absolute perfection and we slept like babies when we finally got to bed around 3:30am. :-)

We slept our ass IN today, too! We finally got up around noon. The hangover wasn’t bad, but I do have some crampy sore muscles from dehydration. Nothing a bit of Gatorade can’t fix.

Tonite we have Lisa’s birthday party at Kobe Steaks – our Dec 15 tradition. I can promise you that this evening will NOT be a late one! :-)