Monday night meals

Yes, I know that it’s Thursday and I’m just now posting under the heading of Monday night meals, but I really did make all this grub on Monday. I’ve just been slacking a little on the posts.

I hadn’t cooked in a while due to being out of town and just plain not having much time, but I went grocery shopping for the first time in nearly a month on Monday and filled my fridge and cabinets with all sorts of goodies. I also decided that it was about time I made a recipe from the Food Blogga blog that I’ve become a religious reader of as of late. The food posted on this Web site always looks SOOO good and there’s always some kind of twist to make it different than your run-of-the-mill recipes.

My first task was to make Lemony Blueberry Corn Bread with Basil. I was both a bit scared and intrigued when it came to the basil aspect in this recipe, but the blogger, Susan Russo (who is also published on NPR quite often), said that the basil loses some of its zip when you bake it. I was sold.

This recipe was very simple, but mine didn’t turn out quite as pretty as the pictures on FoodBlogga. I used a silicone bread pan and the loaf got stuck to the bottom of the pan (I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen in those pans, that’s why I bought it). Also, even though I sprinkled my blueberries with flour, like the recipe said, my blueberries ran a little. Maybe my next attempt will be better.

For dinner Monday night I made a Rachael Ray 30-minute meal (which is usually about 45-60 minutes for me). I wanted to go with something other than chicken, but lo and behold, a chicken recipe caught my eye. This time it was in sandwich form, a bit of a change, I suppose.

I marinated the chicken in thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper for about 10-15 minutes. For the sandwich I whipped up a mixture of Dijon mustard, EVOO (as Rachael would exclaim), white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and whisked in some grated Parmesan reggiano cheese. I sliced half a pear, added a little more lemon juice then tossed it with the Dijon dressing, mixed greens (the recipe asked for arugula) and sliced proscuitto. After tenting the cooked chicken for about 15 minutes I cut thin slices and placed it on my toasted sandwich roll, topping it off with the pear salad. The sandwich was really good! The sweetness of the pear mixed with a little saltiness of the proscuitto was a treat. I would make this recipe again for sure (in fact, I did again the next night since Rachel’s recipes are always 4 servings – and I only halved the recipe).

I ate Monday night’s meal in front of the TV watching the Chargers massacre the Jets and of course some Gossip Girl, which I also reviewed on the blog.

Cheers to good eats and entertaining TV!