It's my turn to apologize; I've been slow to write as well. As a child, I would tell my mother that I would clean my room, help do the dishes, or make my bed in "just five more minutes," at which point I would continue to bury my nose in whatever novel I was reading. Five more minutes would inevitably become ten, then fifteen, and then my mother would become a towering inferno of maternally indignant rage. As an adult, my "five more minutes" stretches out to days, weeks, and months. Though my mother is still capable of making me mind, it's harder for her to do so since I can just hit the end button on my cell.
While you've been preparing your life for the arrival of some very precious cargo, I've been preparing mine for its departure. After many days of arranging, rearranging, and agonizing over revisions of almost seventy pages of poems, I finally sent out my manuscript on Friday to a couple of first book contests. While I'm sure I missed more typos and poorly written sentences than I want to think about, at least it's out, and I can pretend to myself, for a little longer, that I'm not a failure.
Sundays are usually the days that J buckles down from noon 'til night to finish all his homework in one frenzied, cranky sitting, but he had a lighter load this weekend, which meant that either we were going to enjoy each other's company all day, or that I would hate him because he sometimes breathes weird. Thankfully, the former seemed to be true. Tolerating each other was made easier by our favorite foodstuffs.
I think that we took y'all here when you came last spring. Perly's has some of the best damn breakfast in the city. They also have that cool looking antique cash register and this homemade green chili sauce bidness, thereby utterly satisfying my inner condiment whore:
Who wouldn't want to fall in love again after fortifying oneself with this plate of goodness? While awesome, after breakfast J and I both agreed that something felt...amiss. After collapsing on our couch in mutual fullness, ahem, adoration, we got to work making some brownies. And then, because we are so young and hip and full of joie de vivre, enthusiasm, etc., we ate them and almost put together a whole 1/150th of a puzzle. J did manage to categorize many of the pieces according to shape and color, which we both agree will help in future assemblage.
Exhausted by all the time we were spending together, J finally got to work on his little bit of homework, and I began making dinner. Since J has class until late on Monday, I try on Sundays to make something that will taste good heated up and will last a couple of days. Did you know that paprikash has, um, a lot of paprika in it? Weird, right?
Chicken Paprikash (adapted from Cook's Ilustrated)
8 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp canola oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
1 large green bell pepper, halved and sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 large red bell pepper, halved and sliced into 1/4 inch strips
3 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp Herbes de Provence
1/2 c. chicken broth (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup white wine, which I'm sure would be delicious)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/3 c. sour cream
salt and pepper
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of each thigh, and heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering but not smoking, add four chicken thighs. Cook without moving them until crisp and well-browned, about 5 minutes. Flip thighs over and cook for another five minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and cook remaining four thighs.
Discard all but about a tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. Add peppers and cook until slightly softened, about 3 more minutes. Add paprika, Herbes de Provence, and flour, then stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add broth or wine, tomatoes, and a few generous pinches of salt. Add chicken pieces, and submerge in the sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer, about 1-2 minutes, then cover with a lid and place in oven for 20-25 minutes.
In the meantime, add a few glugs of Tabasco or hot sauce of your choice to sour cream. Mix to incorporate. Take chicken out of Dutch oven long enough to incorporate the sour cream. Return to mixture.
Served over white rice, it was filling enough that my favorite cohabitant only ate one serving. Though maybe the reason for that had more to do with the brownies I saw him sneaking all afternoon...
How was the rest of the weekend? What should I do with two Russet potatoes, ground beef, and spinach? How did your pozole turn out? I've been dying for that recipe ever since you made it two Thanksgivings ago. Speaking of...let's do some brainstorming about Thanksgiving eats soon.
Loveyoumissyou -
Fia
Chicken Paprikash (adapted from Cook's Ilustrated)
8 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp canola oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
1 large green bell pepper, halved and sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 large red bell pepper, halved and sliced into 1/4 inch strips
3 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp Herbes de Provence
1/2 c. chicken broth (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup white wine, which I'm sure would be delicious)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/3 c. sour cream
salt and pepper
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of each thigh, and heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering but not smoking, add four chicken thighs. Cook without moving them until crisp and well-browned, about 5 minutes. Flip thighs over and cook for another five minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and cook remaining four thighs.
Discard all but about a tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. Add peppers and cook until slightly softened, about 3 more minutes. Add paprika, Herbes de Provence, and flour, then stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add broth or wine, tomatoes, and a few generous pinches of salt. Add chicken pieces, and submerge in the sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer, about 1-2 minutes, then cover with a lid and place in oven for 20-25 minutes.
In the meantime, add a few glugs of Tabasco or hot sauce of your choice to sour cream. Mix to incorporate. Take chicken out of Dutch oven long enough to incorporate the sour cream. Return to mixture.
Served over white rice, it was filling enough that my favorite cohabitant only ate one serving. Though maybe the reason for that had more to do with the brownies I saw him sneaking all afternoon...
How was the rest of the weekend? What should I do with two Russet potatoes, ground beef, and spinach? How did your pozole turn out? I've been dying for that recipe ever since you made it two Thanksgivings ago. Speaking of...let's do some brainstorming about Thanksgiving eats soon.
Loveyoumissyou -
Fia
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