mmmm…mmmm…goood

It’s Saturday!!!!  I love Saturdays.  I can wake up at noon, have a great brunch, and then take a nap j/k!  But I could if I really wanted to.  Actually,  I did two of those three things…you can guess which ones.  Thebaguettebear is staying with us this week and my roomie works on Saturdays and comes back for a late lunch break.  So sometimes I like to surprise her with a special lunch.

I love breakfast sandwiches, but they’re usually too greasy and definitely not fresh.  I usually feel sleepy and my stomach gets all growly bear on me after eating one of those.  It’s great to make your own breakfast sandwich because you can use all the high quality produce and meats you want.  I like to start off with some really amazing bread.  Luckily cheeseboard makes these large english muffins.  They’re perfect for a breakfast sandwich.

I got them when they were fresh from the oven and still warm.  Sooo good.  Thebaguettebear says that it’s the bread that makes a great sandwich, and I totally agree.  For this sandwich I chose to make a cajun style chicken.  I love the kick that it gives a breakfast sandwich.  Breakfast sandwiches are also a great way to get rid of left overs =)

I used a variation on a cajun chicken recipe form recipezaar.com.  After sauteing the chicken in my new All-Clad Saute Pan, I let it rest for a few minutes while I sliced some fresh vine ripened tomatoes and avocado.  I also scrambled an egg and seasoned it with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Then I shredded the chicken into more bite sized pieces and sauteed them for a minute more.  I really like the final step because the cajun seasoning really gets into every bite.  The shredded chicken also gives it a nice texture.  It’s still very filling yet light at the same time.  Absolutely Delicious!  Next time I’ll put some more greens in for a bit of crunch.  Arugula and green sprouts would definitely take it to another level!

After the turkey…

I’m back in Berkeley after visiting my parents in LA. I didn’t do much Black Friday shopping, but I’ve had my eye on buying a saute pan for quite some time. After some research, Demeyere and All-Clad made it to my final two.

All-Clad 3-Quart Saute Pan above
Demeyere Atlantis 2.6 quart Saute Pan below

I checked them out at Sur La Table, but the Demeyere was really heavy. I’m sure the thicker core would help with more even cooking, but I could barely lift that thing. After I got home I checked out prices online. Amazon has the all-clad for 175.50, which is a pretty good price. I ended up buying mine at Bed Bath and Beyond with the 20% off coupon. It goes for $194.99 in store, but after the coupon it came out to be around $168 after taxes. If I hadn’t been so impatient, I think Macys might have been a better deal. They currently have their 20% off all items after donating the $5.00 to charity. On top of that there was a 12% Black Friday cash back with Ebates. Now it’s 8%, which is still pretty good. I also checked out Marshalls before heading out to Bed Bath and Beyond. They had quite a few pieces of All-Clad for good prices. There was a frying, saucier pan, and brasier pans. There was also a 6-quart copper core saute pan, but that’s a bit much for me.  My mom picked up a nice All-Clad 2-quart saucier pan for $70.00.  Good deal…  I also picked up a Le Creuset Casserole for $14.99 (Retail is 30.00)

Le Creuset Oval Dish

So, my roomie picked me up from the bart station, and I was starving.  I really wanted to use my new toys (does this sound dirty only to me?)… We decided on making Mama Romano’s Lemon Chicken from the Union Square Cookbook and the Macaroni Gratin from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.  I love these dishes because the ingredients are really cheap.  Most of the ingredients are items that you have around the house.  However, I did have to go to the store to get lemons, an onion, bread, macaroni, and cheese.  Wait…maybe I didn’t have that much in the cupboard this time.  Anyway…you don’t have to be in the bay area to get these items.  We used a 5 year old cheddar for the gratin.  After tasting it, it got me a little scared because it was really sharp and pretty salty.  But once we put it in the milk mixture, it totally mellowed out.  The recipe says you can use basically any cheese for this recipe except for mozzarella (it gets a bit stringy); however, gruyere is recommended.  One of these days I will make it with gruyere, but the one they sell at Andronicos is a bit pricey for my tastes…19.99/lb.  I might try going to cheeseboard next time to see how much it is over there.  Anywho…the gratin was soooo og (food orgasm)  I could eat that thing for the rest of my life.  It definitely hit the spot.

And it looks absolutely stunning in my new Le Creuset Casserole.  Love love love!  Now…CHICKEN!  It browned beautifully in my new saute pan.  My roommate and I previously made the lemon chicken dish in a non stick frying pan.  It was still very good, but I don’t think it browned as nicely as it did in the all-clad.

I love the lemon flavor of this chicken.  It always turns out very moist too.  However, I have been having trouble keeping the chicken crispy after I’ve sauteed it and place in the oven.  The recipe has me place the chicken on top of the onions and the chicken stock.  An anonymous friend 😉 recommended that next time I cover it with foil until it’s 75% finished cooking and then for the last 25% I should turn on the broiler.  This seems like a good idea.  I’ll try it next time.  I will let you all know how it goes.  Until then…Happy eating!