Swedish Steel

My supposed weekend of culinary exploration and pushing my skills to the limit was a bit stifled, and not what it could have been. The original plan was on Sunday evening to make "Portugese Fish Stew", and invite some friends over to try it out. Monday morning would be "Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze", served to my wife in bed. That evening was to be "Chicken Ragu with Farfalle".

Now the scones really fired me up, because if anything, my major weakness is baking and where I need to tighten up my skills and confidence.

What excited me about the Chicken Ragu was not that it was difficult. It's an easy recipe, but it had all the elements of a classic dish. Searing whole chicken legs until brown, then finish it by braising in the sauce until the meat falls of the bone. Now that's tasty.

So what happened? Sunday I made Sloppy Joe's. The incessant rain and dreary weather called to me and said "You need comfort food!" Fuckin' eh. I have never made sloppy joe's and maybe had them once or twice in my life. Thanks to Rachael Ray I had one of the best meals in weeks.

Monday morning we slept in till 10am and no scones... also no bluberries or cream in the larder. I made Thai Red Curry Chicken tonight, but that's a dime a dozen recipe that I've done a million times.

Maybe it wasn't just the weather. The million drinks on New Year's eve, followed by a Saturday of lazy-ass eating and drinking can really slow the most modest ambitions.

Nonetheless, what a great weekend and start to 2005.