A primary goal of bachelor pad cooking is to be doing so for a lady friend. Why drop a hundred dollars going out to dinner, not knowing if you'll be able to get her home after? Get her in your home to start with, and save money in the process.
Our first recipe is for Poulet Enculé, which translated from the French means, "Chicken. Fucker!"
Hopefully you've already stocked up around the house with basic ingredients. For the first date, you'll stop at the grocery for the following:
2 boneless chicken breasts
bacon
a wedge of brie cheese
2 yellow pears
1 apple
2 croissants from the bakery
frozen whipped topping
Some decent crackers
You should spend about $15 to feed 2 people. (assuming your pantry is stocked)
Now, what I do is cook everything, plate the dish, then cover it with aluminum foil and place the plates in a low heat oven to stay warm. I start cooking about an hour and a half before she arrives, giving me time to cook, then clean up for her. You can adapt to your style. If you're holding the plates warm for this course, you just won't add the croissant and pears dish until right before you serve. There's a lot of ways to play this, and you'll have 35 minutes while the chicken cooks.
Prep work: (about 15 mins)
Pound the chicken breasts flat. Set aside.
Fry 6 strips of bacon. Drain. Set aside.
Slice the brie cheese. Set aside.
Thinly slice pears. Set aside.
Slice the apple. Set aside.
Beat an egg in a dish big enough to dip the chicken breasts in.
Pull the bread crumbs from the pantry.
Stuff the chicken breasts with 3 slices of bacon each, and fill with brie cheese. (save the remaining cheese to serve with the sliced apple and crackers when she arrives.) Dip the chicken in egg, then in flour and then coat with seasoned bread crumbs. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees.
That wasn't hard, was it? And trust me, it's a great main dish. You might need some toothpicks to keep the chicken in shape when stuffed. Roll 'em if you have trouble stuffing 'em. As long as the bacon and cheese melt and cook inside the chicken, you're golden. Now we'll need a side and a dessert.
While the chicken is in the oven, you'll prepare frozen broccoli as per the directions on the package. Microwave it, or simmer in a sauce pan. We use frozen veggies so they're quick to prepare and easy. I usually microwave 2 cups frozen veg with a half cup water in a microwavable dish with a cover for 4 minutes, and they come out perfect.
Now, fry the sliced pears in a quarter cup of butter and a half cup of water, and dust with 1/8 cup of sugar, add it slowly and stir while doing so. First, melt the butter in the water, then add the pears, then the sugar. Get them good and brown, then remove from heat. Depending on how thin they're sliced, this might go quick. Just set that pan aside. You might need to reheat this mixture. Just before serving, you'll spoon warm pears and any buttery juice over the croissants, and then dollop with frozen whipped topping.
Serve with a white wine when she arrives, (again, I suggest Coppola's Blanco for around $8 a bottle) and as much of it as you can get her to drink throughout the meal. I plate it all together so she can't refuse dessert and so that the croissants serve as the starch as well. Also, the sweetness will compliment the chicken.
If you don't have a table to dine on, set up a picnic atmosphere in your nicest room, or put pillows around your coffee table. Just don't have the TV on. Use music. Thelonious Monk works well for me, but everyone has their own style. Dim the lighting. Generally I don't use candles on a first date because she knows I'm up to something. But you have to develop your own game here. I mean, if you fail at conversation over this great meal, you'll fail at the date altogether anyhow.
Still, hopefully you've conquered your first simple but sophisticated meal. Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment