Soggy Breasts (Chicken Breasts That Is)

Yeah, I thought that title might catch your attention. It’s no secret that Eric and I are massive food lovers (ahem foodwhores). And it’s no secret that I love to cook. What many of you may not know is that I love to be creative and I hate to follow directions. Now this practice has lead to a couple (as in 2) awesome dishes and it has led to a myriad of plates that Eric had to grin, bear, swallow and say “that was nice, honey.”

Lately, Eric and I have been watching a lot of “Restaurant Impossible,” “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Worst Cooks in America.” Failing restaurants have their menus reduced to 8-10 dishes because you need to have a good foundation. Variety is nice, but not if it is crap variety. So, while I was driving home thinking about this, it occurred to me that I don’t necessarily have 8-10 dishes that are restaurant quality show stoppers. I might have one or two, but  certainly not 8-10. I realized that I don’t have a foundation and that perhaps (if I really loved myself and Eric) I might want to build one.

So, I looked back in how I developed my horsemanship. I started with a foundation and once I had a handle on the principles and techniques, then (and only then) could  I extrapolate and start creating more of an art to my horsemanship. I was no longer painting by number but painting freestyle yet with finesse. The game hasn’t changed, just the way and level that I play it at. This is how I will be approaching cooking.

On Friday evening, I made my first attempt at roasting a whole chicken. I wasn’t raised with roasted whole chicken, so it is certainly not part of my childhood foundation or comfort zone. I followed the recipe carefully with one notable exception- I made the assumption that I knew where the breast was. On “Worst Chef in America,” Chef Anne Burrell described identifying the chicken the same way you would find the breasts on the women. If it ain’t soft and tender, you aren’t touching the breast. Welp, I drowned my breasts…err…my chicken’s breasts. The rest of it was golden, crispy and great. I also found out that I have really hard to over season.

So, what was the point of this blog post? It’s all about the foundation. Whether it be knife skills or locating a chicken’s breast, you’ve got to have a good foundation. Yep, I’m working on my foundation. Cheers!