Friday Food: Chicken

This week I twice attempted to cook chicken. Both attempts were meh. It’s humbling. I’ve been on a good cooking streak lately. I’ve been excited by my access to great ingredients at Harris Tweeter and Eastern Market: fresh turkey sausage, whole wheat pasta, spinach and of course CHEESE.

To stumble not once but twice this week got me thinking, “can I cook chicken?” The problem could be in the cut. From my first cooking forays in college, it was drilled into me by the liberal wealthy life-skills programming I received that when one went to buy chicken, the only acceptable cut was the boneless skinless chicken breast. Indeed, it was revered as the filet mignon of chicken, which was important because at Vassar one was no longer allowed to eat red meat. I imagine that the same vehement health nuts/snobs at Vassar now add “GMO-free” and “organic” to that qualification. [eye roll] But let’s face it, chicken is nowhere near as tasty as a filet mignon. I remember watching a food show and I think it was Jamie Oliver who scoffed at the chicken breast and declared the chicken thigh the tastiest. I always think about that when I’m in the chicken isle, but still can’t get up the nerve to break through the brainwash and stray from the breast.

My first attempt was a stir fry. I was excited for all of the vegetables I had: broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms, fresh ginger, water chestnuts. Also, with my new foolproof sauce method, corn starch (duh), I was feeling pretty cocky about getting all of the flavors to stick together and preventing the sauce from being absorbed completely. It all went to play and it looked good, but the first bite sent me in a panic to the kitchen to retrieve the soy sauce and hot pepper sauce bottles. I doused my dish and quickly shoveled in another bite to discover the source of the problem. The chicken. Even though I first flash fried it, removed it so that it didn’t get overcooked and returned it to the end of the stir fry, it tasted like card board. I’m sure tofu would have tasted much better.

For my second attempt (since breasts come in pairs of course), I thought ahead a bit. I marinated the chicken for a few hours in lemon and dill. This time I combined the chicken in a pasta dish which also included snow peas, mushrooms, red pepper and onion. The key fail-safe ingredient: goat’s cheese. I tossed the pasta directly into the pan with the cooked veggies and chicken. The texture was nice and creamy. I couldn’t wait to try it. I took a bite and dashed to the kitchen for some grated fresh parmesan cheese. I sprinkled liberally and again hoped a last minute condiment would revive the dish. The chicken was better, lemony and dilly, but still not great.

I think I give up on cooking chicken altogether. Or maybe I’ll try the chicken thighs…

Restaurant notes:
Enjoyed: Vinoteca on 11st street and U Street. Great eggs benedict with gruyere cheese and nice thick bread. The best part was the bottomless mimosa for $5. I think I had 5, but passed out before I could count up the glasses.

Did not enjoy: Haydee’s. Despite the great name and the huge crowd, the Mexican/Salvadoran food was terrible. Seriously, how can you make Mexican food terrible? And why were there so many people there? The worst part was the margarita on the rocks that was a neon green color. For the first time in my life I could not finish a drink. It was putrid.