cookeration

it seems when i plan to make a meal, it doesn't turn out the way i expect it in my mind. leftover vodka sauce, frozen for months, on frozen gnocchi turned out to be a far better meal than the night i first made the sauce. unplanned meals lately turned out pretty well. thought i'd share.

recipe one. ok, so it's not a meal, but it's a damn fine vegetable side dish. ingredients, two tomatoes, one small onion sliced thinly, three cloves of garlic minced, scallions, olive oil, rice vinegar. almost forgot, a pound of string beans. first, clean and cut the beans. sautee the onions, garlic, and scallions in oil in a skillet. when the onions carmelize, add the beans and cover. cut tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. when skillet lid is steamed up and beans begin to sweat, add tomatoes. turn down heat. cook beans to your liking, i like 'em crispy. turn off heat, toss with rice vinegar. serve on side. even better the second and third day.

recipe two. this one's a product of actually learning from a reality show on how to play with flavors. ingredients, chicken breasts, bacon, coconut shavings, fresh pineapple, onion, garlic, vegetable oil, rice. butterfly the breasts and roll with bacon. skewer them with toothpicks or skewers to hold their shape. sautee onions, garlic, pineapple, coconut and about a half-cup of rum in oil (onions and garlic first, then add the remaining ingredients). when alcohol has cooked off, put chicken in pan, and cover. turn down heat. cook 'til chicken's done. serve with rice and the sauce. it wasn't perfect. i'm going to try to get it together into some sort of casserole so the flavors all go together better. the sauce it cooked in was great, the chicken was a little tough. needed the flavor of the sauce.

bon appetit!