Update #2

Okay, so I lied about the chicken being from Georgia.  I don't know that for sure.  I've seen "Georgia chicken" on a sign at Fresh Market before, so I made the leap.  I am sure about the antibiotic free though (damnit).

The chicken was completely done when I came home from class. I fished it out of the pot and now it's  "resting" -- long day! -- in the refrigerator.  I tried to salvage every bit of chicken broth that I could, strainer and all. Authors Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins call it the "best kind of frozen assets."

My hands smell like chicken fat. Time for bed.

Quick update

In the spirit of Julie's blog (meaning Julie of Julie and Julia, if you didn't read my last entry), here's a quick update.

The Georgia-raised antibiotic-free chicken breasts and one leg (all bone-in with skin, but some skin cut off, of course) is on low boil with any healthy stuff I could find from the fridge and onions and carrots, all bought from Fresh Market.  This may be more information that you need, but that's my big update. My house smells amazing. Must remember to turn off the stove to let it sit when I leave to teach class this afternoon (ah, details in the life of a chef).

The other exciting thing is (aside from the pending Chicken Tetrazzini) that I'll have chicken broth left over to make tomato soup for cute boyfriend -- another reason to cook and blog!

Julie and Julia

It seems natural to write about food in a blog. Who hasn't been inspired to cook and blog (and cook and blog) after seeing Julie and Julia? Amy Adams played Julie Powell, a city worker who takes calls from Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11. Feeling deflated and drained, she decides to follow her passion and write a daily blog for one year as she tries each recipe in Julia Child's first cook book (Mastering the Art of French Cooking).

The amazing thing to me was not so much that she cooked everyday -- though that's way beyond me -- but that she wrote everyday. Maybe her daily blog was just a few sentences on why the sauce took so long or her husband's opinion on the final product. Still, she blogged (meaning she posted to her blog) everyday. I'm trying to write everyday right now, somewhat unsuccessfully.

In addition, I'm a plodder, so the idea of doing anything everyday appeals to me. In fact a daily plod is the only way that I can imagine tackling the challenging areas in my life, like writing. It's one of those, I love it / I hate it activities; there's the possibility of being in love with the outcome, and of  great frustration. As Julie said, "it's sort of like being in AA; you have to do it one day at  time."

I could also relate to Julie because she's frustrated by her lack of success along any one path. In one scene she's lying on the bed talking to her mother who marvels at the recipe-a-day plan. "You've never stuck to anything." My mother would never say that, but I've gotten that feeling from others. Not that it's terrible, but I've fretted about a lack of goals, or at least accomplishments that I can point to. What are my goals? (See previous posts for reference to this problem.)

So here goes. I want to cook and blog too.  The next time you hear from me I will have made the following recipe:

https://www.thechunkychef.com/one-pot-chicken-tetrazzini/


Considering that I teach four classes and consider carry-out as my cooking activity, this is a big feat. It involves cooking some part of a chicken, or a whole chicken, which may require a separate blog entry.

Bon Appétit!