One Meal to Rule Them All

I made a pretty epic meal last night... It was a collaboration of ideas from my husband Chuck, our friend Rita and myself. It all started a few months ago when an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured Kuma's Corner and their "Lair of the Minotaur" burger that has Bourbon soaked pears and melted brie cheese. We have pretty much been drooling and dreaming about that place ever since! So Chuck wanted to try and poach some pears to put over chicken. I immediately thought of adding brie cheese. Rita and I were both thinking sauteed green beans, she suggested adding almonds to them and I thought of a shallot to toss in. And lastly, Rita requested baked rosemary potatoes to round it out.
This is what we ended up with! I started out by pan frying the chicken in a little butter. I didn't go heavy on seasoning, just a little bit of salt, pepper and garlic. I got the potatoes baking in the oven so they would get some crispy skin going on them.

I decided to use white wine as opposed to bourbon for our pears.
The recipe for the poached pears is -
2 cup sweet white wine.. I used Riesling
2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cup water
The juices from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

This little mixture was really good, but next time I make it I won't add the water and maybe add a little more cinnamon. It almost tasted a little held back so next time we won't have the water there to subdue any of the flavors. I also only had canned peach halves (I know a crime) so I will use fresh ones next time as well.

For the green beans I just sauteed the diced shallot in olive oil, added some chopped roasted almonds and then the green beans. They were amazing. I thought they tasted like something you would actually get at a restaurant! Hooray!!A little more food porn... I layered the pears on top of the chicken then added some sliced brie to let it melt. I drizzled some of the poach sauce on top and then sprinkled some cinnamon on it... absolutely divine dinner. I don't know if I can do better than this!

Oven Fried Chicken

Just for the record yes I can cook more than chicken!! We just happened to buy a bunch of it on sale (buy 1 pack of breasts get 1 free!!!) and have been steadily using it. I swear I can cook more than chicken! Alright I got this recipe from a Weight Watchers cookbook and it is mighty tasty. It really does taste like fried chicken but you bake it in the oven!

So for 4 servings, you will need 4 breasts, 4 eggs, 2 cups of crushed corn flakes, 1/2 cup flour and whatever seasoning you want to add to the chicken. Tonight I used garlic salt and pepper, but I have used dried cilantro, chili powder and salt and pepper. Experiment with your favorite spices, you really can't mess it up. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl. In another bowl mix the corn flakes, flour and spices together. Dredge the chicken through the eggs and coat with the corn flake mixture. For extra crispiness, dredge the chicken again in the eggs and add one more coat of corn flakes. Throw them in a greased baking pan and put them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping the breasts in between.

For a side I took 2 cans of french style green beans and 1 can of Italian stewed tomatoes, drained the bean juice and threw all the cans into one pot and let them simmer together. I also added a little bit of lemon pepper for some bite. Pretty simple meal that doesn't take too long to make!