'Clean out the icebox!'

Tonight was "Clean out the icebox" night at Doma Sanctae Rosae.

The seminarian and I have both been going hither and thither this week. We both were at a cookout on Sunday; then we had a party here at the rectory on Monday; then Tuesday and Wednesday we were each here and there. Now its Thursday, and we're having dinner together again.

Lots of leftovers. When I finished with an appointment around 6:30 pm, and the seminarian had made himself scarce, I tore into the fridge. Here's some chicken breasts--they need to be cooked; a steak, were did that come from? Some leftover corn from the cookout; some leftover beans, some cheese, and so forth and so on.

The chicken breasts have been in there...I don't know; but they needed to be cooked. But we wanted steak! (Another was found in the freezer.) So, the plan was: cook the chicken for the weekend; eat the steak tonight!

The seminarian had never sauteed chicken, so I showed him how. While we're planning this, the pastor breezes through and says, "you should pound it!" Obeying the pastor, we did.

So here's how I cooked the chicken--sorry for no pictures, but we don't mess around:

We rinsed the chicken breasts and pounded them a bit. Then I took a plate, and put some flour on it.

Then I took the chicken breasts, and doused them generously with Italian seasoning, and some extra red pepper flakes and garlic powder. Then I drizzled some olive oil over them.

Next I got the pan ready with olive oil and butter. Then I dredged the chicken pieces in a bit of flour--not too much--then into the hot fat. Nicely browned on both sides. Then a bit of salt. FYI: this is delicious with some pasta, with just some oil or butter, and cheese, and some green vegetables, nuked in the microwave. With a glass of Chardonnay, this is a meal that is (a) cheap; (b) quick; (c) easy; and  (d) impressive.

But that wasn't dinner; we sliced up one of the chicken breasts as a snack while we, er, had something to hydrate ourselves (ahem!), then we fixed the steaks:

Douse the steaks generously with Montreal Steak Seasoning, and drizzle olive oil (almost anything is improved by the application of olive oil); meanwhile we fired up the broiler. A few minutes each side, and voila! Steak! Microwaved leftover beans, plus some corn on the cob we reheated--delicious!

That's "Clean out the icebox" night at Doma Santae Rosae.