AKA Abraham Bacoln

It was my dad’s birthday a few days ago and I told him for his birthday present I’d cook him whatever he wanted. Turns out he never specifically asked for anything so I just made a decision for him. Today’s birthday dinner was:

Spinach salad with toasted pine nuts and goat cheese
Chicken and andouille in cream sauce over pasta
Bread pudding with whiskey sauce

So here we go! Recipe time! Hey, it’s been a while since I mentioned this, but I totally find all my recipes on the internet. I know I should give credit but I’m bad, I change ’em up a little and then they’re not really the original any more, but I should still give credit, ‘cept wherever I got them probably took them from somewhere else, etc. you’re falling asleep so WAKE UP here we have:

Spinach salad

This doesn’t really need its own section but what the heck. Toast pine nuts in the skillet ’till golden brown. Put baby spinach leaves in a bowl, sprinkle on pine nuts and crumbled goat cheese. Vinaigrette is a good dressing if you wish.

Okay, now for real food:

Chicken and andouille in cream sauce over pasta

3 boneless chicken breasts
~1/2 diced andouille, diced
flour
olive oil
1/8 cup onions, diced
1/8 cup celery, diced
1/8 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/8 cup green bell pepper, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, diced
pinch of dry thyme
pinch of dry basil
~2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 box rotini pasta (16 oz? I don’t remember. I’m not a smart man.)

1.) Cut chicken breasts into one inch cubes and season with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour and set aside.
2.) In a big skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
3.) Saute chicken until lightly browned on all sides.
4.) Add andouille, onions, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. Saute approximately three to five minutes or until vegetables are wilted.
5.) Add thyme and basil.
6.) Add heavy whipping cream (I ended up using a little less than 2c) and bring to a low boil.
7.) Stirring occasionally, allow cream to reduce and thicken.
8.) Remove from heat, spoon over cooked rotini, garnish with parsley.

MMMMMMM. There is NOTHING that cream does not make better. NOTHING. I of course ended up putting black pepper on mine, you may want a little cayenne. Your choice. It’s gonna be good regardless. I served some sauteed (seared?) pepper strips on the side.

and now

HOORAY FOR DESSERT

Bread pudding

1/2 loaf ‘Italian’ bread from Kroger
2 tablespoons butter, melted
~1/2 cup raisins (optional)
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan.
3.) Drizzle melted butter over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
4.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed.
5.) Pour mixture over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking it up.
6.) Bake for 45 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

The bread should be day-old but I didn’t decide ’till this morning what I was making. If you cut that bread in half as if it were a giant sandwich and bake it for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees that’ll dry it right out perfect.

Whiskey sauce

4 tbsp. butter, cut in 1/2 inch bits
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup whiskey

1.) Melt butter in double boiler.
2.) Stir sugar and egg in small bowl.
3.) Gradually add sugaregg to butter until sugar dissolves over hot, not boiling, water.
4.) Remove from heat after 2-3 minutes; let cool.
5.) Stir in whiskey (I ended up finding that a little less than 1/4 cup was perfect)
6.) Pour warm sauce over pudding, top with whipped cream.

That’s it! Delicious food! Eat some!