Recipe of the Week: Chicken and Potatoes

Staying home for a week was fun…ish. What with all the anxiety and lack of power, I wouldn’t exactly call it a “vacation.”

The night before, I went to the supermarket and bought enough food for a month. I had no way of knowing whether or not the power went out in the Summit and just decided to replenish everything, just in case the food went bad in the fridge.

I got back to the dorm as soon as I could, to assess the damage. Heaving my trader Joe’s bags and my huge suitcase filled with clothes up the sloped block the Summit the next morning, the only thing keeping me going was knowing that I was carrying our food supply. Over-dramatic? Very.

I pulled the tons of food right up to the front desk where I had to show the person at the front desk my ID card. As I fumbled with my many bags searching for the ID, I decided to make pleasant conversation with one of the RA’s.

“How long was the power out here? I hope the damage isn’t too extensive.”

The RA literally just stared at me for a good minute looking thoroughly confused.

“We didn’t lose any power…”

This is the moment I realized I had no common sense. Of course the Summit had power, Queens College was being used for an emergency shelter. And there I was with tons of food ready to replace everything in the fridge.

The Summit was ironically the safer place to be during the storm, and there I was one week earlier rushing out to go home.

When I finally got to my dorm, I spent maybe an hour trying to stuff my food next to the very fresh food.

So now we have two liters of milk, two cartons of eggs, two huge bags of potatoes, two-dozen oranges, grapefruits, and apples, and don’t even get me started on the bread.

So to compensate, I decided to make a feast that night, to get rid of the some of the unnecessary food without wasting anything. I made my favorite chicken with potatoes dish with fattoush and chocolate cake!

Ingredients

-One packet of chicken breast

-Three peeled and diced potatoes

-Olive oil

-Unsalted butter

-One squeezed lemon

-Rosemary

-Salt

-Ground pepper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And just to let you guys know, the chicken recipe came out amazing! This is a must-do for anyone who has a little extra time on their hands.

Here is Ina Garten’s recipe for the Chocolate Cake.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/double-chocolate-layer-cake

Note: I substituted yogurt for the buttermilk to make the cake fluffier.

I found the frosting to be a little too much like chocolate whipped cream with too much coffee flavor. I recommend looking up a separate chocolate frosting recipe!

CAKE

.     1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

.     2 cups sugar

.     3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

.     2 teaspoons baking soda

.     1 teaspoon baking powder

.     1 teaspoon kosher salt

.     1 cup buttermilk

.     1/2 cup vegetable oil

.     2 large eggs

.     1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

.     1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

FROSTING

.     6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

.     2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature

.     1 large egg yolk

.     1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

.     1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, sifted

.    1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

4. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate at high power in 30-second intervals, stirring, until most of the chocolate is melted. Stir until completely melted, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl. At low speed, slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar, about 1 minute. In a small bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in 2 teaspoons of hot water. Slowly beat the coffee and the cooled chocolate into the butter mixture until just combined.

Set a cake layer on a plate with the flat side facing up. Evenly spread one-third of the frosting over the cake to the edge. Top with the second cake layer, rounded side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.

If there is any dish that you would like to see, leave a comment and I may just post a recipe! Enjoy your week!