Tonight, Wallace and I made the most excellent dinner, something we've not made before. I had purchased some chicken thighs to put something new into our usual protein rotation. I have an odd personal issue with not enjoying to eat poultry directly off the bone, so this was a Big Step for me, in a way.
The package of chicken thighs has been languishing in my freezer for a couple of months, since I was not sure how I wanted to prepare them. When we talked about what we'd like to have for dinner a day ago or so, I said 'just grab something you would like' to Wallace, and out came the chicken thighs. We defrosted them, and I was still struggling with a method of preparing them.
I consulted my faithful Cook's Illustrated online subscription and found a recipe for Simple Broiled Chicken Thighs, which called for brining the chicken before cooking, which we'd also not done before.
Wallace got the chicken ready, I added my own seasoning, for something more interesting than only salt and pepper. Wallace broiled the chicken, and in the meantime, I made some buttered egg noodles with Parmesan cheese and heated up some frozen peas in butter sauce.
It was all very delicious and now I am looking forward to trying some more recipes with chicken thighs, and thankfully Wallace is always willing to gnaw the last bits of chicken off the bone for me, so it doesn't go to waste. Savannah also ate very well, and kept asking for more skin, which was well seasoned and crispy and wonderfully yummy.
I have been pulled into the time suck that is social networking. I honestly don't spend nearly as much time online as I used to do when I was younger my life was less complex. But I would like to try to post something here at least semi-occasionally.
When I do manage to have free time to relax or do with as I please, I spend an inordinate time watching movies with my husband. Recently we've been watching similar movies back-to-back. I took a renewed interest in the work of Jason Statham and we enjoyed Crank and Crank 2. And then went on to The Transporter 1-3. And the most recent movie in the New Releases in our local video store with his photo emblazoned on the DVD cover was The Mechanic. Consequently after viewing Crank with my husband, I announced that Jason was to be my new boyfriend, and he chuckled and smiled at my pronouncement. Good thing for me, I have a husband who will humor me in my silliness and who also enjoys all of the Jason Statham movies that we have watched so far.
None of these movies will be winning any awards at any point in time, but they are excellent action movies which are fun -- if one is in the mood for a fun action flick. Occasional shirtless or naked Jason Statham scenes are merely bonus eye candy for one to enjoy or utilize at one's discretion.
Summer is definitely a great time to discover new movies and actors. If not for a few faithful summertime standbys like True Blood, MasterChef, Hell's Kitchen, The Next Food Network Star, and Real Housewives series, there wouldn't be much for us to watch on T.V.
Beyond the Jason Statham selections mentioned above, I would also wholeheartedly recommend Repo Men which starred Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker, especially for anyone who enjoys dystopian films. We bought this recently and the soundtrack also happens to be quite excellent!