Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Survivor: Kitchen

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem so I come before you all today to confess that I am an addict. A Pinterest addict.

To start with it wasn't a problem. I had it under control. I opened an account about 8 months ago and occasionally added things to it that I saw and liked. Mainly quilts. And then I didn't do any pinning for ages proving that I could  stop any time I wanted. I knew lots of people who had thousands of pins and I felt really sorry that they'd started something they couldn't control. But I've been pinning daily like a crazy lady for about a month now and its starting to take over my life. 

For the uninitiated , Pinterest is a fancy schmancy way of bookmarking all that awesome stuff you see on the net and might want to come back to later. And you can pin onto boards that you create using pictures so stuff is so easy to find unlike my bookmarks bar on my computer that has approximately 3874 things in it , and is so long I can't be bothered looking when I need something. And you can search other people's boards for inspiration and re-pin stuff that they've pinned which means that every single person on Pinterest is basically an enabler. 

Little Miss Sunshine and I were chatting the other night and commenting that our respective food Pinterest boards were in danger of becoming a graveyard for stuff we've pinned but never got round to making .So I suggested we choose a  recipe once a week and both cook it and report back to one another about the results. Kind of like a virtual cooking class that extends your dinner time repertoire. I tend to make the same 40 things for dinner because by the time I get home from work I'm brain dead. Sometimes I'm so brain dead I eat chips or breakfast cereal for dinner which in my humble opinion is perfectly acceptable if you don't have children in the house. And we decided to name it Survivor: Kitchen because we get to vote out recipes that we wouldn't put in our respective cook books to make again. I want to point out that I am a fussy eater, and so any voting out is probably not about the recipe per se. It's more about me only eating about 18 foods that exist on this planet. 

Since Little Miss Sunshine loves vegetables and I'm a complete carnivore and carb gal ( if I ever get stuck on a deserted island I'm praying a cow, crackers and cheese will get washed up with me) this brilliant idea is probably going to make for some really interesting eating for both of us. Recipe tweaking is not really allowed but I'm pretty sure it'll happen anyway. 

So the first recipe we decided on was this.

Creamy Dijon Chicken (recipe can be found by clicking this link) 

I loved the idea of a punchy creamy lemony mustard sauce married with moist chicken breast. As far as I'm concerned big flavours rule!


There was absolutely nothing wrong with this recipe but it wasn't exactly what I expected . I was expecting more mustard flavour (and I cheated and put extra in) so I wonder if it lost something in the translation between American Dijon mustard and the Aussie mustard variety? Maybe they are completely different? If I was to make it again I'd leave the lemon out altogether and tweak the mustard so it had a sharper more intense flavour. This would be a great meal though for a family dinner because it's mild enough for kids to enjoy too. And it was quick and easy to cook which I love. And it had leeks in it so I can pat myself on the back for eating a vegetable this week.

Creamy Dijon chicken: The tribe has spoken - it's time for you to go. Pop on over to Marg's to see what she thought. And if you'd like to play along next week email me and I'll send you the recipe we're planning to use. It's fun to see how close we can get to the picture and I'm sure there will be at least one burnt down kitchen by the time we're done. Last time I had a fire in my kitchen I went and bought two fire extinguishers and a fire blanket so damage should be minimal. 

By the way I wanted to have Jeff Probst do the Survivor line for this post but he didn't return my calls. 



25 comments:

Three Birds Inspired said...

Sounds like a very smart way to try a new gastronomical delight! I like living on the edge so the only time I try a new dish is when I have guests. So far no fires or trips to the ER for a quick stomach pump!

Marg said...

This was fun. I have a fire extinguisher at the ready but I need to buy a fire blanket, especially now I'm back to cooking with gas after cooking with induction for the last 4 years.
Maybe we should go with no cook recipes, lol.

Canadian Abroad said...

Can we go on your Pinterest and vote for what we want you to try?!

Marg said...

Nooooo Susan.

Helsie said...

I don't know if I should get into this Pinterest thing but I'm pleased to let you two try these recipes out for me. I trust you !!!!

Rachaeldaisy said...

You crazy wonderful gals, I'm going to enjoy seeing you two cook up a storm.

Mistea said...

Fun times ahead.

This actually sounds delicious - I like the combination of mustard and lemon, pity I don't do chicken!

Enjoy the new delights in your kitchen.No flames please.

Karen said...

I want to play for sure as I am looking for new recipes. The dish looks so good too bad it had to be eliminated :)

Pam said...

I find that loads of recipes seem bland, I tend to tweek all the time. I would add Tarragon and possibly chestnut mushrooms to this, in fact I have all the stuff in my fridge so I will make this for dinner.

Unknown said...

My mom and I are totes accepting this challenge!
http://www.nantucketknitter.com/2012/11/challenge-accepted-pinterest-recipes.html

Katy Cameron said...

Heh, I'm actually eating my way through Pinterest these days:

http://southbeachpinterestproject.blogspot.co.uk/

I'm being careful about what I choose mind you, and I'll be skipping this one ;o)

thea said...

What a great idea! You two cook up the most amazing ideas!!

Kirsten's Cooking said...

Do you know how excited I am?????????

I can't wait till next week!!

I just made shrimp and chorizo bites from a pinned recipe...it was a winner. I was thinking of telling you about it for Christmas (and now I did). :)

Super idea!!

Sarcastic Quilter said...

Oh, include me! This could be super fun. :) I'm always checking out Pinterest recipes.

Sarcastic Quilter said...

And oh! now that I've read the recipe I can see why you missed out on the mustard flavor. Between the cream and the larger lemon juice content, it makes sense to me the mustard flavor was reduced.

Kris said...

There's proof now that pinterest is a dangerous addiction cause now you can have "secret boards". If ya have to do it in secret, it's an addiction!

Unknown said...

Oh my! Now instead of one kitchen on fire, there will be two! Shay, you are a devil, you draw folks in to some of the craziest things. I think this is a wonderful idea and can't wait to see what you cook up. I hope one day you will both do me proud and cook up something I have pinned! Can't wait till next week. I am off to see what Marg has to say!

Dianne Neale said...

Oh I am going to love this! I may just join in to see if we can burn down 3 kitchens!

Rachel said...

I will definitely be watching!Sounds like SO much fun! I am sure I would have to bow out too many times to actually play, as my hubby is beyond picky. He will eat most foods...however, he does not eat condiments, except ketchup and bar b que sauce. NO mayo, mustard, salad dressings, etc...He is not easy to cook for :-)

Sue SA said...

OK you have got me interested, but I am more of a baker then an experiementer of main meals....I try one new soup and one new salad a year! The chicken dish sounds interesting (eg easy) so might try that first and see how we go in the house of fussy boys.
PS where the heck did you find unsulpherd molasses?

Cindy said...

I am looking forward to seeing what you make next! You never cease to impress me! On on my way to Miss Sunshine now to see what she's brewed up. :)

Unknown said...

There is a HUGE difference in mustard! In Canada, we have a very grainy dijon which I prefer and the dijon mustards here in Florida are very smooth. It was in the mustard. You could have added dry mustard to the recipe (if you tried it again) as it has a stronger taste.
From the pics....it is a gonner!

Paulette said...

I have been tempted to join Pinterest, but I know what a time drain and eyeball strain that would be, so for my own health and well-being, I cannot. However. If you want to share your Pinterest link, I will happily take a look-see. :)

Pokey said...

I am looking forward to many other cooking shares, Shay. Nobody does it better ~
:-}pokey

Kate said...

Can't wait to see what you and Marg cook up next (sorry, couldn't resist).