plonq | Adventures in cooking

I used to do more of the cooking around here, but lately

atara has taken over much more of that role. She's been planning out most of the menus and delivering a wide variety of traditional and experimental recipes. Since she was working this weekend, I decided to take it up on myself to try my hand in the kitchen again. Yesterday I grabbed a recipe from a new cookbook we picked up on Friday and made a barbecued chicken with peaches. I tried an old trick of mine with the rice, where I brown it in a bit of butter and sesame oil before adding the water. The results were quite satisfying.

pierrekrahn and

dronon dropped by with gifts of salad, drinks and dessert to make the evening complete. The only thing better than experimental cooking is having willing subjects to try it on.

While I was out shopping yesterday I also picked up some pork shoulder to try yet another new recipe today. I browned some diced pork shoulder and onions in a skillet and then dumped them into the slow cooker along with some chicken broth, white wine and tomato paste. There is also some garlic, lemon zest, cracked pepper and a few other sundry spices in the blend. I don't know how it's going to turn out, but at the moment it smells very good. In about an hour I am going to stir in some honey, and some prunes that have been soaking in brandy for the past few hours. The only question now is whether we will have it over rice or couscous (I am leaning toward the latter because it is much easier to make).

Have I mentioned that I enjoy cooking?