Rich’s birthday dinner

It’s been a hectic last two weeks here. I was at a course all last weekend and worked has been very busy recently, so needless to say time for cooking was hard to find. Even so, it was important to me to find time to make a little something for Rich’s 32nd birthday on November 9th.

I decided to try making a stuffed chicken breast dish, and searched foodtv.ca for a good recipe. It didn’t take long before I found Rob Rainford’s recipe for chicken stuffed with goats cheese. Now, normally all of his recipes require a grill, and we live in an apartment with no grill in sight. Not one to back down from a culinary challenge, I decided instead to cook the chicken on our Le Creuset grill pan. As you can see from the picture, the marinade became this lovely brown coating on the outside of the chicken. Easy peasy fix.

Now, chicken is pretty boring on its own, even if it is stuffed with goats cheese and fresh herbs. So I decided to make a favourite: oven roasted potatoes. I don’t really follow a recipe, but essentially you take diced potatoes and toss them into a large pan (such as a 9×13 cake pan). Coat them in the oil of your choice (I used olive), toss in some whole garlic cloves and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. I also added in a bunch of oregano leaves, figuring I could tie in the flavours of the chicken dish with the potatoes. Roast in a 400F oven for 15 minutes, mix to re-distribute all the oils and flavourings, then put back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until done to your liking.

I also made a simple vinaigrette for our mache salad. Whisk together balsamic vinegar and good quality olive oil (at a ratio of about 3:1 oil:vinegar) with a dob of grainy mustard, then pour over your salad. So simple and so good, and just as interesting as most pre-made dressings.

Toss in a bit of your favourite bread and you’re done! I think this meal took me about 45 minutes to make from start to finish, not including time for the chicken to marinade.