xepherys

Alrighty, I've been dabbling in my cooking for a long time, so I thought that perhaps it'd be best to bring all my fellow TFPers my recipes, as I make them. I don't profess to be the best cook in the world. I cook on a budget, and I'm adventurous with my foods. I'd just like to share with all of you. Maybe if I get enouhg entries, I'll roll it into a cookbook and send everyone a copy someday! ;-)

As a sidenote, my recipes, as they are, are very inprecise. I don't believe cooking is a science, i believe it's an art. I may give rough numbers and hopefully if you'd like to try the recipe, you can adjust it to suit your taste. I'd certainly like to hear your opinions if you try them, and maybe a suggestion for a modification here and there, but if you have your own unique recipe, I urge you to start your own thread rather than highjack mine! Thanks! )

Without further adieu...

xepherys

This one was what I just made tonight for Combatmedicjen and myself...


~0.75# Boneless chicken breast (frozen is cheaper and just fine)
Spaghetti (or Angel Hair)
2 large heads of garlic
1 small baguette of French bread
Olive Oil
Butter
Black Pepper (preferrably freshly ground)
Salt
Fresh basil


Entré:
Cut chicken into reasonable pieces. Put into bag (or bowl) and marinade in olive oil, salt and pepper with one basil leaf and one bud of garlic (stripped of it's skin). Let sit.

Once the chicken is marinated for at least two hours, prepare a pot of water for boiling the pasta. Put ample water into pot, add salt, pepper, a small amout of olive oil (to prevent sticking) and some mashed garlic (loosely in the pot). Add pasta and boil to preferred softness.

In another smaller pot, pour olive oil in (1/2 cup or so for 2 people) and add a medium basil bunch (stem and leaves) and two buds of garlic. Simmer over low heat until basil is "fried" and crispy. Remove basil. Continue to heat while mashing garlic and stirring. After a few minutes, remove all garlic and turn off heat.

Lastly, cook chicken in it's existing marinade until it is JUST done (to keep it moist, don't let it get too well done). Toss chicken (and oils from cooking the chicken) in with pasta and drain. Place pasta on plates and drizzle the smaller pot of oil over it. This will give the pasta a wonderful basil flavor with a hint of garlic. I also suggest fresh ground Parmesan cheese on top.


Side:

This is a garlic bread recipe I put together using pieces of people's favorite's from this thread. Thanks to everyone for the tasty ideas...

Slice 1 or 2 slices per person from the baguette at a 30° angle or so. Melt a small amount of butter and drizzle melted butter and olive oil LIGHTLY over the tops of the bread. Lightly dust with salt and fresh ground pepper. Let sit (to absorb the butter and oil).

Cut the top off one head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Place garlic upside-down on aluminum foil and add a little more oil. Fold foil over to seal in garlic. If you have a little extra aluminum foil, it's best to make a stand for the garlic so that it sits rightside-up in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes at 400°F or so.

Once the garlic is baked, press it out of the skin and smash it into a paste. Spread the paste evenly over the tops of the bread, and dust again with salt and pepper. Take one large basil leaf for each piece of bread, remove as much of the stem as possible and press the leaf on top of the garlic (it'll hold it down). Shred fresh parmesan cheese over top of it and add a THIN slice of tomato on top (makes it sort of garlic bread/bruschetta all in one). Bake bread at 375°F for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.



Enjoy!