Because I care excessively about other people's opinions, here's what I'd like to find out from you.
Of the individuals listed below, who do you feel has made the biggest contribution to the culinary world in recent times?
(a) Jamie Oliver
(b) Gordon Ramsey
(c) Rachael Ray
(b) Tim Berners-Lee
Oh, I knew you would say (d) too!
Had the World Wide Web never been invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, how would I otherwise have been able to tap on the wisdom of home cooks and chefs all over the world to know that soon-to-be-expired heavy cream and leftover chicken broth can be matched in matrimony?
I dedicate the following dish to Sir Tim Berners-Lee. May his work continue to usher in more competent cooks, happier tummies and world peace.
Macaroni in Chicken Cream Sauce (adapted from Eating Well)
80g macaroni pasta
1/4 cup chicken breast meat, shredded
75g carrots, diced
a handful of coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Boil water. Place some of the boiling water into a bowl of sliced mushrooms and leave to soak.
- To the rest of the boiled water, add in macaroni pasta and carrots (because I like them soft), following the pasta cooking instructions. When done, drain the pasta and place in a bowl.
- Season chicken with pepper and salt on both sides.
- Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, turning to prevent burning. Transfer to a plate when cooked.
- Add minced onion to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add in mushrooms which had been soaking in the bowl of boiling water.
- Pour in chicken broth and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, stir in cream and let the mixture simmer.
- Add in the cooked chicken and coriander leaves into the pan.
- Add the chicken cream sauce to the pasta.
What would The Failed Chef do next time?
- I had omitted the wine (don't really care much for wine) and chives (replaced with with coriander) called for in the recipe, so that might have affected the recipe. The recipe tasted okay, but as this recipe was my vehicle for purging the fridge of leftovers (and for this expressed purpose it worked great!), I had to make do with what I had though I might be more faithful to the recipe next time.