Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Sometimes I defrost chicken breasts for dinner with nothing particular in mind for them.  I poke around the refrigerator and see what's in there, look in the pantry to see what's there, and then sort of come up with dinner. This was one of those days.  Chicken with Mushrooms and White Wine 1lb chicken breasts salt/pepper canola oil 8oz mushrooms (baby bello, button) 1 t herbes de Provence 2 garlic cloves chopped 1 c white wine 1/2 c heavy cream Place chicken breasts between plastic wrap.  Sprinkle a little water on top of the chicken breasts. (the water prevents sticking so they won't tear). Pound chicken cutlets thin.  Use the Jacard meat tenderizer to tenderize the meat and prevent shrinkage.  Season one side chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat skillet and add oil.  When oil starts to shimmer, add chicken breasts seasoned side down.  Season the other side of the chicken breasts.  Do not crowd the pan.  You will need ...

Pad Thai is such a flavorful dish.  When I first got Simply Thai Cooking (I have the second edition), I wasn't sure if I would make many of the recipes. They really have a lot of ingredients but actually they are pretty simple to make.  I adapted this recipe by omitting the chicken breast and shrimp. I only used tofu. I've also made it with just chicken. The tamarind paste may be a little difficult to source but it stays for quite a long time in the refrigerator once you find it. Pad Thai (Adapted from Simply Thai Cooking ) 8 oz Thai rice noodles 16 oz tofu, extra firm  3 T tamarind paste (concentrate) 1/4 c warm water 6 T roasted unsalted peanuts 3 green onions, chopped 3 T fish sauce 2 T lime juice 2 T sugar 1/2 c canola oil 1 t garlic, chopped 2 eggs 1 c bean sprouts 1/2 t chili flakes Fresh cilantro Lime wedges Soak rice noodles in cold water for at least 1 hour.  Place tofu on folded paper towels, place two folded paper towels on top....

Now that I have your attention.... I found a recipe for skirt steak and it called for Bourbon. That is one liquor that we don't usually have on hand (unless we have a Kentucky Derby party to make those mint juleps). I'm not really a Bourbon kind of gal nor a whiskey kind of gal. I think they both sort of taste the same - hot fire waterish. I definitely prefer sweet cocktails and could never do a shot of anything, even if my life depended on it (why my life would depend on it - I don't know). That was a weird side-track. Anyway I thought why not substitute some Jack Daniels, which we do usually have on hand (the Sous Chef is a Jack and Coke kind of guy). So off I went... Jacked Skirt Steak (adapted from here ) 1/2 c Jack Daniels 1/2 c brown sugar 1/3 c soy sauce 2 T Worcestershire sauce 1 T dijon mustard 1/2 t Tabasco 1 skirt steak (about 3lbs or so) In a bowl (large enough to fit the steak), mix Jack Daniels, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mu...