My Cooking Adventures

To brief you real quick, I'm someone who up until recently thought putting frozen chicken nuggets and french fries in the oven was cooking! I love being in the kitchen, and making something fantastic. And then I love watching people eat it, and how their faces light up with satisfaction as they realize that they actually enjoy something I made! So this blog will be all about my adventures as a Beginner Cook, including recipes I've tried and whether they were successful or not (believe me, there will be some failures!). Enjoy!



Tonight I tried a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, star of Everyday Italian on Food Network. I saw it on the Food Network website the other day; it was the video of the day, and I thought it looked pretty simple, for someone with such little experience as I have.

Chicken Piccata

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.


I was thinking tonight that I would love to take a cooking class. However, I live in such a rural part of the country, and I don't think that there are any offered in my area. At least, I couldn't find any online. But that would be so great, to be able to take a class to learn what all these terms mean! The good thing is, Food Network does have tutorial videos on its website that shows you some techniques if you're not sure. For example, I wasn't sure I remembered how Giada butterflied the chicken in the video the other day for the Chicken Piccata, so I went to FoodNetwork.com, and found a video tutorial about butterflying chicken. It showed me exactly what to do! It was great! But I'd hate to have to run to the internet every time I'm not sure what a term means. Maybe I'll just ask around locally and see what I can find out.