I made us chicken marsala for dinner tonight with mashed potatoes. No veg, just cranberry sauce, I know it sounds gross, but that’s what I felt like having.
I love chicken marsala; I never order it out because it’s always a disappointment. Sometimes the chicken breast is too thick or overcooked. Sometimes the marsala sauce is flavorless or too thick and gloppy. One time the sauce was way too sweet. Ewww!
The point is, I love it and was really looking forward to it. I was even happier that I pounded the chicken breasts thinly a few days ago, dredged it in cornflour, and sautéed it in butter. I deglazed the pan with chicken stock; I put the cooked chicken and the stock into a Tupperware, so it was ready when I was.
Tonight, I sautéed some shallots, baby bella mushrooms, and some garlic. When the pan had a nice brown fond on it, I deglazed it with marsala wine. I scraped up the brown bits, added the stock, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. I added the chicken and let that simmer for about another ten minutes. I added a bit of butter to give the sauce a little body to finish the dish.
Mashed potatoes, well, hell, I can make them in my sleep. I make the most basic kind, good russet potatoes, butter, kosher salt, and a little half & half. Did you know that Gordon Ramsey’s mashed potatoes are made with 60% potatoes and 40% butter? I’ve seen him several times making his famous “mash.” Listen up; this is why food in restaurants tastes better than anything you can make a home. It is fucking shocking the amount of butter, salt, and sugar that is used in restaurants and catered events. Staggering!
How do I know? I’ve seen it up close and personal and still can’t believe it. What bugs the absolute shit out of me is that most chef’s cookbooks are written the way people will cook them at home, not the way it’s done in restaurants. I can promise you this is 💯 true. One day my chef friend Martin and I will collaborate and write a blog post on this subject.
I am writing at 8:30 pm, 14 hours after starting my day. The first time I sat down besides eating dinner is right now. I stood up eating lunch while working on projects in our home. I started a huge project, bigger than I anticipated, and it took forever to finish. At one point, our entire upstairs hallway, bathroom, and bedroom were full of clothing, shoes, bags, donation piles, garbage piles, and stuff I didn’t know what to do with.
Poor Sam got up at 2 and wanted to shower and get ready for his 4 pm – 4 am shift and couldn’t get through. Lol! He did the same thing cleaning out his room and closet last week, and it was the same situation, just reversed. The mess has to get really bad and out of control before things get better—truth, 100% of the time.
Why in God’s name I started this after production, I do not know. Well, actually I do; I couldn’t find a black mini skirt and a white strapless bra. I thought both were stuffed in my belly dance costuming boxes. I was wrong. Then I decided to reorganize my costuming and put everything into smaller totes that are easier to manage. OMG, what a freakin’ mess!
In the end, I found the black mini skirt in my dresser shoved behind some black leggings. I have yet to find the white strapless bra, dammit. So annoying! I hate how careless I am with my things when I get busy.
Right now, every piece of my clothing except for what I am wearing is washed, folded, and put away neatly. Everything is hung up, and the closet is very organized. How long will it last? Jeez, I hope for at least a month.
I put a pork loin into the oven 3 hours ago, braising it to make pulled pork for dinner tomorrow night. It was a grand idea when I put it in the oven, but now I am so tired the last thing I feel like doing is pulling some pork. I wanted to have dinner prepared for tomorrow night since we eat around 8:45 pm after I get home from belly dance. I roasted some root vegetables earlier in the day, and they have to be reheated as well.
Ok, I am done. The oven timer just went off; I need to pull the pork out of the oven and let it cool so I can pull it still tonight. You can’t pull pork when it is cold, so tonight, it has to be.
Goodnite! I wish you a great day tomorrow, guys! ❤️
I’m exhausted just reading your post. My cleaning out of the upstairs closets and resulting thinning out of all that shit “bug” hit me in early July. What a mess. But…it’s all done and I feel so damn smug everytime I pull open a closet door. Not to mention the local charities who received the lions share of all that…stuff. Good for you. Now go to bed!!!