How could I forget?!

I almost forgot to tell you!

I cooked a feast last night for a couple friends. I started prepping around 3.30-4pm, and it was all ready to eat by 7.30pm. Longest I have ever spent slaving away in the kitchen... but so so worth it!

The meal started with a delicious Asian sesame salad (iceberg lettuce, red peppers, cucumbers, celery, Asian sesame dressing). One of my friends is super picky about veggies, but for some reason, whenever I make a salad - which is rare, seeing as I never make a home-cooked meal - he always eats it!

I made some fusilli with a tomato & mushroom sauce as a side.

The entree was a buttermilk oven-fried chicken breast, which turned out amazingly; however, it was an incredible process to make. First, I had to make my own buttermilk, as I didn't have any. It's really simple, you just need 1 cup of whole milk and 1-3/4 tablespoon of cream of tartar. Let it stand for 15 minutes, and voila! Homemade buttermilk. After that was ready, I poured it into a bowl, added some salt and pepper, and dropped four chicken breasts in to marinate for 2.5 hours in the fridge.

Then, I put flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a double paper bag. When the chicken was finished marinating, one by one I dropped a breast into the paper bag and shook it around so it was fully coated in the flour mixture.

I then pre-heated the oven to 425 degrees, poured a little oil in a baking pan, and placed the chicken breasts inside. I baked them for 30 minutes, and then flipped them with some tongs and baked them for 15 more minutes.

They turned out perfectly! They were actually so good, I received rave reviews!

I'll keep you updated on my next home-cooked meal. It was a lot of work to prepare, but a lot of fun, and it's always great when your company enjoys your cooking!

Anyway, I'm exhausted. I just got home from a seven hour shift at work! Busy night.

Sweet dreams, lovelies.

StheF