Ethan is so good to me. He works until 8 and still comes home and makes us dinner. (While I have been doing what? Napping, laying out by the pool, watching t.v. and reading? You bet.) I decided that I should step up my game and cook him dinner for a change. So last night I made this meal:
I don't think it looks half bad! Now, I could lie to you and tell you that everything was just peachy and delicious and worked without a hitch, but that's not exactly the case.
The mashed potatoes were from a box, so I can't take credit for that. The green beans I make all the time, so I've basically gotten them down to perfection. (Think Outback- garlic salt and butter.) The mac & cheese I'd never made before, but holy moly. Delish. Ethan refused to even take a bite because he's a weirdo and hates the dish. I still don't understand how I'm marrying someone who can't stand such a southern classic. Just kidding.
Now let's talk about the fried chicken. I've never made fried chicken. I don't think I've even been around while someone was making fried chicken. But I had the guts to try it out anyway. So I soaked the chicken in milk for two hours. Seasoned the flour just right. Poured the oil in the pan and turned on the stove. At this point I was feeling pretty confident about it all. I put the first few pieces in- got popped by hot oil a few times. Took it out and placed it on a plate and thought "well this is just too easy". So I put the next few pieces in and the oil popped and fizzed a lot more furiously the second time. The batter was immediately turning black and I realized that apparently medium heat is too high. The smoke got thicker and the vent was not helping. The smoke alarm went off. Yeah. It did. I dropped the pan into the sink. (No, I didn't turn the water on. I AM smarter than that.) I opened the sliding door to the patio and it was still just as cloudy as ever. Luckily fanning the smoke detector a few times made it shut up. I walked back to the kitchen and just frowned. Of course, right then Ethan walks in the door and fans it open and closed a few times. I said "I tried". He said nothing, but with a smirk on his face, went to go get the fan out of the bedroom so help ventilate the place.
He was nice about it all and said that it looked really good and decided he still wanted to eat it. Too bad the middle was still a bit pink in some of the pieces. So after a couple of minutes in the microwave and a load of ketchup later, the chicken was deemed edible. I was still pouty, but E insisted that it was still a good meal. If only he would have eaten the mac & cheese... ;)
It will be a while before I gather the courage up to do THAT again.