EDITORIAL – Though cooking is my love and passion, I really enjoy cooking for friends and family.  Friday nights at our house have become “Friend Friday”.  We have a few friends over to help us all unwind from a long week.  This Friday it turned into “Friday Night ‘Chopped’”.

Food Network’s Chopped is one of my favorite TV shows. I never imagined how close to the show this evening would turn out; until I realized I had enough chicken for my gaggle of children and friends coming over, and nothing else!

I woke up Friday morning excited to try Ina Garten’s “Million Dollar Chicken”.  So by 9:00 AM I had purchased my chicken from our local butcher (Fiveash’s in Hahira) and left it in the fridge to bathe in its herbal bath in preparation for its debut tonight.   Several hours later, I realized I hadn’t thought past the chicken. Wigging out, I thought about Chopped, and realized “I can do this”.

Now, I am a recipe follower.  For me to attempt this task was a little out of my comfort zone.  Scouring the pantry and frig frantically, the menu soon began to fall into place.  I had cooked a cream of broccoli soup earlier this week and realized that adding a few more ingredients to it would allow me to use it as an appetizer. So I added more broth when heating; then some fresh cheese (a staple in my frig) and homemade bread crumbs before serving.  The breadcrumbs I prepared were from the left over bread I needed for the chicken.  I would serve smaller portions in a small cup and saucer for an eye-pleasing presentation. One problem solved, but what else would we eat?

Time was ticking down quickly. I had to complete the preparation of the chicken, pick up the kids from school and prepare for our friends. Looking in the frig again, I realized there was also leftover uncooked broccoli from the soup.  Easy fix… I would coat it with olive oil, salt and pepper and add some parmesan cheese at the end and roast it at 400 degrees.  My Chopped Night was coming together.  So far, so good.

Then I realized I have the Southern starch staple…potatoes.  Potatoes can be prepared similar to my broccoli and to complement the other foods I could add fresh rosemary.  Check!!!! Potatoes roasting first, then add the broccoli toward the end to have them both coming out of the oven at the same time.  Oh, this Chopped Episode is in the Bag!!!  I was having such a great time…I decided take the bread left and make an olive bread.  Well to my surprise, NOT!, no  olives.  So I became creative once again using mayo, butter, cheese and capers.  My meal was finally ready in my mind.

We began dinner with the soup which was great.  I should have known that…left-over soups and sauces are always better after they have had time to sit and marry all the flavors together.  The added cheese and croutons just enhanced those flavors.

Once finished with our appetizer, it was time to prepare the broccoli and potatoes.  I knew this because I had one more step in the preparation of the chicken I hadn’t considered.  The recipe called for crème fraise.  No crème fraise, but luckily I am also an internet surfer for substitutions in cooking.  Replacing homemade crème fraise with Greek yogurt was the ticket.

Finally time came to serve my Chopped meal.  My guests seemed pleased with the meal.  One guest said, “This meal is a great send-off to winter and introduction to spring.”

To me, chicken is a chicken is a chicken.  You can sleep with it, bath with it, run with it; but if you don’t fry it….IT IS JUST CHICKEN!  The flavors of lemon and fresh herbs worked well together. The “crème fraise” coating produced a delightful brown coat of skin around the chicken. The meat was moist, tender and flavorful.  The other sides paired nicely with the chicken.

Next time you have find yourself in need of ideas for your dinner party, be inspired by some of your favorite shows.  As long as it’s not Naked and Afraid!

[Thanks to Kristy Johnson for her help with this week’s blog]