So, I'm making Chicken Cordon Bleu for the first time for dinner tonight, and after reading the reviews of the original recipe I intended to use which did not portray it in such a favorable light, I'm currently perusing the internet, cobbling together the most interesting & tasty sounding bits from other dishes to make my own unique creation.
Which I shall then be able to pin onto my boards as a Kathleen original and receive gratification from the numerous repins that I'm confident it will incur.
Because the level of my self-esteem directly corresponds to the number of repins I receive. No, seriously.
And although I consider myself a fairly confident amateur cook, I'm still VERY careful about my chicken. The salmonella threat has not escaped my attention, and though I'll play it loose and easy with the doneness of my beef, I don't fuck around when it comes to preparing chicken.
I should put that on my resume if I ever attempt to apply for a job in a restaurant, or with a catering firm. Special qualifications? "I don't fuck around with my chicken".
That should be reassuring to any employer on many different levels.
So, although I know the proper temp & length of time that it takes to safely bake a chicken breast (325° for 45 min is a good estimate) to perfect doneness, I still like to reassure myself because I am very OCD. Not quite bordering on Rainman-like (we've already got one of those in this house), but I am pretty damn thorough when it comes to checking...and rechecking...and checking a third time for doors being locked and appliances and lights being turned off. I like to call it being careful & frugal.
Anyway, so as I was mentioning, perusing the internet for recipes, and double checking my chicken cooking time & temp, and I stumbled upon Yahoo Answers, which is like the Wikipedia for people with dumb ass questions and the stupid responses that they receive. Someone else was also looking for chicken cooking advice, and this was the answer:
And give her brilliant ideas like the planting of the jellybeans. Though I found the original idea on Pinterest, I was the one who brought it to her attention, so of course, I'm claiming credit.
Which I shall then be able to pin onto my boards as a Kathleen original and receive gratification from the numerous repins that I'm confident it will incur.
Because the level of my self-esteem directly corresponds to the number of repins I receive. No, seriously.
And although I consider myself a fairly confident amateur cook, I'm still VERY careful about my chicken. The salmonella threat has not escaped my attention, and though I'll play it loose and easy with the doneness of my beef, I don't fuck around when it comes to preparing chicken.
I should put that on my resume if I ever attempt to apply for a job in a restaurant, or with a catering firm. Special qualifications? "I don't fuck around with my chicken".
That should be reassuring to any employer on many different levels.
So, although I know the proper temp & length of time that it takes to safely bake a chicken breast (325° for 45 min is a good estimate) to perfect doneness, I still like to reassure myself because I am very OCD. Not quite bordering on Rainman-like (we've already got one of those in this house), but I am pretty damn thorough when it comes to checking...and rechecking...and checking a third time for doors being locked and appliances and lights being turned off. I like to call it being careful & frugal.
Anyway, so as I was mentioning, perusing the internet for recipes, and double checking my chicken cooking time & temp, and I stumbled upon Yahoo Answers, which is like the Wikipedia for people with dumb ass questions and the stupid responses that they receive. Someone else was also looking for chicken cooking advice, and this was the answer:
The best way to cook chicken in the oven doesn't depend on the oven temp or time.
Purchase a Digital Cooking Thermometer. Insert the probe into the meatiest of the Breast (Do not touch Bone). Set the thermometer for 155 degrees and bake until the Thermometer signals you. Remove the Breasts and loosely cover the baking dish with Foil. Let the Breasts rest 10-15 min. The foil will keep it hot and the chicken breasts will continue to cook until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees. This is the safe temp to cook chicken. Do not cook in the oven to 165. By the time you eat it, well, you might as well take off your shoe and eat it.
Using the internal temp method is better and safer. The oven temp, whether 250 or 375 doesn't matter as long as the internal temp reaches a high of 165 degrees. This method works with any kind of meat. Temps vary so check with someplace like Food Network web site for temp tables.
Cooking the Breasts without a thermometer:
Boneless: 325-350 degrees for 15-25 min.
Bone in: 325-350 degrees for 30-45 min.
The reason for the time variation is because all ovens are different. This is why the temp method is best.
Purchase a Digital Cooking Thermometer. Insert the probe into the meatiest of the Breast (Do not touch Bone). Set the thermometer for 155 degrees and bake until the Thermometer signals you. Remove the Breasts and loosely cover the baking dish with Foil. Let the Breasts rest 10-15 min. The foil will keep it hot and the chicken breasts will continue to cook until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees. This is the safe temp to cook chicken. Do not cook in the oven to 165. By the time you eat it, well, you might as well take off your shoe and eat it.
Using the internal temp method is better and safer. The oven temp, whether 250 or 375 doesn't matter as long as the internal temp reaches a high of 165 degrees. This method works with any kind of meat. Temps vary so check with someplace like Food Network web site for temp tables.
Cooking the Breasts without a thermometer:
Boneless: 325-350 degrees for 15-25 min.
Bone in: 325-350 degrees for 30-45 min.
The reason for the time variation is because all ovens are different. This is why the temp method is best.
Source(s):
Me. Raised by my dad to be a Chef. Then I disappointed him. Still like to cook at home.
You can also check with any good Cooking Web Site and see the same info.
You can also check with any good Cooking Web Site and see the same info.
See that highlighted & underlined thing up there as the source? Totally unnecessary, and unrelated to the answer, but this person just felt like sharing, probably never thinking that six years later, some chick would happen upon their post and derive so much pleasure from that one little fragmented sentence. Humor from unexpected places is my favorite kind of humor. And also, it makes me love random strangers, and chips away a little bit of my cynicism about society in general. People can be pretty awesome-sauce.
On that note, Happy Easter everyone! My Easter consisted of a singular mumbled "Happy Easter" from the fiance as he crawled into bed from a 12 hr overnight shift, and my response was the appropriate "Unless you have one of the following in your hands:
don't be reminding me it's Easter, fucker!"
It's not about the Bunny, my ass. It's all about the chocolate. To see an Easter celebrated properly, check out my sister's blog. Isn't it the best Easter ever? She's a pretty awesome mom, and her kids are pretty awesome sauce too. This is one of the two times a year (other is Xmas, natch) that I actually wish I had kids, so I must live vicariously through her fam.
I totally checked Pinterest, and damn if I didn't repin that shit from you. Oh, well. I suppose you do have some decent ideas. On a similar note, the glow in the dark egg hunt has opened up so many possibilities for me. I will be shoving glowsticks in everything from now on, and I will figure out how to incorporate them at Christmas somehow.
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