Tastes like nostalgia. And chicken.

Another week gone by, another Monday filled with delicious food. Caity came to dinner, and brought some thoughtful knowledge on cooking that she acquired while embarking on a similar cooking adventure as mine. We decided on cooking chicken saltimbocca, namely chicken wrapped in prosciutto and spinach. In addition, I used recipe I wanted to try since I started my cooking adventures- kale stuffed portabello mushrooms. 

Now, I have been craving kale since the day I left UMass, as I used to have it nearly daily while at school. While everyone else on campus was stuffing their faces with fattening fried foods from the food courts, I took the beaten path to Earthfoods, a student run eatery. In addition to serving rice, beans, and kale daily, the student chefs cooked up a vegetarian meal in large quantities, and served the leftovers from the previous day's meal at a discount. They were sure to list all of their ingredients. While some days were a bust, the other days were filled with such delicious foods that it was difficult not to incure a stomach ache. I've yet to find an eatery in Boston quite like it, but maybe I can start trying to recreate some of my favorite dishes from there. 

Anywho, I wanted to serve up kale and tahini sauce with my meal, for good times sake. Kale was easy to find and extremely inexpensive - $.59 for more than enough leaves. Unfortunately, it took 5 employees and half an hour worth of my time to find the tahini sauce. The sauce, unbeknownst to myself and 4 employees, came in a can rather than a jar, and was tucked away in an aisle I never suspected would hide it. The cooked kale and tahini sauce that night brought back memories of college pressures and excitement. Good times!

Serving number 69 at the meat counter. Am I really a college graduate?

The chicken was beaten flat using a hammer atop parchment paper, and prosciutto slices were pinned atop. After it was cooked on a pan, Caity wilted the spinach with some olive oil and arranged it all together on a plate. 

Caity noted that the portabello fillings must be held together with a liquid and something like bread crumbs. As I said in a recent post, the amount of time I've spent learning about cooking is inversely proportional to the amount of time I read recipes. The stuffing mixture was stuffed in the mushrooms, and they were placed on a pan in the oven. 

saltimbocca and stuffed 'shrooms!

While serving up the dinner, in true me fashion, I made a bit of a mess. You would think that I've grown out of such habits, but unfortunately gravity and myself weren't too friendly with each other that day. I was especially peeved with myself as I had just scrubbed a layer of grime off of the floors that Saturday. Murphy's law must have had something to do with this mess. 

Clean up in aisle 1.

Per usual, all of the dishes were delicious. What fascinates me is I've yet to have a bad tasting dish (knock on wood). Maybe this is because I'm not daring enough yet. That's ok by me for now. 

Happy cooking, little chefs!