I’ll start this out by saying that I am not a fan of bell peppers. This has always puzzled me, because it really should be something that I enjoy. Despite that, I could do with a world with no bell peppers.

However, two things force me to cook with them - my CSA produce box, and Greg, who loves bell peppers. I believe that he loves them simply to be contrary.

With the recent abundance of bell peppers in my box, I threw together a quick dish - Chicken braised with bell peppers and onions. The recipe is pretty much what you would expect:

• Brown bone-in chicken breasts in olive oil. Remove from pan.
• Add sliced peppers, onions and garlic to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Sautee until soft and the onions are turning golden.
• Mix a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste in with the vegetables. Cook until paste turns slightly brown.
• Deglaze pan with some wine. I used red, but white wine works too. Choose whichever wine you want to finish off by drinking as you continue to cook.
• Add some chicken stock.
• Put the chicken back in the pan and cover, simmering until cooked through.
• Toss some chopped, seeded tomatoes in towards the end - that way they maintain some texture

We served this over some egg noodles.

I’ve not been posting as much as I should be. There are a number of reasons for this, some of which will become apparent in the near future. There are other reasons that involve professional life, personal life, and… well… life in general that may or may not become apparent.

That being said, tonight we created a really tasty dinner, and I am actually going to post about it!

I started off marinading some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in yogurt, and lots and lots of Indian style spices. That sat in the fridge while we took the pupster to a Shiba Inu meetup at a nearby dog park. (She’s the scrawny black and tan Shiba on the right….)

Then we came home, the pupster passed out, and we eventually grilled the chicken thighs and served it with a really good thing that I sort of made up - asparagus served on a bed of wilted spinach and arugula, covered with goat cheese. Not bad if I do say so myself!

Oktoberfest Chicken with German Mustard Potatoes and Colored Carrots

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This menu was put together with Oktoberfest in mind. Once the tail end of September hits and the Oktoberfest beers start to be distributed from the breweries of note, the urge to put together a seasonally appropriate menu is too strong to resist.

The Oktoberfest chicken is moist and flavorful, having been rubbed with lemon, coated with a butter-based paste of thyme, oregano, garlic and paprika, and basted with Oktoberfest beer flavored with onion and garlic.

The German Mustard Potatoes are a slight take-off of German-style potato salad. Flavored with bacon and mustard, it doesn’t have the tart sweetness of traditional German potato salads, but it does have full flavor that the stone-ground mustard adds to the dish.

The red and yellow colored carrots were boiled til just done, with a butter dill sauce.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was stumped for dinner tonight. Lacking creativity, I perused the food blogging community, looking for inspiration. Two things struck my fancy.

First, MeatHenge’s Chicken Pieces with a Sprig of Bacon looked great the first time I saw it, and it seemed like just the thing. I wasn’t feeling so great, and this looked simple, filling, and rich. And it was! I had some Nueske’s bacon which is some of the greatest bacon I’ve found, and I knew it would give it just the right smoky flavor. I also made some minor modifications, including a mustard gravy to serve on the side. All in all, it was just what I was looking for.

The second thing look really great - but I just didn’t have the energy to pull it off. Barrett at Too Many Chefs had posted a Risotto Torte that looked unbelievable. But as the bug that I’ve come down with settled in, I decided that I just didn’t have the energy to whip up the egg whites, and so I settled for a more simple Pancetta, Pea and Leak Risotto instead. Rest assured, I will be trying the torte very soon.