almost done with the cooking posts

almost. i have to bake that dang pie i've been wanting to bake since last weekend, and then i'll be done for now. i have ulterior motives in going cooking crazy, as i know i won't be able to do this for the next few months starting in february due to a couple of nerdy side pursuits i'll be taking up. it'll be back to the trader joe's freezer section for us, which appears to be much cheaper and less waistline expanding than all this cooking from scratch business (i know we're not doing it quite right, but i'm too lazy to figure it out...and i *am* trying to do the whole portion control thing, but it's hard when your whole house smells so dang warm and good from cooking smells).

cooking attempt #4: baked chicken + rice, from this real simple magazine recipe. i love that magazine and wish my subscription were here already!

my old roommate used to make this casserole-like, warm, homey dish for us, and it's totally comfort food for me now as it reminds me a little bit of my mom's samgyetang, in which she stuffs cornish game hens with glutinous rice + nutritious herbal friends before stewing them in the pressure cooker.

anyway, the results:
i used thighs instead of breasts because that's all we had. plus dark meat tastes so much better, anyway (in my and the bear's opinion). i have had this many times with breasts, and they do turn out moist and delicious since you pretty much steam the chicken. again, i put in too much liquid because i was too lazy to get the measuring cup out to measure the broth, so the rice is a bit too mushy. it's ok, i love mushy rice.

now to back up for a second, photo of cooking attempt #3/oyakodon. no photo of the tofu (attempt #2), because, well, you can see one on katorade's blog. plus it isn't that attractive of a dish to photograph.blah, it looks so beige. please excuse the presentation as it doesn't serve so prettily out of a tupperware as it does straight from the pan. i also sprinkled some green onion on top before eating because it was so beige (yes, the lack of contrasting colors in food bothers me), but i forgot to take a photo before i dug in. the random mushrooms i threw in also don't stick to the egg as well as the chicken and onions for some reason, but they were really yummy in this. their earthy, juiciness really went well with the sweet sauce.

after i bake that pie and welcome mr. bear back home, i'm off on a date with winnie at bistrotek for dine LA restaurant week. never mind that this would have been the perfect venue for both of our weddings, which we found way too late. review with photos (hopefully) to come.