So today's been boring. Not unlike most days at work here. The most excitement I got was doing my spy thing on the guy I share a workspace with. This guy is married but has 'very explicit' chats all day every day with some chick(s) on the MSN chat. I shared this with another co-worker of mine and come to find out he goes into the back server room and talks on the phone a lot too. Not only that but apparently there are several people in search of porn during the overnight hours in our office that have cropped up over the years...including a very Christian, church-going fellow who we all think is a closet gay...NOT that there's anything wrong with that. I am not phobic or anything, but is it wrong to find some kind of satisfaction in knowing that your suspicions about some people were right all along??
So last night I wanted to try something different besides 'plain old chicken' for dinner. My attempt at cooking a fab dinner didn't go too well. Here is what I cooked. I took it from the NYTimes site. (please don't sue me)
Braised Ligurian Chicken

Published: November 19, 2003

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Time: 40 minutes

2 heaping tablespoons flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 to 5 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups white wine
4 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/2 cup calamata olives (with pits)
3 ripe plum tomatoes, halved, seeded and coarsely chopped.

1. In a large bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken pieces and toss until evenly coated.

2. Place a large flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat, and heat olive oil. Add chicken pieces, and fry until golden underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken, and add rosemary and garlic. Continue to fry until garlic is softened but not colored, about 3 minutes. Add wine. When it comes to a boil, add anchovies, olives and tomatoes.

3. Partly cover pan, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until chicken is cooked and tender, and broth is reduced to a rich sauce, 15 to 20 minutes. To serve, discard rosemary sprigs, and season well with salt and pepper to taste. Place a piece or two of chicken on each plate, and top with a spoonful of sauce.

Yield: 4 servings.

(did I mention that I'm a raving Jamie Oliver fan?)

It wasn't terrible, a bit too salty (I think I used too many olives). I actually kind of liked it, but it does no good to take the time and effort to cook something for people who don't like what you're cooking. I am not giving up though! I'm looking forward to cooking my first proper Thanksgiving meal next week. I did it last year but I don't want to count that one because I actually didn't cook the turkey long enough and it wasn't quite done...my bad. This year will be different though!
Here are links to the things I will be preparing for the feast.

Good Eats Roast Turkey Alton Brown seems a bit mad, but has some great ideas to make food better.
Emeril's Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate Pie Ok, I'm not in Hawaii so it's gonna be plain old Nestle's Tollhouse chocolate...deal with it.
Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie I would like to point out that the difficulty of this recipe is listed as EXPERT and I made it last week. Does that make me a cooking expert? (not likely...)