My friend and Time for Dinner co-author Pilar Guzman has a theory about cooking from recipes (as opposed to improvising with what youโve got in front of you). She calls it the Wax-On/Wax-Off theory. Remember how the Karate Kid had no idea he was developing muscle memory for defensive blocks until Mr. Miyagi took away the car-waxing cloth??? ย Pilar believes that there is a whole world of capable cooks out there who are still waxing carsโฆI mean, still relying on recipes even though their highly developed culinary muscles have fully prepared them to start winging it in the kitchen.
That person was me until a few years ago. Iย remember the recipe that turned it around for me โ Chicken with Bacon and Brussels Sprouts. I had eaten some version of the dish in a restaurant and for whatever reason decided that this was the meal that was going to be my Crane Kick. I had probably cooked and edited 4200 skillet meals by that point in my life so I knew the basic technique wasโฆ
Brown meat in fat. Remove meat. Add vegetables. Add meat back to pan with some form of liquid. Simmer until meat is cooked through.
So I thought about the ingredients I needed, thought about the technique, then tested myself. The exercise not only yielded the most delicious dinner that even the girls inhaled like wolves, but ignited a little flicker of confidence that I knew would just keep growing. And it has. I think itโs a huge reason why Iโve been able to keep the family dinner thing going. (Is there anything less appealing than bobbing back and forth between a pot and a cookbook during the six-oโclock scramble?) So now, itโs your turn to test yourself. Up there in the picture are all the ingredients you need (chicken, bacon, brussels, onion, wineโฆforgot to show salt & pepper) to create Chicken with Bacon and Brussels (finished dish pictured below). See how you doโฆand let me know how it turns out.
Can I tell you how much I love this dinner? Not only is the bacon/ brussels combo genius, but the whole meal takes about a half hour and uses only one pot.
PS: The โI Want to Cook with What I Already Haveโ chapter in Time for Dinner is a nice way to start weening yourself off recipes. They provide just enough structure to get you started, but are loose enough for some good old-fashioned off-roading.
I am exactly that person; Iโve been cooking for years, the daughter or an accomplished cook as well, and I run back and forth between the stove and the cookbook every night to make sure I have my teaspoon measured perfectly.
Unlike with baking, cooking isnโt a precise science โ more of a dance. Improv. Thanks for reminding me of this โ Iโll return and report!
Hello โ first, thank you, I think this is a wonderful space. My cookbook came today and I canโt wait to read it. Second, I still miss Cookie magazine. Just sayinโ. Finally, I wonder if you can help with this: Iโm lucky to have a 3-year old who eats lots of different foods, our problem is getting him to the table. We get home around 5:15. Dinner on the table between 5:45 and 6:00 PM. Toddler to the table, well, most nights, at best, about 6:45 after repeated reminders that โno growing food = no dessert.โ He just wonโt stay put to eat. He usually ends up eating 10-15 bites of dinner while on the run, a small bowl of ice cream at the table (Dessert!), and then, by 7:30 he is hungry for his main food staple: plain yogurt with honey. This isnโt a disaster by any means, but Iโd love him to sit at the table with us for even 15 minutes, and to fill up more on dinner and less on yogurt. Any ideas?
i think that there are a couple of different types of cooks โ those who like to use a recipe to cook and those who donโt. i am one who does. (this could be because iโm an engineer by training and it appeals to my meticulous and somewhat neurotic/anal nature.) i just like the certainty of knowing what to do next. of course there are things i make so often that i no longer need the recipe because i know it by heart, but i still โuseโ the recipe. itโs also not to say that i donโt sometimes make substitutions based on my prefereces or just what i have/donโt have on hand, but i still basically follow the recipe. i have a friend who hates recipes and would always prefer to make it up, you just have to go with what works for you.
Thanks for another cute post!
I recently moved, and my personal cookbook (with all my handwritten, time tested, modified recipes) went missing! Having to relearn all those recipes is still a work in progress. But I was surprised to realize that I didnโt actually NEED the recipes. I had made most of them so many times, I could just โdoโ them.
Except for the desserts.
The difference between 3 eggs and four in a recipe is the difference between a pineapple casserole and pineapple scrambled eggs!
I love your blog. I discovered it this summer and have been an avid reader ever since. After reading your post yesterday, I โsharedโ the recipe for the brussels, chicken, and bacon dish with my husband, who was on deck to cook dinner last night. In my mindโs eye, I knew he had defrosted chicken, we had brussels sprouts, and miracle of miracles, we even had some really good bacon in the fridge. He was game, having had a lot of practice โwinging itโ, so whipped up the dish. Yummy does not even describe how good the meal was. My five-year-olds were still talking about how good it was this morning. Thanks for the inspiration!
I just spent the better part of a staff meeting writing down the way to do this and I am still kind of wondering if it will work. Will report back tomorrow. I, for better or for worse, am a person who depends on instructions and recipes so I am a little nervous about it. ๐ฎ
I made this last night and it was AWESOME! I donโt have kids (yet), but I do have a husband who swore he hated brussels sprouts, but adores bacon. He loved it! I substituted the bacon for turkey bacon because I had it in the fridge, and added some craisins along with the liquid (chicken stock and white wine) which added to the wonderful flavor complex. I also threw some toasted slivered almonds on at the end for texture. Thanks!
Mmmmโฆ.cooking in bacon fat makes a big difference, doesnโt it? Alas, I covered my pan (I am totally paranoid about undercooked chicken) and my sprouts came out terribly anemic looking. But the taste was fine, and we loved the bacony chicken. Thanks for the inspiration to step out of the comfort zone (but I think Iโm back to waxing for a bit!).
This recipe caused something magical to happen in my house. Not only did my 5 year old pop three brussel sprouts in his mouth, one after the other, but he ate about three spoonfuls of quinoa (drizzled with the sauce from the chicken/sprout dish).
I casually mentioned that people call them brussel sprouts because they make people sprout and grow tall. (Did I mention we sometimes lie about the effects of food? Fish make you swim better, carrots make you hop high like a rabbit and broccoli really are mini trees and bushes that elves and hobbits live in). After hearing that he will grow taller, he ate a few more! I should go buy a lottery ticket right now because this kind of luck does not happen to me.
Anyways here is how I made the meal: I cooked the bacon, set it aside and then partially cooked chicken thighs in a little reserved bacon fat, set aside the chicken, then sauteed the sprouts and onion together, then put the chicken back in the pan with the sprouts and onion, added 1 cup of chicken stock and put a lid on it for about 10 minutes. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Amanda! This warms my heart โ especially since you were nervous about going off the book only a few hours earlier. And the way you cooked the dinner is the exact way I cooked it, but for the rest of youโฆdonโt look. Thatโs cheating!
You are so right on!! Iโve been waxing on and off and on and off and I never once thought I could actually cook without a recipe. Geesh. Friends always say Iโm a good cook. I always say I can read directions.
Thanks for this inspiration. Iโm scared silly to start with something like brussel sprouts that Iโm not even sure I will like, but Iโm throwing caution to the wind!
Iโll let you know how it goes . . . this weekend. For tonight I need something a little more predictable.
I do cook this way fairly often, but I havenโt tried this combinationโso weโre having it tonight! Hereโs hoping the kids will try some brussels sprouts! It reminds me of another favorite variation: chicken with onions, fennel, a little balsamic (on the chicken), raisins, parsley & pinenuts. Add a little extra broth, too. I like that everyone eats this meal, even if we lift the chicken out and serve it without veggies to the kids (they have carrot sticks or edamame instead). Theyโll eat the brothy sauce on a side of noodles or mashed potatoes, too.
This is a great post. Your words crystallized a sense Iโve been having lately that Iโm not harnessing my kitchen know-how as much as I should. Itโs so much more fun when you put your own creativity into a dish. Thank you!
Your topics are always so spot on. I love the idea of cooking with what is in my kitchen but am still terrified of messing it up. First of all โ who really cares, my husband will eat anything. The man used to microwave chicken in college. And second how else will I learn? You have given me the confidence to do it! I love this idea, maybe you could do more of these? I know I would enjoy it!
Made this tonightโฆ I was kind of nervous but liked the challenge. It was pretty good but missing something I think. Would you mind sharing how you prepared it? Just for comparison-sake? Thank you for your recipies and inspiration!
When I was a kid, I hated eating vgeetables. One night brussel sprouts were the vegetable of the evening. I hid my four in a coffee can on the windowsill that held an avocado pit studded with toothpicks that my Mom was hoping would turn into a plant You know like all Moms did in the 60s Unfortunately, my secret was revealed about a week later when a very unpleasant odor was emanating from that coffee can I was found guilty Forty years later, I friggin LOVE brussel sprouts! Who knew they could actually be tasty! Thanks, my child!
Made this for dinner last night and it was delicious!! Scaled it down for two people and now I wish I had made more for leftovers!
This post spoke to me so clearly, I decided that I needed to read every single post ever written starting with January 2010. And Iโve basically done just that the last week (Iโm up to 2012!), quietly reading on my iPad during Bears games at home with my boyfriend. Iโve since found that many of the posts are incredibly relatable โ but none more than this one. Iโm a 27-year old woman who travels for work and Iโm always looking for quick, easy, healthy recipes. But Iโm glued to the recipe. Today, I decided to wax off. I probably read every post you wrote about salmon, but decided to make it my own way โ with store-bought stir fry sauce I had lying around with kale and rice. Iโve never had a more perfectly cooked salmon (thanks to your salmon and brussels sprouts recipe directions) and Iโm so proud of myself for coming up with a combination myself, one that didnโt involve reading a recipe word for word.
Not to get too lengthy here, but your blog is inspiring me to cook for myself โ not my husband (Iโm not married), not my children (I donโt have any) but just me. And I love how versatile it is. Thank you!
Man, I kind of think of myself as someone who does okay in the kitchen. But I made a mess of this dish. Burned the bacon, the chicken was tough and stringy. Even the brussels sprouts, which I normally roast with olive oil and s & p, turned out mushy. I guess I am better at following instructions and then introducing variations or going off-book once Iโve practiced something a couple times! Iโd love to be a โrealโ cook โ peeking in the fridge and pantry, grabbing this and that, and whipping up some tasty dish. It didnโt happen for me last night though!
Did anyone ever get a proper recipe for this dish? I can experiment, but I prefer to have some help. Do you chop the brussels sprouts or leave them whole? Do you add wine AND chicken broth or one OR the other? My family loves everything, so I am not worried about them liking the dish โ I would like a proper recipe. Thanks!