Love and Marriage

As you remember, I mentioned that my lovely hubby traveled a lot for work.  He would normally leave on Sunday nights and return on Thursday nights.  You can imagine how psyched I would be to see him.  I looked forward weekends like a lazy kid in school.  Since he ate out most of the week AND I had home-cooked meals most of the week, we tried to compromise while he was around.  Naturally, I was ready to head out, but he wasn't.  So, I was able to showcase what I could put together from the farmers' market.  There were moments that I would work on a 5 to 7 course meal menu for us - I just needed an excuse!  This would typically start with a soup, salad, appetizer, main course, some sort of a side dish or two, dessert and finally fresh fruit.  Yes, it was very time-consuming, but what else did I have to do?  Plus it was also my therapy.  This routine continued on until I got pregnant with our first child.

Today, after having two children, I have no time to even prepare a 2-course meal!  Thanks to my picky toddlers, there is just no energy left to plan a nice dinner for ourselves.  That being said, I have learned to simplify and come up with fast, easy dishes that can be prepared once the kids are in bed.

It's already 76 degrees today.  In New York, we jump from winter to summer.  Days like this, we spend most of our times outside either in the park or at the playgrounds.  Once we get home later this afternoon, I have two very dirty and hungry kids to deal with.  So, I will share with you what I am making for dinner.  This recipe requires some advance preparation, but don't worry once you do the prepping, you leave it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.  It will take 5-7 minutes of your time.  You can spare that, can't you?

This dish is my interpretation of a very time-consuming Persian dish, Fesenjoon, that takes lots of time to prepare and cook.  Since I love the flavor so much BUT don't have that kind of time, here's what I came up with.

Roasted Pom Chicken

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts - boneless and skinless
1/4 cup Pomegranate molasses
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of ground saffron
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine all the ingredients (except salt, olive oil and walnuts) in a Pyrex measuring cup and mix well.  Place the chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and pour half of the mixture over them.  Let the air out, close the bag and make sure that all of the pieces all covered with the marinate.  You can leave it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours up to overnight!  When ready to cook, take the chickens out of the fridge until they are at room temperature.  Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and pour the olive oil over it.  Place the chicken breasts over the olive oil and sprinkle salt over them.  Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes.  Apply the other half of the marinate to the chicken breasts every 15 minutes with a brush while in the oven (this will keep them moist).

Once you take them out of the oven, cover with another piece of foil and let sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, toast the walnuts.  Then cut the breasts in small slices, put the walnuts over them and serve over your favorite salad or vegetable.  You can also prepare a sandwich which I recommend using Labné as a spread on your bread instead of Mayo - it will be a great compliment (trust me).  You can also use pomegranate molasses for your salad dressing.  Treat it as a vinegar and if it is a little too thick, you can either add a little water or vinegar to make it thinner - add a little salt and pepper and it is DELICIOUS.

Roasted Pom Chicken with Baby Arugula Salad



نوش جان = Bon Appetite