Chicken or steak?

I love to cook. And bake. And guess what? It's here! It's finally here! My shiny new Kitchen Aid stand mixer is sitting happily on my kitchen counter! It's first duty was to make mini coffee cakes to take to work, and I must say that it accomplished this admirably. Unfortunately, I over-filled the mini-muffin tins and now can't get them out without destroying them. Oh well, I suppose I will just have to scoop them into a tupperware and get rid of them some other way that does not require much in the presentation department (any volunteers?). And while these taste great, there are a few more tweaks I want to make to the recipe (I already changed the streusel topping to one that is much more moist), so I guess it all worked out.

I have really enjoying cooking dinner for myself over the last week. I mean, I have always loved cooking--the planning of it not so much, but the actual cooking part I find extremely relaxing. And now that I'm cooking for just me, it's gotten even better. Redneck ate for the simple fact that he had to to survive, enjoying a meal, but never really appreciated the flavors of a meal. I got frustrated with this and worked myself into a rut. There were only so many things that we both liked. Chicken is one of my favorite things ever and he does not like it (see "Who does that?!" from previous post). But, then again, I'm a pretty darn picky eater, especially when it comes to vegetables...as in, I generally don't eat them.

So anyway, this past week has been fantastic for cooking....capellini noodles with meat sauce and homemade garlic bread, beef stir-fry cooked in butter with rice, a fabulous cheeseburger, soprasata with french bread and grapes, and tonight, steak alfredo with tortellini and garlic bread. In the last week I have rediscovered how much I love to enjoy food....eating slowly, enjoying the rich buttery flavor of the stir-fry, the little kick of the oregano in the meat sauce, the sweet woodsy flavor of the soprasata, and the hint of rosemary in the alfredo. Tomorrow is up for debate at the moment....I'm torn between trying out a new recipe for breaded chicken with walnuts or pan-frying a flat iron steak with home-grown garlic mashed potatos. These are the tough decisions in life.