Spicy Chipotle Fried Chicken Sandwich

Getting ready for the chicken sandwich!

Something that I have come to realize is that good food is not a measure of fancy techniques or fancy ingredients. A simple meal such as a Chicken Sandwich can be the best meal ever if all elements of the meal are made fresh and made with care. It is with this thought in mind that I set off on my chicken sandwich odyssey this past Tuesday night. The whole idea of making fried chicken has been on my mind ever since I got the June issue of Bon Appetit and read the story on Nashville's Hot Fried Chicken. The idea of eating spicy chicken stayed with me for over a month. In that month, I also picked up the June/July issue of Saveur and I was faced with a story on the Nashville Fried Chicken phenomenon again.

Savory Oatmeal with Ground Beef and Vegetables Stir-Fry

Savory Cheesy Oatmeal served with Ground Beef Stir-fry

One of my friends at work started talking about this recipe he discovered for oatmeal. It is a savory recipe that calls for adding cheese the oatmeal as it cooks. As he spoke about the recipe, I realized that I really wanted to try it out something similar. I am a big fan of oatmeal. The first time I heard about savory oatmeal was years back when Cameron Diaz caused a splash by mentioning her secret way of eating oatmeal. Now that it was back of my radar, my taste bud just won't let go of the idea. I knew that along with the oatmeal, I wanted some crunch to balance the creamy texture. I immediately knew I wanted a stir-fry.

Inspired: Garlicky Pasta with Shrimp

Garlicky Pasta With Shrimp Topped with Crunchy Panko Breadcrumbs

Today was going to be a great day. I pretty much had it planned out. Wake up early in the morning, take a shower and go to the movies. I planned on seeing 'Chef' by Jon Favreau. I had kept up with reviews for the movie during the release week. I even read a profile on Mr. Favreau in the NYTimes a few weeks back. The movie was definitely on my radar and I really did not want to miss an opportunity to see it in theatre.

Cue MBTA's craziness this morning. There was construction on the redline so it took me much longer to get into town than I had estimated. I was running 15 minutes late. I got into the movie theatre just as the Coca-cola ad that ends the preview session was finishing up. I was so relieved. And the movie started...and I was in awe. I loved the movie so much. It is very much a homage to the creative life, in my opinion. I loved the way food is treated with awe-inspiring amazing shots of foods being cooked and plated. It all looked so real.

Wild Rice Pesto Salad

Wild Rice Pesto Salad

This is actually my lunch that I took to work last week. I need to get in the habit of posting my recipes earlier. Anyway, most of the cooking I do has to stand the test of time because I cook in bulk and then eat through out the week or sometimes within 10 days or so. This wild rice salad is something that I ate for a week and really enjoyed it. It had the right about of fresh flavor and kept me full for a long time. Plus, it tasted fantastic with the Feta Salsa I sprinkled over it.

Scallops and Mango Cucumber Salsa

Scallops and Mango Cucumber Salad

About a year ago, I discovered and started reading the food blog of the Sports Illustrated model Chrissy Teigen. One particular recipe that she had that was super hilarious was her scallops recipe.I had never had scallops before and I really still don't know much about it...except that succulent sea scallops are super expensive. I did not think much about it until this past week when I had the opportunity to get scallops at a discount.