No Peace!

My head firmly ensconced under the bathroom sink faucet, hair completely wet, you’d think I’d be safe. I hear the dreaded noise of the stepstool being dragged over to the sink for a better look. “Mama.” “Mama.” “Mama, I talk to you!” “Mama, what are you doing?”

So Monday has come and gone and it was a doozy. Busy day at work, busy day after work. Hey, at least there’s consistency. Luckily, today, I started out one step ahead … I made tonight’s dinner last night, so I just had to throw together a salad and heat up the dinner. I made Roasted Balsamic Chicken. It’s flavorful, simple and heck, even healthy. You can’t ask for better than that.

Got Tivo? If you do, set it now for a new show on PBS, premiering on April 27. If you don’t set it now, and are anything like me, you’ll promptly forget as soon as you leave here. Cooking Under Fire is a brand new, completely unscripted, documentary-style show that will track 12 finalists competing for a chef position in one of Todd English’s NYC restaurants. How cool is that? The finalists were chosen from restaurants and culinary schools all across the country, and they’ll be given unique cooking challenges to find out if they can stand the heat. Gee, as if knowing who the judges are isn’t pressure enough! Todd English, Ming Tsai and Michael Ruhlman will be judging the competition. Tune in on Wednesday … I know I will be.

For Donna Hay fans, tomorrow, she is releasing her newest cookbook, Instant Cook. I have her 7 other cookbooks, as well as a subscription to her magazine, and the photography is worth the cost alone. Her recipes are all simple, yet stunning in presentation – perfect for entertaining.

Also on my list (good thing Mother’s Day is coming up!), is French chef Ludo Lefebvre’s first cookbook, Crave (See Touch Smell Hear Taste). All about food in its sensuality, he’s channeling Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver at their best. This one’s also coming out tomorrow. I gotta admit, the cover picture is a little, uh, powerful?, but I’m still intrigued about it.

Tune in tomorrow to find out what I’m making for my office lunch on Wednesday. I’ll tune in too since, so far, I have NO IDEA what to make. And hey, if you’ve made any of the recipes I’ve written about here over the past few months, drop me a line and let me know about it. Feedback … it’s a good thing.

Roasted Balsamic Chicken
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-pounds chicken thighs

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and arrange the chicken pieces on a large greased baking dish. Roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 hour. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve.

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