Variety Week

I've mentioned before that I have a really great life with lots of variety.  This week is no exception! 

On Tuesday I attended a cookie class about decorating cookies with fondant.  They looked cute and maybe more realistic than doing a lot of cakes with fondant.  The class was held at the Viking store on Peachtree and was almost full with 11 people.  There was plenty of room for us to work and lots of things for us to play, work, with.  I decorated 6 cookies and although I need more practice, I had fun.  Here are some of my cookies, the teacher and the classroom.

One day or two days, I have to bake some cookies one day and then spend the next day decorating them.  It could be a while for that.  Maybe for Christmas.

On Wednesday I had a client and this made me feel like summer is coming to an end!  Since I have a personal chef service I work with my customers on scheduling to their needs.  This customer is always busy but more so in the summer and they travel more in the summer with school out.  I cooked for her in May and then yesterday, we take the summer off because they are not home much.  I've been cooking for her about 4 years and this works well for both of us. 

I am actually cooking for us this week and trying some new recipes and so far, so good.  Last night we had Roman-Style Fettuccine with Chicken from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis.  Very good and good for leftovers tonight.

Roman-Style Fettuccine with Chicken

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
• 3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken until brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the bell peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, wine, thyme and oregano.  Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.  Return the chicken to the pan, add the broth and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat , cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high ehat.  Add the fresh pasta, stir and cook until tender, about 1 minute.  Drain.
4. Remove the chicken and let it cool slightly on a cutting board.  Using a fork and knife, gently shred the chicken.  return the chicken to the pan.  Stir in the capers and parsley.
5.  To serve, spoon the pasta into serving dishes and top with the chicken and sauce.

I made a couple changes.  I shredded the chicken before I returned it to the pan in step 2.  I thought that would be easier.  Also I used dry pasta and 1 pound.  I originally had this on the menu for Friday and was making pasta, but was hungry for this yesterday and knew pasta making would be crazy. 

Today I am once again going to a DeKalb County library and cooking with teens.  It was so much fun Saturday, I should have fun again.  I love having different things to do everyday.