epicureantease

I eat a lot of chicken. A LOT.  I eat so much in fact that I’m surprised I haven’t started growing feathers. And started to cluck!

No matter the million plus ways chicken can be prepared, I find that I tend to fall back on the same trusty dishes – roasted/baked chicken, my personalized version of chicken cacciatore (bell peppers, artichoke hearts, onion, garlic, mushrooms & capers in a tomato-wine based sauce), chicken strips, chicken & dumplings, chicken enchiladas, chicken caesar salad, chicken & rice with cream of mushroom soup.. Preparing the same chicken dishes over and over again have me screaming, “NO MORE FRICKIN’ CHICKEN”!!!”… as I pick up another package of chicken breasts while strollin’ thru the meat department at Raley’s.  Sigh.

A friend recently suggested I try Chicken Tikka Masala. Although I don’t think this suggestion was to benefit my desire for new ideas (he was driven at the thought of a home-cooked meal), I’m always willing to try something new,  so I decided to check it out. My online search produced quite a few variations of this dish. Some included curry, some included orange food coloring (this struck me as funny!). Being allrecipes.com has yet to let me down, I decided to go with their version. It also helped that I already had the majority of the ingredients and didn’t need to go hunting down anything “unusual”.

Tonight was the night. I was ready to whip up a dish to remember. Little did I know just how memorable it would be (think the movie Along Came Polly..). Chicken Tikka Masala, Jasmine Rice and Tandoori Naan. Mmmmm. The thought alone made me salivate.  Dinner was prepared and beautifully plated. One bite and well, let’s just say this recipe, as is, is not (NOT) a keeper! The meal would have been less salty had I sucked on a salt lick. Seriously. I’m not afraid to stray from a recipe and season to my liking, however when trying a recipe I’m not familiar with, I follow it thru the first time. This recipe called for 7 teaspoons of salt. Yes, SEVEN TEASPOONS! I maybe added 5. I should have added 2. At most.

Prior to dinner this evening, I was prepared to share the recipe. After trying it however, I wouldn’t wish this dish on my worst enemy. Had I one. I’m thankful for having gracious company for dinner. For cleaning their plate, though I couldn’t stomach all of mine. For laughing with me over what may have been the worst meal I’ve ever made. You can’t win every time! 🙂

I leave you this evening with a picture of my pretty, yet not-so-great tasting Chicken Tikka Masala and a few lessons. Lesson 1: looks can be deceiving. Lesson 2: watch what you ask for. Lesson 3: no one (and nothing) is perfect!  All the time. Lesson 4: laugh at yourself. And lastly, lesson 5: don’t let salt happen to you! 🙂

Chicken Tikka Masala