Chicken B'stilla, a.k.a. "Even my burps taste good!"

This week's challenge was Chicken B'stilla and I think it was quite a triumph. I described the dish, prior to making it, as a Moroccan version of chicken pot pie since it's basically shredded chicken inside a filo shell. But upon eating it, I discovered that that's not quite right. It's definitely its own thing and so lovely and so, well, unusual in a very friendly way.

The dish takes at least a few hours to make, but most of that is hands-off. The chicken marinates for a while with some onions, garlic, cinnamon, coriander, and ginger and then simmers for another hour or so until it's tender. The house smelled absolutely delicious. I was supposed to use saffron, but couldn't find it and I don't think the dish suffered from it. Once the chicken is finished it, you mix in some almonds, parsley, and cilantro, and then pile it into a filo shell, sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top, and bake it for a while longer. I was a little apprehensive about the filo, but found it surprisingly easy to work with. I did manage to fling melted butter all over my cookbook, though. A sign of love?  Andrew had at least three servings and declared it one of the best things I've ever made. We agreed that the flavor was interesting and complex with the play between sweet and savory, but much more mellow than Indian food. 

For dessert I made this Whole Lemon Tart. It's crazy easy! Meyer lemons were on sale, so I bought several and was happy that I only needed to sacrifice one. Simply take a lemon, slice it, remove the seeds, and toss the slices, skin and all, into a blender with some sugar. Add some cornstarch,eggs, and butter, and voila, your're finished. Well, you have to put it into your pre-baked crust and bake it a while, but jeez, compared to the other lemon tarts I've made, this one is an absolute breeze and absolute success. The lemon comes through brilliantly and isn't nearly as rich as the tart from Pierre Herme, even though his is quite delicious. The texture is more akin to lemon bars, I think, but it was a lovely complement to the chicken. The crust I made was not stellar, but I blame that on me. It was my first attempt at a shortbread crust and I found the dough just too sticky to get in the pan right. Oh well. 

What else? School is going fairly well and I'm enjoying teaching logic more than I'd anticipated. Huzzah! I bought this necklace on Etsy because I wanted something gold and different and playful and I love it. Andrew and I had a fun date last night. Paella for two? Yes, please! We're having a dinner party tomorrow, which is going to be absolutely terrific. Then I'm going home next weekend! Things are on the up and up.

Michel Rostang's Double Chocolate Mousse Cake

Well, here's my first entry for the French Friday's with Dorie.The recipe itself is quite easy and quite delicious. It's no different than a basic chocolate mousse, save for two quick trips in the oven thus producing a lovely two-layer mousse cake. I made the first layer on Wednesday before class and the second yesterday before class. I chose to serve the cake baked and chilled since it best accommodated my schedule and Dorie's recommendation.

Then, home from campus yesterday, a quick picture, and off to Andrew's with it. The flavor was quite good and the texture was nice as well. I wish I had pictures to do it justice. Although it was quick enough to squeeze in before class and other events, there wasn't quite enough time or daylight for the photos. Oh well. Better luck next time. I think the adventure is off to a good start and I like the challenge of trying to accomplish something special during the week, especially before I have to go to school. There is, of course, the danger of letting this take too much time wanting to stay in the kitchen a little too long. So, onwards and upwards, as they say.

The Ludic Turn

Well, the new year is off to a pretty good start, I think. I rang it in in traditional fashion with my oldest and closest friends and got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with my parents. The past week has been bizarre. I had no idea how incapable the area is of dealing with ice and snow. It was cute at first, but then it got old pretty quickly. I did enjoy the walks to Andrew's or even just down the street to get me out of the house for a while. And I do love winter. But I'm finding that I'm increasingly growing tired of Atlanta. There's still nothing I can specifically put my finger on, but it just isn't me. In Missouri and Kansas, though, I instantly knew that that was where I belonged at that very moment. Someday, maybe.

But! I am still happy to be back with the people here and I am eager to get the semester started. I think teaching logic will go well. Here's hoping, at least! I bought some paperwhite bulbs for my desk, too. They likely won't bloom until the ones outdoors do since I have poor timing, but it's still something encouraging to look at. I started reading Sutton-Smith's The Ambiguity of Play and was incredibly excited because he refers to the concept of the ludic turn that he seems happening withing art and literature in the twentieth century. In my mind I've been calling my project a characterization of the ludic turn in philosophy, which is contemporary with where Sutton-Smith identifies it in other disciplines, so I'm stoked to have resources and perhaps a more crystallized sense of direction. I have to defend a dissertation prospectus at the end of August. BARF.

The thing is, though, is that I'd like this to be a sort of ludic turn for myself, too. For being so fascinated with the subject, I am not especially good at it. But as I've discovered thus far, usually the people who are experts on a topic are not experts on it in practice. Still, though, I'd like to shift away from insissting that the spectator holds this esteemed and necessary position. I mean, it is true. But a I've used it to rationalize for too long and a spectator need only be a spectator. For one thing, I just committed to joining this blogging group: French Fridays with Dorie. Mary got me Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table for Christmas and I've already made and photographed a  few of the recipes, so there's nothing keeping me from blogging about it, too. I read thousands of blogs everyday and never comment and never post, so it's about damn time I jump in. And now that I've said it out loud, I'm held to it. It will be fun! A start, at least. The recipe for this week is a double chocolate mousse cake. I don't think anyone will complain about that.