Blue Apron meal #2: Roasted Chicken with Jalapeño-Herb Salsa

[thistlechaser]

Recipe here.
Cooking time: 45 minutes (Blue Apron claims all can be made in 30 minutes, but I'm cooking challenged, so.)
Fire alarms set off: Almost one!
New foods tried: pistachios, wheat berries, shallot?

While I've never had wheat berries before, I wasn't worried about trying them -- I was actually looking forward to it. Turns out they're harmless, seemingly no different than steel-cut oatmeal.

I was kind of worried about trying pistachios; I've never had them before, but they're a green nut and that just didn't seem right. Turns out they're good!

I've seen shallots used on cooking shows, but as far as I know, I've never held one or eaten one.

Everything came out fine. My oven smoked like heck (maybe I used too much olive oil? I wish they'd say "drizzle a tablespoon..." instead of just "drizzle").

The salsa (can you call it that if I left out the jalapeno?) tasted outstanding in the bowl but too vinegary on the wheat berries. It was interesting having all that citrus mixed in with the berries, though I only ate about half the serving.

All in all, it was an okay meal. Not great, not horrible. I'm glad I got to try wheat berries, and I'm happy to discover I like pistachios.

Comments

[kelen.livejournal.com]

Salsa can be whatever you want. :) It's kind of a generic term in a way. 'These things I like all finely chopped and mixed together to make a dip'.

I've a friend who loves experimenting with salsa. She made this amazing mango (Yes, the fruit) one a few years ago. ..And then she made a version of it she called Ooch. Because that's how bad it burned on the way down. Salsa is what you want it to be.

Omg.. I LOVE pistachio. You should try the ice cream. <3

What you might do is buy some of those single serving nut packs stores often have. That way you can cheaply try nuts and not waste a bunch. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah! I thought salsa had to have peppers in it.

I will TOTALLY try pistachio ice cream now! I wish I had discovered that I liked them sooner!

[hamsterwoman]

I don't think I've ever had pistachios that were used as part of an entree (only on their own or as part of a dessert), but they're yummy! Shallots I also like, but I'm a fan of onion-y things in general.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Two of the three meals this week used them! I went from never having them to having them twice. Good thing I liked them.

I liked the shallots as well. I suspect I like onion-y things more than I thought I did. (Usually I get onion rings and pull the onions out, haha.)

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

What are wheat berries? Is it just un-ground wheat?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I actually have no idea. Let's see what google says! From wiki:

A wheatberry or wheat berry is the entire wheat kernel (except for the hull), composed of the bran, germ, and endosperm. Wheatberries have a tan to reddish brown color and are available as either a hard or soft processed grain. They are often added to salads or baked into bread to add a crunchy texture.

Now that I've read that, I think they'd be even better in a salad or in bread instead of as a lump on your plate. I bet it would make outstanding bread!

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Pistachios are great, they're one of my favorite nuts. I've never tried wheat berries, now I'm curious.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I really like them as well!

Do you like steel-cut oatmeal? It's just like that. Mush full of things with a bit of a bite to them. (That sounds grosser than it should...)

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

I like a bit of bite in my food, and I love steel-cut oatmeal. It's one of my comfort foods. I'll have to check this out, I love trying new things, so thanks for the tip. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Welcome! :D

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

Blue Apron claims all can be made in 30 minutes, but I'm cooking challenged, so
Reminds me of when my landlady and her then-fiancé followed one of Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meal recipes...only it took them more than 30 minutes to make it. And they aren't cooking challenged!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

So many of these short time limit recipes assume you have everything chopped, measured, and in handy little bowls easy to use. Not to mention, do six different things at once! These recipes are pretty bad about that. "While the chicken is cooking and the pasta is boiling, do..."

Smoking oven

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

450F is pretty high. Extra virgin olive oil's smoke point is about 375F.

Re: Smoking oven

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah! Well that explains it then. It was regular olive oil, not extra virgin, but my oven runs a little cooler so I usually set the temp as 10 degrees higher than instructed. Regular olive oil has a smoke point of 460. It seems maybe I'm wrong about my oven being a little cooler!

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

Salsa is definitely still salsa without jalapenos in my opinion. :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ha! Good then! That's what I made. :)