Saturday, September 18, 2010

Live Orange; or Chicken Cuts the Mustard

It has been a while since our postdoctorally employed Swede in Stillwater, OK, last posted something on this food blog. "Has he not eaten since August?", we may ask ourselves, worriedly. Fortunately, he has. For instance, a recent trip to Austin, TX, featured chilled cucumber soup, country-style toast, delicious Mexican cuisine, agave syrup drinks, and some very fine margaritas, chips, and salsa at Takoba in East Austin. Some of these treats were sampled in restaurants, some of them were prepared by friends; all were great.

Now that our hero is back in Stillwater, where Oklahoma began (Apparently.  At least this is what a wall downtown maintains.), and he will be staying put for a while. Hence he needs to feed himself once more, and just as before he will share the results of his efforts on the internet. Unlike the previous posts, this one will not be vegetarian, for the following reason.

Today is game day here in Stillwater. The OSU Cowboys are playing Tulsa, people are tailgating, feasting on assorted barbecued meats and, well, Coors and Budweiser, and generally rooting for their team. Football is a big deal here! "Live orange" is one of the slogans of Oklahoma State University, and while the Swedish mathematician writing these lines does not know much about football, he likes the idea of supporting his home team by living, or at least, eating orange. But what should he eat?

Tags on huge SUV style cars parked in the lots close by politely offer "May we suggest beef?" I should think not, this blogger thinks to himself, vaguely disturbed by the concept of a pumped-up, beef-eating SUV. Carrots and oranges? "Not very supportive of your team, are you Mister?" But maybe, just maybe, fried chicken might work for us. But we want something orange with it. Ah!-bell peppers come in orange varieties. So why not make the mustard chicken pasta with peppers some of our blogger's friends in Sweden have been exposed to on numerous occasions? Perfect!

In the store, our wannabe blogger/math guy is reminded that it's pumpkin season-those things are everywhere! Pumpkins. Pumpkins are orange. Hm, he thinks, let's go past Brown's Bottles on the way on the way home... and get some pumpkin ale.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast filets (organic)
2 orange (!) bell peppers
1 onion
16 oz. sour cream
1 jar of Dijon mustard

olive oil
salt
pepper

fettucini




Starts by cutting the chicken into reasonably thin strips. Then, in a frying pan, fry the chicken in a generous amount of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. We are handling chicken here, so you want to make sure it is properly cooked before proceeding to the next step. Wait until the chicken strips have a golden brown surface-but don't wait to long. You don't want to burn the chicken or let it go dry. Turn down the heat for a while if necessary.

In the meantime, chop up the onion and the (orange!) peppers. Let them go the way of the chicken, into the frying pan! Note how the peppers orangely liven up the pan.  Turn up the heat a little and fry the chicken, peppers and onions until the vegetables are soft. You may want to add some salt and pepper.




Now open the sour cream and add some; I used about half a 16 oz. package. You want a creamy but not runny sauce. Next, add the mustard using a spoon. Use lots of it and don't be afraid-it's supposed to be strong! I used up about 1/3 of a jar of good imported Dijon mustard. Then let the sauce simmer for a while.




In the meantime, prepare the fettucini. It is not difficult, but remember to serve the pasta al dente. Read the instructions on the package or trust your instincts; it should typically take about 10 minutes. Serve the pasta and the sauce in a bowl, or possibly on a plate. Done!




Serving suggestions: "Monster" by R.E.M. on the side, a "Chuck's Pumpkin Ale" by Battered Boar Brewing Co., Oklahoma City, OK. (It is brewed using pumpkins and pecans.)



1 comment:

  1. I've been exposed to it too! Entertaining blog, Al. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete