I’m not shy to admit it… I love to eat. And I’ve got the love-handles to prove it too :p

*But* I love to cook too. And which is why, these guys from Eat Dangerously came up with, IMHO, the best web application, ever:

A FRENCH K.I.S.S. MENU CREATION TOOL

Go there, select the food you feel like having (or Trust the Force and select Random) click “Create Recipe” and off you go. This is what I got:

You will be having this lovely meal: flambed chicken in lyonnaise sauce served with macaroni.

Shopping list. . .
2 tablepoons of clarified butter
2 tablespoons of minced onions
2 dashes of salt
1.5 cups of demi-glace
4 tablespoons of vinegar
2 pieces of chicken
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons of powdered mustard
2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar for the salad
4 tablespoons of white wine
2 pinches of pepper
2 cups of macaroni
2 bits of rosemary for garnish
2 shots of cognac
6 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil for the salad
0.5 cups of beef stock
2 handfuls of watercress

Meat. . .
The chicken should be at room temperature. Prepare it by patting dry, then coating with salt and pepper.

To flambeé your chicken, heat a sufficiently large iron pan on high. When it is good and hot, add some clarified butter. You will frizzle your meat so a hardened coasting may form on the chicken surface which will keep their juices in.

Now, put in your chicken. Put your chicken in skin side down first. After browning both sides for about 2 minutes, lower the heat to medium. Continue to cook for about 20 minutes or so, flipping every 5 minutes. The length of time is dependent on how tender your chicken is.. When the meat is done, pour a bit of cognac into the pan and ignite. When the flames disappear you are finished.

Sauce. . .
For lyonnaise sauce:

brown 2 tablespoons of minced onions slightly in 2 tablespoons of butter.
moisten with 4 tablespoons of white wine and as much vinegar
reduce the liquid
add 1.5 cups of demi-glace
set to cook slowly for half and hour
strain if you desire

Starch. . .
Parboil the macaroni in salted water, keeping it somewhat firm; drain it; and simmer it in about 0.5 cups of beef stock until the macaroni has almost entirely absorbed it. Serve in a timbale, and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of the beef stock.

Salad. . .
To make your simple salad, take 2 handfuls of watercress, separate the leaves, wash them, and dry them.

Now, make your dressing. Take 2 tablespoons of vinegar, three parts its volume of extra virgin olive oil, along with 2 of teaspoons of powdered mustard, salt and pepper and whisk together. Gently toss your dressing mixture with your watercress.

When you are finished cooking, arrange the food on 2 plates and apply rosemary garnish over the whole.

Why? Well, to quote the guys from Eat Dangerously ~ “. . .because “Being healthy pays off when you’re old while eating delicious food pays off RIGHT NOW.”

Bon Appetit people!