Pollo

Chicken and I have been on the outs. Lately when I cook with it it just disgusts me. I'm not sure why this is the case with chicken but not beef? I only ever cook with breast (unless I'm roasting an entire chicken, and that experience made me sad because the poor bird reminded me of a small child) so I don't deal with any blood, skin, or bones. I'm okay with it until I take that first bite, and then I have a flashback of dealing with it raw. There's also the business of avoiding salmonella. I am OCD about making sure I don't cross-contaminate (which by the way I can't say of some food network show hosts who get their chicken fingers on everything). My hands are so dry they feel like they're going to crack when I'm done with the kitchen. Another thing that really turns my stomach about my chicken is this meaty taste my husband calls "desabrido" (not sure if I spelled that right). It's Spanish for "raw taste". Not that I undercook the chicken, but it's got that distinct meat flavor that is just unappetizing.

Lately though, I've been experimenting with sauces. Monday night I made an avocado sauce that I have to admit was delicious. Today I actually marinated the chicken for about 8 hours in yogurt and Indian spices. The recipe was Tandoori Chicken which called for the oven to be set to 500 degrees, which in retrospect was probably a bad idea. About 20 minutes into cooking I couldn't get the smoke alarms turned off, probably because there are still cheese bits on the bottom of the oven from all those late night Digiorno's :-)