A Day In the Life: Creamy Chicken Parmesan with Linguini, Chocolate Meringue Bark and Honey BBQ Boneless Chicken Bites

Ever wonder what a day in the life of a Mademoiselle Miam blogger is like? (Since our only followers are my other blog and Cara's mom, the answer is likely a resounding "no," but you shall soon know regardless.) Today yielded some wonderful recipes, and I am excited to shamelessly promote them here with you.


A Day In the Life of Alyssa, a Mademoiselles Miam Blogger


9AM At this point it is necessary to prepare for work and feed my hungry family. This includes Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes and cat food for Polly.

(This is Polly. She made it roughly one foot from the door before deciding to take a nap in the sun.)

10 AM means work. While TAing freshman composition at my local college, I am of course planning a wonderful lunch for my mother. (Creamy chicken and carbs trumps grammar any day.)


2 PM means Creamy Chicken Parmesan.

THIS.

I lent a neighbor my last can of crushed tomatoes this week (welcome to the South), so I decided to satisfy my Chicken Parmesan craving with my favorite cream sauce and some linguini noodles.

Creamy Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon cumin

Breadcrumbs

Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cajun seasoning

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon garlic & herb seasoning (I use Old Bay brand)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground peppercorn

shredded parmesan cheese

linguini noodles

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken breasts in minced garlic, olive oil, poultry seasoning and cumin for several hours. Cut slits in the chicken to allow penetrative marinating.
2. Coat in breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Preheat oven to 425.
3. Cook breaded chicken for 25-30 minutes or until browned, flipping chicken halfway through the baking process in order to assure even baking.
   4. Cook linguini noodles according to package directions.
   5. Combine heavy cream, paprika, cajun seasoning, cumin, thyme, garlic & herb seasoning, salt, ground peppercorn and parmesan cheese in a small pan over medium heat until thickened and combined.
   6. Serve noodles coated in cream sauce. Serve breaded chicken atop linguini noodles, lightly coated in cream sauce.

3 PM: I finish Willa Cather's Death Comes For the Archbishop, begin a short study of Robert Browning's poetry, and write write write. Check out my poetry blog, She Writes, to satisfy your literary cravings. (Shameless self-promotion? Check.)


6 PM: Everyone's getting restless in the July heat, so I decide to whip up some cookies.

Chocolate Meringue Bark Cookies. Behold. 

These cookies are thin and bark-like, and although the edges are crisp and chewy like a good meringue, they remain soft and gooey and chocolate-doughy on the inside. Enjoy with milk.

Chocolate Meringue Bark Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup organic cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Stir dry ingredients together. Add egg whites one at a time and blend on low with an electric mixer.

3. Add vanilla and then turn the electric mixer on high for two minutes or until the batter forms soft peaks.

4. Spoon batter onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. (Makes ten cookies.)

8PM: Okay, so to be honest, after the meringue bark cookies, no one was hungry for a very long time. (I'm a terrible caretaker. I know.) But eventually the crowd begins to claw for dinner. I'm craving salad (who craves salad? I do. It's weird.), but the family is hungry for chicken. I compromise and serve a salad with these Honey BBQ Boneless Chicken Bites that have been marinating in the refrigerator all day.

Instagram gave this a slightly 70's style green-yellow glare. Apologies.

The key to these chicken bites is to marinate them all day. The flavors they soak up perfectly complement the flavors of the honey BBQ sauce and the crispness of the breadcrumbs. Also, they are BAKED, so they are much healthier than the fried breaded boneless bites you will find at your local Buffalo Wild Wings.

Honey BBQ Boneless Chicken Bites

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon Chipotle seasoning

¾ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup BBQ Sauce

 2 tablespoons honey

slurry of 1 teaspoon corn starch and 2 tablespoons water

Directions: 

1. Cube the boneless chicken breasts. Marinate in minced garlic, cajun seasoning, onion powder, chipotle seasoning, cumin, kosher salt, and 1/4 cup honey all day.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat marinated chicken cubes in Panko breadcrumbs and arrange on a well-oiled pan or baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, flip each chicken piece, and bake for another 10 minutes. Broil on low for two minutes on each side of the chicken after it is thoroughly cooked to crisp the breadcrumbs, but be careful that the coating does not blacken or burn.

3. Combine BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons honey and cornstarch slurry in a small pan over low heat. Whisk constantly. It should bubble and thicken. Be careful not to burn the honey! Thicken to your taste.

4. Coat the crispy chicken pieces with the sauce and enjoy.

An excellent day in the life of this Mademoiselle Miam blogger. Poetry and very good food-- that's what life is all about. 

Happy eating!

--Alyssa