Once upon a time, Single Men were notorious for having refrigerators stocked with Chinese take-out boxes, ketchup packets, pizza boxes, hot sauce, leftover Ramen noodles still in the bowl they were prepared in, moldy sandwich bread and copious amounts of beer. This was the norm from roughly 1977 to 1999.
But times, they have-a-changed.
With the invent of Food Network, Celebrity Chefs, organic lifestyles, Atkins, and South Beach, single Men are utilizing their dusty stove tops. They are opting for a good bottle of Red instead of a high carbed Brew.
One of my single guy friends’s approached me a few months back.
We’ll call him, Chris.
Chris was having a Lady friend over for dinner. He wanted to impress her for a few reasons. One, he liked her. She was a good girl. Two, he was low on funds and didn’t have the money to take her out to an upscale restaurant, and finally and probably most importantly, because he wanted to get laid.
Chris asked if I could show him how to make an upscale dinner that would impress without the impressive price tag.
I happily accepted.
This got me thinking. “Chris”, I asked, “would you like me to put together an easy Cookbook geared for single guys from a woman’s point-of-view?” Chris replied,” I would be forever in debt if you did.”
So, until money falls from the sky or a publisher notices my little blog (cough, cough), I’ll be using The Urban Eater to assist all of you Single Guys. Need help? Just ask. Got a culinary dilemma? I’m here for you.
Until then, I’ll be doing some of my normal postings and mixing in my Single Guy friendly cooking how-tos. From impressive dinners, to Gym maintenance foods, to low budget survival. I’m here. I’ll even be including Girlie pics to lure you to read on.
Chicken Roulade stuffed with Chevre, Sun dried Tomatoes, and Capers served with Lemon Scented Green Beans.
Roulade = A piece of meat, pounded thin, and stuffed with something.
Chevre = Good Goat’s milk cheese
Capers = Pickled Flower buds.
Price = $$
Goal = Getting Laid.
1-pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Cutlets (Turkey may also be used)
2 oz Chevre Cheese (Go to the deli. It will not be next to the Kraft singles)
1 jar Sun dried Tomatoes (get the smallest jar possible)
1 jar Capers (get the smallest jar with the smallest buds possible)
Salt
Pepper
1 Lemon (should be all yellow and you should be able to squeeze it without pressure)
1 bag fresh, cleaned, trimmed Green Beans (1 pound for 2 people)
Olive Oil (Just buy Extra Virgin. Choose the one that is not the most expense or the least expensive.)
Plastic Wrap
Aluminum Foil
toothpicks
Equipment:
A sharp knife
A cutting board
A non-stick skillet
A pasta-sized saucepot
An oven safe container
Something to stir with
Read all steps before starting to cook.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place a chicken cutlet in between two pieces of plastic wrap. Make sure the chicken is completely covered. With a meat mallet, pound the chicken so that it is about 2 cm thick. Start in the center of the chicken and work your way out. Use a bean can if you do not have a mallet. Do not use a hammer. Repeat for second chicken cutlet. Make two for you and two for your guest.
Place one piece of the pounded cutlet on a cutting board. With a butter knife, spread ¼ of Chevre into center of pounded cutlet. Take one sun-dried tomato. Dice it as small as you can. It doesn’t have to be microscopic. Sprinkle over spreaded Chevre. Sprinkle about 8-9 capers onto Chevre. Roll the pounded cutlet, just like you would roll a burrito. Secure the roll with as many toothpicks as you feel necessary. You want it to be completely closed. Sprinkle with a lady sized pinch of salt and a lady sized pinch of pepper (about 4 grinds of a pepper grinder). Repeat with all pounded cutlets.
In a pasta-sized saucepot, boil 3 cups of water. Add 4 tablespoons of salt to boiling water. When water starts to boil, add green beans for 2 ½ minutes and NO MORE. Drain water from green bean pot, place pot in sink with Green Beans still in the pot, turn cold water on and fill pot with cold water. Add a hand full of ice to pot. This is called blanching.
Heat a non-stick skillet to med-high. Add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil to hot pan. If it smokes, it’s too hot. Remove pan from heat and let cool a little. If it doesn’t smoke. Add all prepared roulades to pan. Let brown on each side. You are not cooking the roulade all the way. You’re just searing the meat, so that the juices stay in the chicken. You’ll brown each side for about 1 ½ - 2 minutes per side.
Put browned roulades into an oven safe container and cover with foil. Roast for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, wash non-stick skillet. Heat clean skillet back up to med-high. Drain green beans of all water and ice. Add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil to hot pan. Is the oil smoking? It’s too hot. Remove pan and let cool down a bit.
Add green beans, one lady sized pinch of salt, one lady sized pinch of pepper, and juice from lemon. Squeeze the lemon in your hand. This will prevent any seeds from getting into the pan, which you do not want. Using any kind of utensil that will not melt in the skillet, stir green beans occasionally. Cook green beans for about 7 minutes. They should have small brown spots, but no black spots. That would be called burning the green beans.
When the timer goes off for the roulade, remove from oven. On a cutting board, remove all toothpicks from one roulade. Cut into half on a bias (think carpentry). Is it white or pink on the inside? If it is pink, put all roulades back in the oven for another 5-6 minutes. If it is white, cut all roulades on a bias. Remove all toothpicks first.
Pick the best looking roulade. Put it on her plate. Place about 8-9 green beans on the same plate.
Light some candles; turn on Sade, Leonard Cohen, or Cold Play, and have condoms hidden and out of sight. That would be a mood killer. Get a halfway decent Pinto Grigio (no more than $10-$15 per bottle) and serve with dinner. White wine should be served cold.
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