I'm starting to cook.....for real

image via Alida Ryder of Simply Delicious

I have always cooked...decent.....or maybe horrible....I don't know. But seriously, I dream of being an amazing cook who can whip out a delicious dish using skittles, chicken, white wine, and bread crumbs. Have you all seen Chopped? One of my daughter and I's favorite things to do is watch cooking shows, and Chopped absolutely freaks me out and amazes me all at the same time. If you can cook with the crazy ingredients in those baskets ...you. are. amazing.One thing I want to do more of, and get better at, is cook...and bake. So, for Christmas I got a new pot, a KitchenAid mixer, and a pie book {because I ate their pie in NYC, and I did want to slap my granny it was so good!}. I totally and completely love all of my new "tools", and it makes me want to try new recipes....and then when everything tastes amazing...it makes me want to try even more! I have a feeling I am going to be buying more pots and "such" of this nature......It's like having new paintbrushes and tools for furniture and design...I just can't help myself. Another perfect example of when having the proper tools makes all the difference.Anyhow....the whole point of this post is to tell you that I tried a new recipe last night for dinner. I made Nigel Slater's, Cog au Riesling...{pictured above}...and let me just tell you...It was fantastic {and super easy to make!}! Everyone in my family devoured it, and that just doesn't happen around here. I originally found the picture on pinterest, and it led me here where I found the recipe. The recipe is in grams and ml, so I just used "the google" to look up the  the conversions and was good to go. The only thing I did differently was left out the mushrooms.....I just can't go there. I served rolls, rice, salad, and roasted asparagus as sides....and when I plated {see how I said that? fancy.} the chicken, I had fun pouring the sauce and creating some presentation goodness.I'm telling ya.....it was wonderful....and this recipe will become a regular.xo,Barb Blair