yeah, it really happened...

Just a little over two months ago I married my best friend.  We didn't have a lot of money or a lot of time but we were rich with creative friends.  We wanted our version of the 'budget wedding' to be FUN, joyful, but most of all totally US.  I think the biggest compliment I got about our wedding (other than people still talking about the reception burgers weeks after the wedding) was from my friend Randy who said that with most generic weddings you can insert any couple into the wedding and it would still "fit" but with our wedding it was unmistakably Mark and Hannah.  <3  It's what we were going for.

One thing that was really important to us was photography.  We were really lucky to work with Love & Lemonade.  It was just so natural to meet Nina.  We talked and hung out like old friends and it was so easy on the wedding day to work with her.

Check out some of the shots from our wedding day on her blog, here.  A friend of Nina's, Teresa Heath, offered to shoot film photography for the wedding.  Mark and I were both overjoyed with this.  Film is so wonderful....we love we love!  Check out Teresa's shots on her blog, here.

brined pork chops and steamed gailon

I love pork.  I love it more than beef...usually. ;P  Give me bacon, ribs, or a pork chop and I'll be happy.  Sometimes pork chops (the other white meat) can be dry and lack flavor.  Brining pork is an easy way to solve both these problems.

Basic Brining Formula (from Cook's Illustrated, you can also link here)
1 quart (4 cups) cold water + 1/4 cup table salt + 1/2 cup sugar
Use 1 quart of brine per lb of food, brine for at least 30 min. in the fridge

To this basic brining formula I added:

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp peppercorns

1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

I brined my bone-in pork chops for about 3 hours and when I was ready to cook I removed them from the brine and patted them dry with paper towels.  I cooked them with vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on high heat to get a quick sear (the chops were on the thinner side so the cooking time was fast).  There's an urban myth that pork should have zero pink however it is safe to eat pork done medium (a little pink).  If you have an instant read thermometer it should read 145 degrees.  However, remember that pork, like beef, increases its internal temp even after it has been removed from the heat so remove it a little shy of the desired temp.

To serve with the pork chops I steamed gai-lan (Chinese broccoli or kale).  I served it with my version of a traditional Chinese sauce served with gai-lan:

Gai-lan Sauce:
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice wine
1/4 tsp sugar
add water to thin out sauce as desired

unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : what to register for

As promised last week we'll talk about rimmed sheet pan accessories!  Should you register for two Norpro 18"x12" Commercial Grade Aluminum Jelly Roll Pans it would be a great idea to register for items that would work in harmony with your rimmed sheet pans.  

First, I'd recommend getting wire cooling racks that fit inside the sheet pans.  ATK recommends a grid-style rack with tightly woven, heavy gauge bars, and that is dishwasher safe.  Register one per sheet pan.  These cooling racks will be useful to cool baked goods, of course.  However, these will also be useful roasting and for draining grease.  

Second, if you bake a lot I'd recommend getting Silpat liners for your rimmed sheet pans.  Again, one per sheet registered for.  These nonstick liners will allow you to bake without greasing the sheet pan and you'll never have to wonder if you have parchment paper at home.  Some bakers still prefer to cook/bake with parchment paper but I find that having the Silpat liners is a good reusable resource that's earth-friendly.  

modcloth love : hoo loves owlies?

[1] Taste Buds Shaker Set  [2] Owl in the Same Spot Keepsake Box  [3] Know It Owl Mug in Cream  [4] Know It Owl Mug in Coffee [5] Owls of a Flavor Measure Cups  [6] Beau-tea-ful Surprise Mug in Owl

chicken katsu with cabbage salad

 

Apparently it's Japanese week here in the Filipino/Korean household.  Last night we had chicken katsu for dinner.  Tonkatsu is a Japanese PORK cutlet that is breaded and fried and served with a rich sauce.  This dish has become a favorite for Korean restaurant owners to put on their menus only in our Koreanese (Korean/Japanese) we call it donkatsu.  Hahah one letter difference: T versus D.  While I love a good tonkatsu it's made with pork and I only had chicken on hand.  Chicken katsu is usually found more in Hawaiian style restaurants.

Traditional to the Korean version of the Japanese tonkatsu it is served with a shredded cabbage salad with Thousand Island dressing.  I don't know why but Koreans love Thousand Island dressing.  It's like their ambrosia or something.  Mark has observed this over the years growing up in Irvine, CA as well.

A Japanese (Korean style Japanese however) restaurant in Buena Park, CA called Yoko serves my favorite donkatsu.  What makes the whole experience really FUN is while waiting for your donkatsu they give you a Japanese style mortar and pestle with toasted sesame seeds.  You are to grind the seeds as much as you prefer and they pour the katsu sauce on top of the sesame seeds.  It's SOOOO FUN! *Clapping hands loudly*  As you grind the seeds you hear them popping and you can smell the nutty aroma of the ground sesame.  I like having a lot of sesame seeds in my sauce. *Droool*  I love it so much that I have my own Japanese mortar and pestle (you can find it at any Japanese market like Mitsuwa or Marukai)!  I tried to mimic the experience at home too.

Anyway, here's what I did to make the chicken katsu at home:

Chicken Katsu (highly adapted from a recipe, here), serving for 2
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut large breasts (kee kee) horizontally if needed) - pound to 1/2 thickness

Flour mixture:
1/4 cup of flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp paprika

Egg mixture:
2 eggs, beaten
5 dashes of favorite hot sauce (optional)

1 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (and as needed)
Vegetable oil

1.  In a heavy-bottomed skillet or dutch oven (what I used to minimize splatter) heat enough vegetable oil to cover 1/2" the bottom of the pan with oil.  Heat over med-high heat.  Test oil readiness by putting in a small piece of panko to see if it will begin frying.  It should not turn dark brown immediately but should begin sizzling.

2.  Prepare 3 large containers.  In the first container whisk all flour mixture ingredients.  In second container whisk all egg mixture ingredients.  In the third container put panko bread crumbs evenly on the bottom.  Once the oil is ready reduce heat to medium.  First coat the pounded chicken with the flour mixture, dusting off any excess.  Then quickly dip each side in the egg mixture.  Lastly, coast the chicken with the panko by pressing it into the chicken with your hands.  Immediately place chicken in oil for frying.

3.  Don't over crowd the pan.  This might mean that you do one or two pieces of chicken at a time.  Fry each side until golden brown, about 3-4 min on each side.  Place katsu on a paper towel lined tray to absorb extra oil or better yet place katsu on a drying rack with a rimmed baking sheet to drain extra oil while keeping the crust from steaming itself.  Don't stack the katsu as this will also steam the katsu and make the outside mushy.  After the first batch is done let the oil reach its hot temp again as you prep the next piece of chicken with the flour, egg, panko process.

4. Cut width-wise into 1" slices and serve with katsu sauce.  Serve warm.

Cabbage Salad, serving for 2
1/4 medium cabbage
Thousand Island dressing (bottled or see recipe below)

1.  Remove any part of the cabbage core.  Shred using a food processor or a mandoline.

2.  Give each serving a heaping amount of shredded cabbage and top with dressing.



Homemade Cabbage Salad Dressing:
1 part mayo (I think I used 1/4 cup of mayo)
1/2 part ketchup
1/4 part yellow mustard
1 spear kosher dill pickle, seed part removed and finely diced
dash of paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder, hot sauce, lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. Mix everything together. Best if made several hours before to let the flavors meld together.

chicken skewers with zucchini salad

This recipe was inspired from Matt Armendariz's "Dak Sanjuk" recipe in "On A Stick!"  Normally I would've just stir fried the ingredients in this recipe but I was inspired to put it on a stick!

Chicken Skewers (my concoction), serving for 2

1 chicken breast cut into bite sized cubes, marinated

1 scallion, large slices

1/4 red onion, large slices

wooden/bamboo skewers

marinade for chicken:

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

1 Tbsp of EVOO

1 Tbsp of sesame oil

2 Tbsp of Korean hot pepper paste

Dash of salt, pepper, and sugar

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag.  Add cubed chicken and marinate for at least 30 min. in refrigerator.  Mush (technical term here folks) the bag with hands and be sure the cubes are thoroughly coated with marinade.  

2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Alternate chicken, scallion, and red onion on skewers.  Bake 15 min on each side.  (Optional: broil for the last 2 min for a nice char)  Top with toasted sesame seeds.  Serve warm.

Zucchini Salad (my concoction), serving for 2

1 medium zucchini, small dice
1 small tomato, small dice
1/4 red onion, small dice
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Cut all the produce to be the same size.  Put all ingredients in a bowl and toss to allow juices to cover evenly.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : what to register for

A rimmed baking sheet is probably one of the most versatile tools in the kitchen.  Not only can it be used for baking cookies but it can be a roasting pan for vegetables.  With a fitted rack it can roast meats while draining unwanted grease, like here, or a mean batch of jalapeño poppers.  Baking a pie?  Place a rimmed baking sheet under your pie to catch dripping juices which can smoke your oven AND it will make removing your pie from the oven much easier.  And probably the most elementary function of the pan would be a convenient tray for prepping food or for finished foods like when grilling outside.  Using a rimmed baking sheet is safer for transporting large batches of finished meats with their flowing juices than a shallow serving plate or a paper plate for that matter!

Norpro 18"x12" Commercial Grade Aluminum Jelly Roll Pans come for a great price at $16.35 on amazon.com, here.  According to ATK, you want to look for a lightly colored sheet pan for even heat and browning and you want something with some weight and heft.  It's also a good idea to register for two especially since they're so cheap but also because it's handy to have two available.  For example, when baking cookies it's better to have two sheets available and just one.  The second pan can be prepped with the next batch of cookie dough while the first one bakes.  Putting cookie dough on a hot baking sheet can cause the dough to prematurely melt and run and it might alter the finished product.  

If your oven is an older model it might be a good idea to measure the inside of your oven space before purchasing an 18"x12" sheet.  My home oven in CA was older and I discovered that the width was slightly smaller than 18" so I had to purchase a smaller pan.  Next time: rimmed sheet pan accessories! 

book review: on a stick!

Full disclosure I received a free copy of Matt Armendariz's new book published by Quirk Books, "On A Stick!" in order to do this review.  You can purchase it here.

On A Stick is a collection of recipes of food on a stick (duh) that would be perfect for your next party or just dinner.  Food on a stick or skewer makes eating fun and portable.  Some of the best appetizers and carnival foods are on sticks and in fact some of my favorite foods are on sticks.  I do love me a good corn dog.  The ones at Disneyland are AWESOME but I digress....

This beautifully photographed book is divided up in to two sections: savory and sweet foods on a stick.  Some of the recipes are for old standbys (like the corn dog) but others are unexpected like pizza on a stick or s'mores on a stick.  While some of the recipes are informative a lot of the recipes can be described better as inventive on an old idea.  As in, it's not completely original to have a recipe for frozen bananas covered with chocolate and peanuts (everyone together now: on a stick!) but how about a frozen Elvis banana by adding chopped bacon on the outside too?  Skewered melons isn't a new concept but how about mojito melon skewers?

I'd recommend this book if you love to throw parties and need a little creative nudge for new appetizer ideas.  It would also serve as a good gift for food or food photography enthusiasts as Matt Armendariz is one of the most notable food photographers today.  

daifuku mochi

Mochi is the Japanese word for a soft rice cake. When mochi has a sweet filling it's called daifuku or daifuku mochi.  A very common sweet filling is red bean.  Think of it like a rice cake bon bon.  While mochi is a Japanese interpretation similar rice cakes can be found in many other Asian or Pacific Islander nations.  For Americans a common association with mochi is with ice-cream or as a small white topping found at frozen yogurt places.

If you live in Orange County, CA check out Mochilato in Irvine.  Their twist on mochi is to fill mochi with Italian gelato.  Yumm!  Although it's pricey it's also really tasty.  Their shaved ice is also really good.  Great place to go for dessert if you're on a date or if you have a group...the only fun way to eat shaved ice is with friends.

Homemade mochi is relatively easy to make.  You just need to work fast and expect the first couple of ones to turn out weird.  It was much too difficult to take pictures during the process because my hands were covered with cornstarch but here's the receipe:

Red Bean Daifuku Mochi (recipe from Alice K.)
1 box of Mochiko sweet rice powder
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 - 3 cups of cold water (start with 2 1/2 cups and increase as needed)
1 can of mashed red bean paste
1/4 cup of corn or potato startch
Small cupcake liners
(you'll need a microwaveable steamer as well)

1. Mix all ingredients except starch and red bean paste in the microwaveable steamer.  Mix until a peanut butter consistency is reached.  Lock steamer lid and microwave 4 min.  Open and stir mixture once more and microwave for additional 4 min.

2. Cover work surface and hands liberally with starch.  Scoop 1/3 of the mixture on to work surface and roll to a snake-like shape.  Cut a small piece and flatten to create a circle.  Fill the circle with red bean filling and gather the edges of the circle and pinch closed.  Lightly dust the outside of the mochi with starch to prevent the rice paste from drying out.

3. Let the mochi cool on a tray dusted with starch.  Place mochi in cupcake liners when completely cool.  Finished mochi can also be put in the freezer for later.  

technical difficutlites

Technical difficulties here in IL as in power outages.  We had a pretty nasty storm rough up the area and some 800,000 people have unfortunately been out of power.  But as for me things were OK.

*Cut to Thursday morning when I tried to take a shower only to be found...

IN THE DARK *

(cue horror music) 

I was seriously confused because the storm came and went on Monday and 3 days later I'm out of power, whaaa?!  The neighbors are saying that they heard a big BOOM in the morning and they thought one of the transformers (no, not robots in disguise) had blown.  Unfortunately for our cluster of homes we were the ONLY ones effected (affected? I never know which one to use) by the blown transformer.  GREAT.  

So I pack our food in a single ice chest, grab the flashlights and candles, and hope for the best.  Luckily for us the power was restored tonight (Saturday around 1am) but unluckily for us all of our ice-cream melted in the ice chest.  *sigh*  We should've eaten it.  Anyway, 2 days of zero power was seriously rough and I don't recommend it.  It's kind of scary how relient we are on it.  We're hoping that power will be restored in the surrounding cities soon too.  

So, here's my preventative and during-the-event advice should you find our self without power:

• Eat the ice-cream first!!!  Seriously, it's not going to last.  Just get it over with and eat it all.
  
  
• Keep all your flashlights with working batteries in an easy to find place.  Not easy to find when you have electricity but easy to find should you be in the dark.  BIG difference.
  
  
• Keep matches and candles in the same place as well...again, in an easy to find place.  Careful not to start a fire with these candles.
  
  
• Get bags of ice if you can and pack food away in an ice chest.  Layer ice and food.  If you don't have an ice chest try putting large containers of ice in the freezer and fridge to keep the the temp down.  Your fridge is essentially a big ice chest when the power is out.  Put trays or dish towels underneath the containers of ice to collect condensation.  No peeking!  The more you open the doors the more heat with enter the fridge.
  
  
• If you have a gas burning stove that needs to be lit by turning a nob setting that clicks then your pilot light is ignited by electricity.  Unless your gas is out too you'll be able to use your gas stove but you'll need to light it with a match.  Careful not to burn your eyebrows off when you light it though!
  
  
• Keep your window shades drawn if you rely on A/C to keep your home cool during the day.  In fact, get out of the house.  Go watch a movie or walk around at a mall.  
  
  
• If you have elderly neighbors be sure to check on them especially if it's a hot summer day.
  
  
• If you need to shower in the dark I recommend pointing your flashlight at your bathroom mirror or on something lighter in color like a wall or shower curtain.  This will help scatter the light and illuminate the room more than with a single beam from the flashlight.  It's called science children and I'm Asian so I know what I'm talking about (not really, I saw it on MythBusters).
  
  
• If other parts of your area are unaffected (again, which effect/affect do I use?!) recharge electronics at a local Borders or Starbucks.  

double chocolate cranberry biscotti

Last Christmas my gift to my former co-workers at Me and My Big Ideas was homemade biscotti.  One batch yields at least 30 pieces so it's a great idea and cost effective for group ideas.  It's really easy to make and for me I've found that it's more consistent from batch to batch than most cookie recipes.

For my biscotti I adapted a recipe from epicurious.com, here.  I swapped walnuts for cranberries (walnuts are...bleh, am I right?!) and omitted the confectioners' sugar.  C'mon, DOUBLE chocolate biscotti, is the extra powdered really necessary?!  Haha I guess for some the answer would be YES.  For me I'd rather taste the chocolate flavor with the cranberries than be overwhelmed with the taste of sugar.

I made this batch for a friend's birthday here in IL who roasts his own coffee beans!  Whoa.  It's actually really tasty stuff.  Biscotti is a tasty treat that usually goes dipped in coffee but it's not too shabby with a cold glass of milk too!

unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : what to register for

Unless you're lived on your own for a while and have accumulated a lot of housewares over the years you'll probably find that the majority of the things you register for will be for the kitchen.  One of the things I'd recommend is a good cutting board.  You'll want one that has a large enough surface area for large cuts of meat but won't slip from underneath your knife (horror movie images come to mind).  The Architec Non-slip Cutting Board has soft feet under the board to help grip the counter.  It might be a good idea to register for two different colored boards (one for meat and one for produce) in order to minimize cross contamination.  These boards come in two sizes: 11"x14" and 8"x11".

meatloaf

In my quest to make food that can be made ahead for Mark's lunch and be freeze-able I decided to make an old standby: meatloaf.  These mini meatloaves look like little footballs but they're the perfect serving size for one.  My meatloaf is full of veggies and I even got to make use of my pre-minced garlic from this previous post, here.

I follow Michael Chiarello's recipe for Italian Meatloaf only I add 2 small carrots and 2 ribs of celery to the veggies and in place of marinara sauce I top my loaves with tomato paste.  These mini meatloaves are packed with good-for-you stuff and it's nearly a 1:1 ration of meat to veggie after the extra produce I added.  A good trick is to bake the little guys is on a rack fitted in a rimmed sheet lined with foil.  This way the grease drains out and away from the loaves and clean up will be a cinch.

After you've baked the batch just let them cool on the rack before wrapping them in plastic wrap and popping them in the freezer for later.  Defrost over night in the fridge and microwave when you're ready to eat.

how was your 4th?

July 4th we celebrate freedom and the freedom to eat.  BBQs galore, am I right?  I went to two BBQs this year.  One was at a church friend's house and the other was at my house...I didn't plan either of them, I just showed up and ate.  LOL.

Lunch was at the friend's house and we had deep fried turkey with bok choy and fried rice (it was a Chinese household, can you tell?).  It was DEEE-licious.  I think once you've had deep fried turkey you can't have it any other way.  So moist, juicy, flavorful, and QUICK!  Dinner was at my house and we had homemade burgers and beer-soaked brats.  Again, DEEE-licious.

The only thing I contributed to both meals were jalapeño poppers.  These halved jalapeños are stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped with bacon, skewered with a toothpick and then thrown into a 375 degree oven for 25-55 min (25 min if you want them to still have a snap and retain most of their spicy heat, 55 min if you want them to be more mild in spice).  Anything wrapped in bacon is a winner in my book so these puppies were gold.  Oi, it's a good thing 4th of July only comes once a year....otherwise I'd become a glutton.

i'm over the moon!

Last month patternpeople.com held an open call for submissions of pattern work for their upcoming e-book, Repeat After Me.  There's no money involved but just free publicity if your work is selected and it would be something really cool to put on my resume.  Honestly, I emailed my work, hit 'Send' and had pity on myself for even trying.  I don't know why I get so down on myself.  I mean it's just not healthy thinking, you know?  It doesn't hurt to try.  

Cut to today.  I hear a beep from my Blackberry saying I've received an email.  I have this thing where I can't leave an email or message unchecked.  Even if it's spam and I'm just going to delete it.  Just knowing that my phone is blinking a red light with an unopened message bugs me to no end.  What can I say,  I have issues.  So I immediately went to my phone to delete the spam email that I knew would be there.  However, instead I received the following email (truncated due to size):

I found myself shouting the email aloud as I was running upstairs to meet Mark in our office (he was confused as to what was going on).  Cut to us jumping like little school girls (ok, I was the one jumping) and shouting (we were both shouting).  I realize that perhaps only one of my designs was selected and I'm not getting paid for my work to be published BUT my work is being published!!  I really needed this boost of encouragement, you know?  Sometimes you wonder if you're any good.  If maybe you should just quit.  Maybe you're the only one who thinks your stuff is worthwhile.  So it's nice to get a thumbs up from a third party.  Someone who is un attached to you personally.  It's a nice feeling.

I google chatted my friend, Tony, from art school about the good news.  We were commiserating with each other about how we feel unsure about our abilities sometimes.  And Tony shared this AMAZING quote with me by Ira Glass, superhero host of This American Life (if you don't know what this is you should hang your head in shame.  Subscribe to the free podcast on iTunes):

unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : wedding rehearsal

Outfits from J. Crew

The wedding rehearsal is usually held a day or two before the wedding.  It's a run through of the wedding ceremony and it involves everyone who participates in the wedding; from the bride and groom all the way to the ushers.  Out of town guests and family members are generally invited and for many people this is the first time that extended family members catch a glimpse of the in-law side.  Usually after the wedding rehearsal a dinner is hosted by the parents of the groom in which everyone who attends the rehearsal ceremony is invited.

This can be a stressful time for the bride and groom since it's so close to the big day and because they have the most to remember in terms of the ceremony.  Stand here, look at me, don't look at me, repeat after me, speak up, turn around, carry this, don't step on this, etc etc etc.  So the last thing you want is to have a tense and awkward rehearsal.

A couple of things to remember:

• Communicate a clear start time.  People will ALWAYS be late.  If there is a strict timeline be sure to communicate this clearly to parents and wedding party members especially.
  
  
• Write down questions you have for the officiant and/or church coordinator.  Write 'em down because wedding brain will be fully blown and you won't remember at the rehearsal.  

• Consider sending an evite to keep track of dinner guest numbers if you are inviting a lot of people to the rehearsal and dinner. 

• Let everyone know what the dress code is for the rehearsal.  The last thing you want is for family members to be embarrassed for being underdressed when it's the first time meeting the in-law side.  

• Provide copies of directions to the dinner.  Include the address and directions from the rehearsal site to the dinner site.
  
  
• At the rehearsal dinner be sure to eat but also take time to walk around to all the tables to say 'hi' and 'thank you'...it's also like a rehearsal for the wedding reception.
  
  
• Be sensitive of out-of-town guests who may not know anyone else at the rehearsal.  Make strategic introductions so they might be able to make a new friend or at least have good conversation during dinner.
  
  
• If any changes need to made to the ceremony or last minute instructions need to be communicated be sure to do so immediately or delegate someone else to do so.  

stovetop roast chicken with lemon-herb sauce

Seriously, I think ATK should pay me for these posts.

So we're about a month into our new marriage and I've begun to realize how difficult it is to cook everyday.  Don't get me wrong.  I love to cook, I really do, but when you've lived at home for your whole life and cooking to you meant prepping a single meal for 6 people it's hard adjusting to the pace of cooking for two everyday (and I guess microwave burritos can become a tiresome filler meal).  I sought the advice of others who have gone before me in this gauntlet called "the first year of marriage" and I was told was I was afraid of hearing....you have to plan.

Augh, really?  It's weird too because I'm such a planner, I love lists, I love the Stickies application on my Mac, I even use Google Docs!  But for some reason planning meals was just not "fun" to me.  I guess I had this picture of myself with a stocked fridge and thinking to myself, "Hmm, what shall I throw together today?" *Cut to me whipping up some master piece meal on the fly in 30 minutes or less*  But I'm no culinary student and I have a hard time remembering what I did yesterday let alone a recipe for roasted chicken.  Sigh.  So I must plan.

Basically my game plan right now is to cook in larger servings than 2 and either 1. Pack leftovers for Mark's lunch or 2. Freeze freeze freeze.  My game plan for the daily menu is pretty haphazard...a little beef here, a little chicken there, etc.  I think this will be the tricky part.  I'd love to be able to plan each day so that leftovers could be incorporated to the next day's completely different menu but I'm not that creative with food.  I guess I'll just have to learn by trial and error.

Last night's dinner and subsequent lunch was ATK's recipe for Stovetop Roast Chicken with Lemon-Herb Sauce.  A really crispy skin on a chicken that was roasted in a skillet instead of in the oven with a tangy and flavorful sauce.