Day 1 - chicken with spinach and wild mushrooms

Chicken with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms

Was rather in a rush tonight when trialling my first dish for the forth-coming CDwM. I'd have been in more of a hurry had I not bumped into Titto in the supermarket; he valiantly offered to help pack and it was finished in a flash! As you know, you need to cook with love if you want it to turn out right, and, to be honest, I really didn't have the heart for it tonight: take-away pizza and coleslaw would have been perfect, but, as I've got rather a lot of trial runs to go this week, so I can change my menu if necessary (!) I thought I'd better get started.

Chicken - overcooked, dry and chewy. Need to buy similar sized fillets and cook for no longer than 15 mins after browning. Good colour on top though!

Mushrooms - due to lack of usual packet from Tescos - sorry, would buy form Borough Market if I lived even marginally close - had different types from normal. Need to cut very thin slivers of these type.

Rice - There's a first time for everything! Perfectly cooked. Be careful to serve hot! Leave over steaming water once rinsed with cold water. Only 2 handfuls needed per person, not three. Don't forget about toasted almonds in pan and leave some for top of rice. Needs serving in narrower circles - little glass ramekins?

To serve - rice in one corner, blob of sauce with chicken on top in other.

Tonight's dinner was ok; definitely not a winning dish though! A lot more attention to detail needed, and accurate cooking times.