Shabbas Dinners

I've decided to keep a diary of the dinners I make for the Peanut (AKA Shop Monkey) on Friday nights. We have a nice little thing going, involving a bottle of wine, candles, and a quiet evening together. I love it!

I'm not really a chicken person. In fact, I'm not really a meat eater. I like it, sometimes. But I made the BEST chicken ever last Friday night. Seriously fantastic chicken. My own creation.

I'm not a big measurer of ingredients, so you just have to go with what you feel is right.

Fresh thyme (a good small sized half handful of leaves and tender stems)

Fresh oregano (1 medium to loose packed tblsp leaves)

Fresh rosemary (3 to 4 good pinches of fresh needles)

juice of one half lemon

lemon zest from that half lemon

olive oil, maybe a quarter cup?

sea salt (a tsp or so)

sugar (half a tsp or so)

2-3 fat cloves garlic

red pepper flakes

Grind all of these ingredients together in a big mortar and pestle. You want to end up with a fine paste. Use a food processor if you have one. Squish all this paste together with the chicken slices in container and refrigerate for a few hours. You will also need of course:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch or so slices, lengthwise

Paprika

Move an oven rack to the top portion of the oven. Turn your oven on to 500 deg. When it comes up to heat, switch it to broil.

Fold chicken slices into flat S shapes, and push 4 or 5 slices together (flat) on a cookie sheet. I'm not sure if that makes sense? Just pretend you are making chicken skewers without the skewers. Sprinkle with the paprika.

Cook for 3-4 minutes and flip over. It will cook super fast, so watch out. I just put it all in a bowl and served it with tabouli and hummus, with pita and tzatziki.

Bean's Hummus (I'm just guessing on the salt, sugar and cumin, you will need to adjust to your own tastes):

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp smoked salt (plain sea salt is fine too)
1 tsp+ ground cumin
1/2 tsp sugar
5 fat garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup warm water (you might need more, I just add it until I get to the right consistency)

I put all of these in my blender, and mix until super smooth and creamy. Easy Peasy! Some people say to add lemon juice, but I think it isn't really necessary and can make it really sour. Maybe a squeeze, but that is all.