Midweek dinner trial

I like to try out new recipes, and it is almost a necessity to come up with new things to write about for the food column I write for the Weekend Pinnacle.

I usually try to save new recipes for the weekend because it tends to take a little longer to make a dish the first time - and I have a tendency not to read all the way through a recipe and not get key ingredients. It's much easier to run to the grocery store on a weekend than during the week, especially on weeks when I don't get home until 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m.

I decided to try a new meal this week when I saw a few minutes of Giada De Laurentiis' "Everyday Italian" while waiting for my cousin to arrive for cake tasting No. 3. De Laurentiis was cooking a chicken dish that incorporated fennel, one of my favorite vegetables, and cherry tomatoes, many of which have been ripening in my yard. It seemed like a good fit and a visit to the Food Network Web site revealed it only took an estimated 28 min. to make. Sounded perfect for a midweek meal.

I wrote down the ingredients without reading through the steps and planned it for tonight since I figured I could get off work early. Now the trouble started when I realized the recipe required me to set up three shallow dishes to dredge the chicken. No meal that requires that is going to be quick. Then I realized I'd bought shredded parmesan cheese instead of grated. I used it anyway for the breading, but it caused a little burning in the pan since the cheese was chunkier than it should have been.

My sous chef (my mom) wasn't home so I had to cook the chicken and put it in the oven to keep it warm, before I could start prep work on the veggies. Fennel just needs a rough chop, but try cutting 5 dozen cherry tomatoes in half quickly. It takes a while. But an hour later, we had crispy chicken that was tender in the middle and a creamy sauce made delicious with mascarpone cheese.

The meal got the seal of approval from everyone in the family so it will be added to the rotation, although maybe on nights when both my mom and I are home to prep. And I still have half a container of mascarpone cheese to use. Maybe another visit to the Food Network Web site will help me find a new recipe for it!