How did the meals turn out?

Review of Southern Fried Chicken

by Sue Malesevic
For The Post

Walking into Chez Rachel, or Rachel's house, the smell of down-home cooking wafted out and into the street.

As I sat down at the table with pink plates, the fried chicken Rachel and Curt were making sizzled in the pan, close to being done. While waiting for the main course, the chefs served an excellent vintage of Coca-Cola.

A few minutes later, out came the fried chicken on a paper plate. Accompanying the chicken was a casserole dish of candied yams and a festive Italian salad.

Rachel and Curt had followed recipes from the It's a Surprise Web site, originally a cooking show hosted by Marc Summers at 1 p.m. on the Food Network.

The lightly-floured and Bisquick-battered fried chicken was finger-lickin' good and cooked thoroughly - an essential for chicken. The golden breast of chicken was tender.

Being creative, Rachel and Curt used special spices to season the colorful salad. And though no dressing was used, the salad was still flavorful. The combination of the onions and spices gave it a tangy taste.

The most exciting aspect of the meal was the candied yams. Since it was my first time eating yams, I was a little apprehensive about the taste. The yams were a pleasant surprise - a subtle smooth texture that crumbled when eaten. Doused in cinnamon, the orange yams in the brown sauce were sweet.

The sweetness of the yams balanced well with the Italian salad and the fried chicken. The food choices worked well together to create an overall, um, good meal. At least it was free and no one was hurt.

Cajun Chicken Mustard Hits the Spot

By Jason Zingale
For The Post

At first I was hesitant in judging one of the three recipes cooked by the other writers, being a picky eater and all, but the recipe they chose turned out to be an exciting variation. With my growling stomach attentive, the aroma of the meal teased my taste buds as the food was prepared.

Jay and Lauren cooked Cajun Chicken Mustard. The entrée calls for a simple ingredient, chicken, and whips it into a mesmerizing dish that will spice up life at the dinner table. Not only that, but the additional ingredients can be found in almost anyone's kitchen.

The chicken was cooked thoroughly to a golden brown with the addition of breadcrumbs, which intensified its crunchy outside. The Dijon mustard sauce used over the chicken substitutes the place of ketchup or gravy quite nicely, as it overcame the chicken's bland taste and created a piquant taste to the dish. The chicken was also splashed with Cajun seasoning, adding to its spicy warmth.

The mood of the meal can be broken though, if too much sauce is applied to the chicken. Despite the encouraging kick the mustard may display during the first couple of bites, do not become greedy, because it will hide the natural taste of the chicken as well as the spicy seasoning.

Overall, this creative dish can explode around company when in search for a different, yet ingredient-accessible entrée. Its creative sauce will tickle your taste buds and provide a spicy, enjoyable dish for all.

The presentation of the meal was a good try, but the ambiance of the charred kitchen counters and appliances added the real charm. (So much charm, in fact, that it looked like someone had really set fire to the place.)

Review of Peppered chicken, Cajun Potatoes, Wheat Roll

By Steve Kehnel
For The Post

This dish was a love/hate one of sorts, as I have been avoiding meat recently, and this was in direct opposition to my attempts.

That said, the peppered chicken was certainly enjoyable, unless you consider the relative discomfort of the actual chicken prior to its most untimely demise. My initial impression of Chris and Kim's aforementioned dish was formed by its blackened texture and apple and onion garnish.

The cinnamon-apple accompaniment guaranteed the temporality of the chicken's spiciness, as this recipe is not for the weak-tongued.

Coupled with the black pepper main dish, the Cajun potatoes provided another level of lingual festivities, pushing the limit of my water-consuming ability. Thankfully, the baked wheat roll successfully extinguished the minor inferno, ultimately preventing a funeral-like tear flow and senseless waste of tissues.

The competition of various tastes within the mouth was interesting, as a cinnamon-apple garnish is rarely considered warm company with onions or white wine sauce. Yet this is exactly what kept the dish from fading into tedious and tiresome tastelessness. What are typically deemed uncomplimentary foods save this typical chicken-and-potatoes dish, elevating the experience well beyond the mundane, to most creative heights.

The only downside was the presentation of the food, as all of the foods included were of similar color, providing little visual stimulation. Perhaps a glorious red and green garnish could have lifted the culinary experience even higher.

Despite this deficiency, the pepper chicken and Cajun potato dish should please the most finicky of eaters. Even the chicken-friendly folk could substitute the poultry with tempeh or other such harmless substances, providing a unique and enjoyable dining experience for all beings.