I found chicken in the freezer; there is a box of frozen peas still in there and a container of stock that I made last week. In the pantry drawer I found polenta, which escaped me for a while because I tend to use recycled yogurt containers instead of transparent Tupperware; out of sight, out of mind.
I am my own ready-set-cook. I’ll slice the chicken breasts ever so thinly into two or three filets, and then pound them with the bottom of a wine bottle, season them on both sides with kosher salt, and sear them over a medium to high heat in a heavy saute pan that has a few cloves of garlic and some olive oil in it. The chicken will cook through by the time it is seared on both sides. I’ll remove it from the pan, add a thyme sprig, squeeze in a little lemon juice or a dash of dry white wine, and then swirl in a good tab of butter. Pour that over the chicken, then sprinkle over the top some homemade toasted breadcrumbs, about 1/2 an inch in size, tossed with a piece of minced roasted garlic, the zest from half a lemon, a little salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of fresh parsely.
With the peas I’ll make soup. Chop up a few shallots, cook them around with a few cloves of garlic,, add a small sprig of rosemary or mint or parsely, or a combination of two or three, and cook gently, stirring for about 15 minutes. Add a small box of peas, and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 cups of homemade chicken stock. Cook for another minute at a simmer. Puree til smooth in a food processor, blender or with a boat motor. Thin out a little with more stock. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste for salt and black pepper. Serve topped with shavings of the best romano cheese you can find, or a dallop of fresh ricotta, or ricotta salata. If you have an extra hot and heavy frying pan lying around, you can also fry some potato shavings and put those on top as a garnish.
Make the polenta, pour it out onto a greased sheet, and then reheat whenever you’re ready for dinner.
If I can eat it, I win.