I Did a Recipe Thing!

I was thinking about Chicken Marsala, and came up with this.  It turned out AWESOME.

Poulet  Porto

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and separated into 6 pieces

1 lb mushrooms, sliced thick

1 garlic clove, minced

3 green onions, minced

1 cup Port, divided

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp nutmeg

½ cup butter, divided

1 tsp corn starch

In large electric fry pan, melt ¼ cup butter on medium high heat until frothy.

Combine flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large ziplock bag.  Dry chicken; shake in flour mixture until well coated.  Fry chicken in butter, 3 minutes per side, until nicely browned and juices run clear.  Remove to warm platter and set aside.

Add remaining ¼ cup butter.  Fry mushrooms, garlic, and onion over medium high heat until browned.  Increase heat to high.  Add ¾ cup Port and deglaze pan, stirring until Port simmers.  Add corn starch to remaining Port and chicken broth, blend well.  Whisk into gravy and stir until thick.  Lower heat to medium, return chicken to the pan and simmer 2 minutes or until warmed through.  Serve with roasted rosemary potatoes or gnocchi.

All right, so let's try some Boston Baked Beans.

At least, that's what I was thinking last night when I got home from my folks'.  (Thanks a lot, Tipsy Me.)  So I pulled out a bag of pintos and put them in a pot to soak.  This morning, though, when I accessed this recipe, I realized I'd already goofed ... I'm supposed to be using Great Northern Beans, or some other big white bean, not pintos.  Oh well. A good cook's all about improv, right?

So they're boiling right now, and I'm thinking that they're making my house smell like an industrial kitchen - not the good kind - and second-guessing my choice.  Boston Baked?  Mexican?  Cuban?  Portuguese?  What am I DOING???

I'm also thinking about my manuscript - specifically, about my protagonist, and the two people to whom he is sexually attracted.  Is it narratively feasible to give him the hots for a man and a woman?  Will anyone believe it?  I mean, he's a pretty screwed up kid anyway, what with the nicotine and pot and booze (though, arguably, considering what his family is like, you can't be too hard on him).  How believable is it to have a perfectly 50/50 bisexual man as a main character?

I've also got, knocking around in my head, another fic idea, based on a Belgariad fanfic I wrote about a kazillion years ago, and that guy's definitely bisexual.  Is this something that can be readily accepted these days?  Between the fabulous George Takei and the same-sex marriage kerfuffle, I'm fairly certain the Geek Community would welcome a bisexual character with open arms (look at Torchwood, for pete's sake).  But would a publishing company consider it marketable?  That seems to be what they go for.

And another thing.  Why do I constantly write stories with a man as a main character?

Urgh.  Off to stir the beans.