The Dark Art of Delegation

Last week, I got unexpectedly delayed at work by over an hour and a half. This happens sometimes, and is not usually a big deal as long as Loving Boyfriend can run home and let the dogs out, but on this particular evening, I was exhausted from having to get up at 4:45 am (not my usual arousal). So, as you can guess, I no longer felt feeling like cooking. To remedy the situation, I called Loving Boyfriend and asked sweetly if he could take over dinner. And Loving Boyfriend, being as Loving as he is, agreed. Better yet, I even got him to make (almost) exactly what I was hoping we would have that night...Curried Chicken.

"What's that?" You say.

"You didn't make it? Loving Boyfriend made it?
Now just how did you get him to make just what you wanted?"

Ah, my friends. Rest easy. Let me share with you the Dark Art of Delegation.

You see, I had carefully chosen this recipe out of the myriad of recipe inspirations I have around the house, made the trip to the Farmer's Market and the grocery store to get the ingredients I needed, and had planned on making it that night. Not wanting the green beans I'd picked from the basket at the Farmer's Market to go too many more days in the fridge and having already thawed out some chicken, I asked him if he would please, pretty please, make what I had planned for dinner.

Step #1: Ask nicely. If dealing with someone from the opposite sex, it probably
helps if you're wearing skimpy clothing, but this is not necessary,
especially if you're at the office and asking over the phone.

Now, Loving Boyfriend doesn't use recipes. He throws a bunch of stuff together in a pan or on top of a pizza and lucky for him (and me!), it usually comes out quite tasty. He also makes a mean batch of crepes, and is quite the go-to breakfast man since I like to sleep in these days and he'll get up with the pooches when they get too annoying so that he can go play video games without me nagging on him that he's not helping around the house (Wait...doesn't engagement give me a license to nag?! He he he...). So, to avoid the usual follies that could occur, I fanned his ego a bit.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!
LB, you sure looked good when I left this morning..."

Now, mind you, I left at 5 AM to come into work. LB was sleeping in his sprawled out, very cute, bed-headed, non-communicable position. Never-the-less, step 2 is important.

Step #2: Fan the ego. Small, white lies are fine to use here if it can advance your position.

Then I hit him with the necessary refinement of my former request: "But, um, (shuffles feet) will you please, for me, follow the directions?"

Step #3: Move in for the "kill." Acting cute while you do this may help.

"...EXACTLY???"

Step #4: Be sure to qualify your needs so that confusion is at a minimum.

"I'll make you a special dessert tomorrow...with ice cream...

Step #5: Bribe and coerce as needed...

Although it took some coercion and bribing, he agreed to follow the recipe and make the Curried Chicken I had planned.

I did it! I thought things were going along just as planned. One slight problem, however. I also had planned NOT to cook it in the microwave, even though it was a microwavable dinner recipe. I try to cook in the microwave as little as possible, for about a billion reasons, but also because it's so difficult to control how cooked your meat gets.

I neglected to relay this to Loving Boyfriend. Damn! How could I forget step 6!

Step #6: Know exactly what you're asking for.

But, Loving Boyfriend, being the good Loving Boyfriend that he is, followed my instructions to the letter (Good boyfriend!) and made the dish exactly as it was written...lucky for both of us, the meal didn't suffer at all (or not noticeably so). It was actually really simple, fast, and best of all, didn't heat up our kitchen, which has been hovering on 100 degrees every night (one reason, besides how busy life has been, that I haven't been cooking much). I think we'll also be making it again...but maybe not in the microwave.

So there you have it, my friends. Six simple steps to get you through the Dark Art of Delegation. You can do it!

Curried Chicken, from Everyday Food
Serves 4. Total time: <25>

1 small red onion, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (1 cup)
1 green apple, quartered, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks (1 1/4 cups)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. curry powder
coarse salt and ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 oz. each)
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. In a 2-quart microwave-safe dish with a lid, stir together onion, apple, garlic, ketchup, and curry powder. Add 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

2. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes longer or until chicken is opaque throughout. Lift chicken from dish, and divide among four serving plates.

3. Stir yogurt into onion-apple mixture in dish. Spoon sauce over chicken, and sprinkle cilantro over each plate. Serve with rice or noodles to soak up the sauce.

We served this with blanched green beans, and it was an excellent accompaniment. It's essential to have some kind of light vegetable on the side, even a salad, to freshen it up. Chutney would also work wonderfully to do this.