New Year’s Resolutions | More “Friends Time”

I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions… I mean seriously. If you want to make a change. Do it whenever. Right? Losing weight, eating healthier, drinking less booze, eating in.. blah blah. Soooo boring. If anything I want to eat out more, drink more awesome cocktails and well yeah I’d like to lose weight. BUT this year I did make a resolution. It was to spend more time with certain friends. We entertain a fair bit but definitely less than we did in  (ahem) younger days. So here we go. Yesterday on a whim I whatsapped a friend and lured her with the promise of biriyani. I knew she’d never say no  to Biriyani. However once I got home I soon realized that I did not have the necessities and there was no way I was going shopping.

Instead I whipped up a Tikka Roast Chicken with Garlic Baked Potatoes and Grapes. Yes you read that right. Baked grapes. DELISH!! I also realised that the Golden Globes were on… I’m a bit of a slow one when it comes to the award shows despite my LOVE for the red carpet. Well then wine was definitely called for! I was looking forward to a girl’s night in with bummy clothes as we sipped wine and had a delicious meal… while oogling at the oh so fancy schmancy Hollywood stars. I think that’s a great way to kick start a new week.. or end the weekend. Depending on how you look at things.

Disclosure: I am part of the Patak’s Canada Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. As always the opinions on this blog are TOTALLY my own.

Having been away for the weekend and our fridge being fairly empty, our dishwasher on the fritz and not having hot water in the kitchen (seriously.. major kitchen issues at the moment!!) I was being quite ballsy having a friend over for dinner on a whim whilst the hubs went out for a concert but hey! doing things on a whim is fun.

Tikka Roast Chicken was easy to whip up. I pulled out a frozen chicken threw three tablespoons each of mayonnaise, apple sauce, yogurt and Patak’s Tikka Paste. Rubbed it all around and plopped it in the oven. I also cut up some potatoes, sprinkled some salt, olive oil and a three teaspoons of pureed garlic. I had some grapes in the fridge so I tossed a couple in with the potatoes and hoped for the best. I even accidentally bumped the chicken when I tossed it in the oven.. check out the heart shape! Just one of those days when nothing can go wrong!

Honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect. I love experimenting and this sure was an experiment. An experiment that paid off! The meal was delish and we paired it with a South Australian Viognier and some Patak’s Hot Mango Chutney. Everything came together rather nicely (minus the crying kids!) as we watched the Golden Globes. The Little Monkey was a fan of the chicken but not the grapes or potatoes. Go figure!

My choice for best dressed? My chicken!!!! Kate Beckinsale in Zuhair Murad and Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé for the win! Diane Keaton may have looked like a skinny beanpole but I kinda dug her suit. This year there were sooooooo many worst dressed candidates it was shocking!