Friday, November 19, 2010

friday favorite: chickens don't have nuggets

i have a strange complex with meat. i am by no means vegetarian (hello chicken and biscuits in the crockpot). but i had an experience once. an experience that scarred me from eating meat in restaurants for quite a while. it was nothing dramatic like food poisoning, but it was still utterly terrible. i was in college, eating a chicken stromboli at a place near campus. it began deliciously. the pasta sauce was deep and hearty. the stromboli was doughy and perfect.

then it happened. i bit down on it. gristle. isn't that an awful word? the onomatopoeia aspect of it its terrible. it just sounds miserable to say. i got so confused and anxious. do i spit it out? keep chewing? i think i did a little of both and didn't touch the rest of my food. for a good two years after that, i inspected every piece of meat i ate, especially chunks of chicken.

but i knew i couldn't keep on living my life this way. chicken was nothing to fear! i remembered the chicken nuggets of my childhood. at my elementary school, at a very young age, i was introduced to the best combination ever. chicken nuggets with honey. i was one of those rare birds who loved school food. i looked forward to chicken pie tuesday and lasagna thursday. there, among those stark white walls and long tables, i would gingerly dip my chicken nugget into the little plastic cup of honey, careful to ration myself, lest i run out. 

so after enough time had passed from the stromboli experience, i decided to try again. if i were ever going to love chicken again, it had to be in my favorite form-with honey. it was then and there that i discovered it. wendy's spicy chicken nuggets with honey. the nuggets were perfect. crispy on the outside, lean in the middle, with just the perfect amount of kick. pair these bad boys with some honey sauce, and you've got the perfect combination of hot and sweet. of course i prefer to take it a step further and add a frosty to balance out my meal.

i had my favorite fast food meal this wednesday. and i meant to document it. you see, i'm a new blogger and i'm still getting used to capturing my life on film. so i started in on the nuggets. i kept thinking to myself, courtney take a picture of these beauties. show your new friends this awesomeness!  but i kept shoveling them into my mouth. i.could.not.stop. not for one second. by the time i was able to pull my salivating jaw away from that tender goodness, i saw this pitiful sight:
 

which made me make this face:


the end of the honey sauce was reached. i obviously forgot my elementary school rationing techniques.

9 comments:

Signe said...

Hahaha, I keep doing the exact same thing!
I mean to take pictures of my food when I go to a nice restaurant etc and then I just forget about it until my meal is half eaten and the plate a mess and it does not look very appealing at all!

Hugs and have a happy weekend :)

Anonymous said...

haha :) this is funny. although the gristle aspect sounds horrible. i hate when that happens. ugh ugh. but i LOVE wendy's chicken nuggets. and obviously you have to dip your french fries into your frosty after.

happy friday friend!

Amy said...

This is entirely too funny, only because I find myself worrying about strange textures of meats as well. Especially chicken! You're a great writer! Totally brought this story to life!

Unknown said...

hahaha! i loved this post! you have such a way of capturing your reader.
xoxo, jamie
p.s. i love wendy's!

Sabina said...

This story was a great way to start my morning - except of course - I am now craving Wendy's spicy nuggets - lol! Thanks for visiting my blog and have a wonderful, gristle free day. ;)

lindsay said...

this is the most adorable post...i like your sad face at the end...the honey was always my favorite part too!

have a magical day!

ps keep taking pictures...i love seeing snapshots in your life. i too need to get better at that :)

Jude said...

I love that last photo with the totally sad face! :) I feel sooo much better I wasn't the only one who enjoyed school food (I've never been able to find the same spaghetti-and-meatballs ever again.) Haha, I'm also a total fail in the taking food pix dept, since it has to be indoors in much worse light and also I eat everything instantly! :)

Hope you've a fantastic weekend!

jillian m. {coffee, light and sweet} said...

finally, someone who shares my dislike for gristle! i've never had problems with chicken before, but i usually find it in burgers. and it always seems like i'm the only one finding (and spitting out...i know, gross) gristle in my burger. thanks for this!

k said...

I was so scared to read this thinking it was going to be a thumb or hair or something, haha! Gristle is definitely almost just as gross though. shiver.

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