Watson wants to be your friend too

 

Chef Watson  is looking for more friends. S/he and the 300 or so of us that have been cooking together for the last few months have discovered some issues, enjoyed some very odd creativity, and have suggested a few changes. Bon Appetit Magazine and IBM gave chef an upgrade and a facelift and now they want to add to the party. Click that last link if you’re interested. I see we are above 800 people already in our little culinary corner of the world. Join us if you’re interested….not only do you get to cook odd combinations and try to figure out what the heck Watson really wants you to do when s/he suggests putting schmaltz on your sandwich, but you get to be part of our private little facebook group!

This year we are having a very small Thanksgiving gathering which, in my world, just means we’ll have that many more leftovers. So last night I was checking the fridge and freezer for food to get rid of  (by cooking it people….I don’t throw food out!) to make room for the massive amounts of food that will end up there sometime late Thursday night. I found a few pieces of chicken and some raspberries that my son is tired of drinking in his morning smoothie. So Chef and I put on our thinking caps and made dinner.

Watson’s Recipe

My Modifications

The results

Watson always makes me laugh. I wonder what the difference is between chicken chicken and loin chicken? I think if there was no oddity in the recipe s/he gave me I’d probably move on to another recipe. The silliness is really half the fun. This dish was interesting for sure, but the recipe could use a few more tweaks. The sauce was much too sweet for my taste so I’d eliminate the honey all together and cook the rosemary with the raspberries to see how those flavors work together. Remember of course that I’m no chef….don’t judge. Other than too much sweetness though, it was very good and definitely pretty!

This was my first attempt since Watson’s makeover and using the program was much easier. The ingredients I entered were chicken, raspberries and balsamic vinegar and the program gave me styles and dishes that Watson thought were good pairs. Some of the styles are pretty funny…is bastille day really a cooking style? Once Watson had figured out a few recipes on which to base suggestions, I was able to choose which base recipe to start from with Watson substituting ingredients. Then I could move a slider to choose something basic or something more unusual.

Join our little cooking party, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and keep in touch,
Leslie