Friday night dinner party: Salsa chicken

I didn't start out thinking we'd be entertaining tonight. I started the day throwing eight chicken thighs into the slow cooker at 7 a.m., with a jar of salsa for just Dave and me-- about the easiest dinner on the planet. Then before lunchtime, a friend emailed me at the office to see if we wanted to get together for dinner at a nearby pizza joint, and I'm like, no way, you two come over to our place, dinner is already cooking. So my lunch hour was spent figuring out how to jazz up the menu a little to pull off a decent meal for guests after putting in a full shift at work.

I usually choose to entertain on the weekends, but a weeknight last-minute get-together can be fun and produces a different sense of accomplishment. (I bask in the "how-did-you-possibly-manage-this?!" kudos.)

During my 60-minute lunch break, I stopped off at the grocery store for a few items, and went home to mix up corn muffin batter, which I put into a muffin pan and stored in the fridge to bake at dinnertime.

(A tip: When making corn muffins, it is best not to use paper muffin cups. The muffins stick to the paper and turn out not nearly as crispy perfect as when you grease and flour your pans.)

By noon time, my chicken was cooked, so I transferred it to a big saucepan, put that into the fridge, cleared off the dining room table and dug out four matching placemats and cloth napkins. Then I headed back to the office.

At 6:45 p.m., I was on my way home, expecting my guests at around 7:30. After a quick stop at the wine store, I hit the kitchen, got the salsa chicken simmering on the stove top, removed the bones, added a teaspoon of cumin, juice from half a lime and a touch of chili powder I also threw in about a cup of frozen corn. (I adapted the recipe from "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook," by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. An excellent resource. Buy it.) I cooked some rice. Decorated some crackers with goat cheese, oil-soaked sun-dried tomato bits and chopped fresh basil leaves to serve as appetizers. I set the table. Opened some wine. Popped my muffins into the oven. Set my iPod playlist to provide several hours of excellent blues tunes.

Our friends didn't arrive 'til 8 or so, bringing a tossed salad, more wine and dessert. I felt quite relaxed by then. And voila. We had everything we needed for a fine supper.

The key to a successful after-work fete is friends you can absolutely relax with, so you can still have fun even if everything goes awry and you end up ordering takeout. You also need some simple main course recipe. And just a little time over the noon hour for a bit of prep work.

Salsa chicken

In a slow cooker, place eight chicken thighs. Pour a 16-ounce jar of medium picante sauce. Cook on high for four hours. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, juice from half a lime and a pinch of chili powder. I like to add a cup or so of frozen corn. Heat 'til corn is cooked. Remove chicken bones (they will probably have fallen off by now). Serve over rice. Garnish with grated cheese and green onions.