Wish Upon A Chef

The Boy Toy and I just returned from a much needed week long vacation of swirling and sipping our way through the California wine country. Not long before we started planning this trip, I accepted a job at a North Carolina wine and beer distributor and I soon found out that being “industry” ensured that the wine flowed and preferential treatment ensued during our winery visits. And I was not one bit ashamed of throwing my business card around - tastings and tours in Napa and Sonoma can get pretty pricey and we visited eight different wineries.

We also spent a couple of days seeing the sights of San Francisco since we were so close and Boy Toy had never been there. I took over 400 photos! I managed to whittle them down to a select 156 few and you can view them all here if you’d like.It’s been really hard to get out of vacation frame of mind and back into real life – I’m still pretending to be in the wine country each evening by pouring me a glass of wine while preparing dinner and trying to dissect its nuances.

Of the eight wineries we visited, six were suppliers that my company represents, which meant that I didn’t need to bother with buying their wine to bring home if we enjoyed it – I can just call out to the warehouse and have it brought to me. And you would think with that job perk, I wouldn’t need to buy wines from any other source. But there was one winery that I WANTED to buy from called Chacewater. Their grapes are grown organically and farmed bio-dynamically and their products carry a certified organic label. I had high hopes of coming back to work and spreading the good word about Chacewater in anticipation of adding them to our distributor portfolio, but my boss informed me that the word “organic” on a wine label is the kiss of death.  I was shocked to learn that – I know there aren’t many organic wines on the market but I would think with more and more people migrating to an organic and real food lifestyle it would be a growing part of the industry.  But then again, I also know that the concept only appeals to a minority.  So I’m singing the winery’s praises here and hoping it benefits someone looking for organic wines.  
 

This 4th of July holiday I was one of the multitudes of people headed to Myrtle Beach, SC for some fun in the sun. Despite being one of the main attractions of the SC coast, there is just no easy way to get to Myrtle Beach no matter which direction you are traveling from. Seeing long stretches of nothingness with a spot of destitute here and there was nothing new for me ~ it reminded me of where I’d been for the past 6 years and how far I’d traveled to be where I ultimately wanted to be. It gave me plenty of time to reflect on the past 9 months of my new life and how unbelievably stress free, carefree and happy I’ve become. It also gave me time to catch up on inspiration for some of my writing that I’ve been neglecting. The ideas starting flowing as the miles ticked by…

You may never take cooking advice or recipes tips from me, but if you can take just one thing away from your time here with me, please let it be this….when you find yourself on this same journey toward the sand and surf, PLEASE obey the speed limit through those little non-coastal towns. If you’re not careful, you won’t even realize that in a blink of an eye the 60mph limit suddenly dropped to 45mph and in another blink down again to 35mph. Nope, you won’t even know until you find yourself sitting on the side of the road surrounded by flashing blue lights and handing over $250 of your beach spending money to whatever municipal that the man in the uniform represents. And don’t feel bad when it happens to you because it happens to almost all travelers through the area ~ even the speed conscience Captain Sturm got a ticket once and although I was asleep in the passenger seat when it happened, somehow it was my fault.

The Grand Strand hasn’t changed much in my nearly 7 year absence. The landscape is more dotted with high rise condos, hotels, and beach houses but what I love most about Myrtle Beach is even though there is a certain level of classiness about the place, there is also a good dash of cheesiness mixed in. Tacky t-shirt and souvenir shops line the south end of Ocean Avenue where airbrushing is still all the rage. You can get a henna tattoo, hermit crabs, a belly button piercing and a newspaper thin beach towel for $1.99. The cheesiness works and it’s there for those who have not yet grown to appreciate the finer things in life. It’s for those who will develop an innate fear of throwing up on amusement park rides. It provides an atmosphere conducive to passing out from too much...uh...heat exhaustion. Yeah, heat exhaustion. Uh huh. And many a naïve young girl will sell her soul during a game of putt-putt to an Italian man during a weekend rendezvous.


But not me ~ I’m down on the classy north end of town because I've finally outgrown the lures of the south end of the Strand. This trip, I could be found enjoying some great seafood at Sara J’s located at 314 Atlantic Ave, Murrells Inlet, SC. It was a tough decision, but finally I decided on the crabcakes and was rewarded with 3 huge cakes served with a side of orange marmalade. They had more of a crispy deep fried appearance instead of the typical bread crumb exterior and there was very little filler, instead they were chock full of flaky sweet crab. An excellent choice indeed!

Murrells Inlet is also home to Spuds Waterfront Dining where I found myself on the 4th of July feasting on grilled shrimp and scallops before the big fireworks extravaganza. Both were cooked to perfection and the outdoor patio provided an excellent view of the 4th of July boat parade.











As a true Southern girl, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that both meals were served with the deep fried delicacies known as hushpuppies. Dipped in honey butter, they're the perfect appetizer for any meal served by the ocean or otherwise.

My sabbatical ended with a fabulous fireworks display at the Surfside Beach pier that continued through the evening along the beach. It was the end to the perfect weekend that served the purpose of rejuvenating and inspiring my soul.

Since being founded in 1670, Charleston, SC has provided tolerance for those seeking religious and ethnic diversity, rebuilt itself after being war-torn during both the American Revolution and the Civil War, and has survived devastation brought on by Mother Nature in the form of hurricanes and tropical storms, but most notably Hurricane Hugo.

Today, it is a major tourist and art destination and is by far one of my most favorite places to visit in this surrounding area. My girlfriend Angela and I loaded up the convertible and headed to the low country for a girl's weekend during the Memorial Day holiday. It was only my second time there and I should probably mention that in addition to all of the other devastating acts that Charleston has survived, it is also still standing after the devastation of my own marriage to Captain Sturm. We were married on the balcony of the Palmer Home bed and breakfast in a very heart-felt ceremony nearly 5 years ago now. I won't deny that while planning and travelling, I was of the mind-set that this was going to be a hard trip for me but soon after arriving and partaking of all the excitement of the city, I was well on my way to making new memories and putting all the former sentiments on a back burner. A few sips of a delightful margarita while listening to the sounds of the ocean helped alot too!

Charleston undoubtedly has some of the finest cuisine you will find anywhere....frogmore stew, low country boils, she-crab soup, hoppin' john, and shrimp and grits. Even though Angela and I gorged ourselves for 3 days straight, I came home still yet with an insatiable craving for more low country cuisine.

Grits are met with mixed reviews outside of the southern most states but in the low country area, shrimp and grits has been considered a basic breakfast food for decades during the shrimp season running May through December. Simply called 'breakfast shrimp," the dish consisted of a pot of grits with shrimp cooked in a little bacon grease or butter. During the past decade, this dish has migrated from the home kitchen to the fanciest restaurants and is not just for breakfast anymore.

In 1976, South Carolina declared grits the official state food:

Whereas, throughout its history, the South has relished its grits, making them a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humor, and its hospitality, and whereas, every community in the State of south Carolina used to be the site of a grist mill and every local economy in the State used to be dependent on its product; and whereas, grits has been a part of the life of every South Carolinian of whatever race, background, gender, and income; and whereas, grits could very well play a vital role in the future of not only this State, but also the world, if as The Charleston News and Courier proclaimed in 1952: 'An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, [grits] should be made popular throughout the world. given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of [grits] is a man of peace'.

Today, I'm declaring this zesty shrimp and grits recipe a real winner but with the addition of Rotel tomatoes, it is not the traditional shrimp and grits that you're likely to find on menus in Charleston. After one taste, though, I think you'll find it appearing on your own menu quite often.



Shrimp & Grits Casserole
inspired by Suzanne Butler

4 C Chicken broth
1/2 t Salt
1 C Grits (not instant)
1 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese - shredded
1 C Pepper Jack Cheese - shredded
2 T Butter
6 Green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
1 Green or Red bell pepper, chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 lbs Shrimp, shelled and cooked (reserve a few for garnishing your plated dish)
1 (10 oz) can Rotel, drained
1/4 t Pepper
1/2 lb bacon, cooked & coarsely chopped

Bring chicken broth to a boil and then add grits and cover until cooked. (Follow directions on bag of grits.)

Add 3/4 C of cheddar cheese and all of pepper jack cheese.

Saute green onion, green (or red) bell pepper, and garlic in butter.

Stir together green onion mixture, tomatoes, grits, shrimp, and the rest of the ingredients except for the remaining cheese.

Pour into 2 qt baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes or until bubbling. Once plated, garnish with reserved shrimp, chopped bacon, and remaining shredded cheese.

They say you should never run from your problems, but what do they know? And who the heck are they anyway? Sometimes you just need time to get away, to reflect on the past and the present, and figure out what comes next.

And that's exactly what I did last week. I've had a tremendous amount of stress and turmoil in my life these last few months and in anticipation of everything coming to a close and being finalized around the same time, I decided to give myself something fun to look forward to by planning a trip to the San Francisco area. My aunt and her husband live just east of SF and invited me and my parents out for a week and in particular to see Jimmy Buffet in concert on Tuesday. About the time I started packing my bags to leave, I received an email invitation from Heather at Project Foodie to participate in the Foodie Road Trip event which invites you to talk about your most memorable road trip as it relates to food. What perfect timing!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm in the process of relocating back to Charlotte, NC and I'm so excited about having access to a more diverse variety and selection of food. For me, the art of enjoying food isn't just about eating it but the entire process from beginning to end - planning, shopping, preparation, anticipation of the meal to come, and finally the consumption. Since being involved in the food industry on a professional level, I will admit that I've been burned out on the whole process of food for my personal enjoyment for a very long time and I wanted to get that part of myself back. My trip to San Francisco went a long way toward the journey of finding that passion again.

I arrived in SF on Saturday and was greeted by Aunt P, Uncle G and a huge pot of homemade minestrone soup. Nothing says, "Welcome Home!" like a simmering pot of homemade soup and when topped with shaved Parmesan cheese and paired with a chilled glass of wine, I say, "I'm gonna move in with you!"

After a good night's sleep, Uncle G and I hit one of the local farmer's markets early in the morning to pick up ingredients for the next few days' worth of meals. Uncle G is quite the foodie himself so it was nice to swap stories with someone who actually felt the same level of excitement upon seeing 72 varieties of tomatoes in one place, not to mention knowing the difference between Japanese, Italian, Thai and Indian eggplant and seeing sweet, sun ripened strawberries in October. After taste testing almost everything at the market, we selected our bounty of fresh fruits and veggies. We made our way to several other markets for fresh fish and a few staples, and finally we had the makings for the first meal of the week.




This little guy was begging to go home with me but we chose to go with halibut instead and that evening Uncle G served up halibut with fresh mango salsa served with black eyed pea salad and sauteed baby bok choy. Seriously folks, I've heard of baby bok choy - even seen it in the stores - but this bok choy was some serious preemie bok choy. Tender and flavorful.
Our appetizer was steamed mussels with a wine reduction....YUM-O! There's something about the taste of food in California - it just tastes better. Maybe it's because it's about as fresh as you can get it, not having been trucked from one end of the Earth to another and radiated along the way.

The rest of the week was busy with sight-seeing in the city, the Jimmy Buffet concert, and an added bonus of seeing Tina Turner in concert. Ms. Turner certainly still has the HOT factor going on. I hope I look that good when I'm 68...wait a minute...I don't even look half that good now!!!! All of these activities kept us from eating meals at home, but never fear...my foodie road adventure doesn't end there. No sir! The family and I took the ferry into the city and spent the afternoon wondering through yet another farmer's market and a really neat marketplace on the pier that housed bunches of specialty, artisan food markets and restaurants. I had an awesome photo of my lunch - a bento box from a little Japanese joint but when we sat down to eat, what happened next trumped any photograph of food that I could have taken. Just as we sat down, Uncle G casually said, "Oh look...there's Jacques Pepin eating at that table." If you want to see someone (aka me) act a fool by trying to sneak a photo op of a celebrity chef as he tries to enjoy his chips and salsa and tries really hard to ignore the silly girl (again, aka me) peeping around the corner at him, just say those exact words. I finally decided that it would be quite rude to take his photo without his permission and I mustered up the courage to approach him and politely ask. I was rewarded with his pleasant smile and his offer to sit next to him for a fabulous photo. And lookie there...I do believe that's his hand on my shoulder!!!


After the celebrity sighting, I can't even tell you what I did for the rest of the day but I can tell you that later in the week our trip concluded with a tour of the wine country and a stop at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone. I bought a salt pig very similar to this one as my souvenir.


My family and I enjoyed a picnic on the grounds of Rutherford Hill winery and a tasting at Beringer Vineyards.

It was a fabulous trip, chock full of foodie adventures. I'd like to thank Heather for inviting me to participate in her Project Foodie event and most of all, I'd like to thank Aunt P and Uncle G for hosting me this past week. Make sure you view the rest of my trip photos at my flickr account. I had over 300 photos to choose from for this blogpost and obviously and fortunately (for you) couldn't post them all! The kitchen will be closed for a few more days as I complete my move to Charlotte, but I'm sooooooo looking forward to sharing my new and exciting food adventures with you.

My last post about Chicago was intended to be reminiscent about food but as I typed, the story took on a life of it's own and I decided to let it stay that way. So today it's back to the business of food.

I was indeed thinking about my trip to Chicago that day but specifically about my and Toni's experience at oENOlogy. If you took the experience and picked it apart piece by piece then yes, it was a bit pricey for what we got. Toni had a total of 15 ounces of wine and I had 10 ounces, 1-1/2 ounces of cheese each, about the same amount of charcuterie each, and 3 pieces of chocolate for each of us for a grand total of $136, not including tip. Sheesh! That's almost my grocery bill for the entire week.

But sometimes it's best to focus on the big picture and not the minute details, I tell myself. We enjoyed the atmosphere, we enjoyed each other's company, and we enjoyed the experience as a whole. I, myself, particularly enjoyed the chocolate flights called "The Devil Wears Chocolate" and "Cocoa Cabana." We cut each piece in half so we could share and we took our slow, sweet time tasting each piece. As I savored the chewy, rich piece of chocolate covered caramel with sea salt, it brought to mind a blog post by Anita of Dessert First for Honey and Sea Salt Caramels that I bookmarked some time ago. I knew that very soon after I returned home from vacation it would be at the top of my list of things to try.

Caramel is one of my favorite things - I love it as a smooth, warm drizzle over ice cream or eaten straight from the jar with a spoon, and of course caramel popcorn from the now defunct Caramel Corn snack shops that used to fill our shopping malls with sweet smelling aromas (more nostalgia here). Having never made caramel candy before, Anita's adapted recipe was perfect for a novice. It required very few ingredients - ones that are staples in any well-stocked pantry - and the technique was fairly simple. The most difficult part of the recipe was the amount of patience it required waiting for the candy to reach the proper temperature for each cooking stage. I have ZERO patience when it comes to...anything, really, so it was hard for me not to get impatient while waiting for the candy to reach temp. I thought it should happen in like a minute or two, but as it started heading into more like 5 minutes, 10 minutes, infinity...well, I hurried the first batch and it didn't set up quite like it should have.
Anita gives a great tip that if your caramel doesn't set up then you can reheat it to the proper temp for a quick save. In my effort to hurry my caramel along to the proper stage, I kept increasing the temperature and in the end could taste a faint hint of "burnt" in my candy so I chose not to reheat for a save. It didn't taste entirely bad so I just poured it into a bowl and deemed it fit for ice cream topping.
After a couple of deep breaths and a few yoga-like moves, I approached my second batch of candy with a clear conscience and renewed patience. Once my caramel reached the proper temperature (and without monkeying with the heat source), I let it sit there for just another minute or so. It was hard to do, but well worth it... my caramel set up perfectly! And after exercising even more patience by letting it sit on my counter for a full day to cool and set up, I was rewarded with a buttery smooth confection and the little extra sprinkle of sea salt on the top gave it just the right combination of sweet and salty. The only thing that would have made this (much less expensive) trip down memory lane more perfect would have been a glass of the 2006 Valter Barbero "Serena" wine.

Head on over to Dessert First and see what it's all about!

Honey Butter Caramels with Sea Salt
adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert
makes about 80 caramels

1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9 in baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Let the sides of the foil or parchment hang over the sides of the pan; this will make it easier to remove the caramels.

In a large saucepan (use at least a 3 quart saucepan, as the boiling caramel will increase in volume), combine the corn syrup, honey, sugar, and sea salt, and bring to a boil. Let the mixture continue cooking until it reaches 305 degrees F.

Meanwhile, place the cream in a small saucepan and warm on the stove until it is just at a simmer. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to keep the cream warm (you do not want to add cold cream to the hot caramel or it will seize up and harden.)

When the caramel is at the right temperature, take it off the heat and add in the butter, stirring until it is melted and combined.

Add in the cream slowly - when you pour it in it will bubble up violently, so don't add the cream all at once or it might overflow. When you have added all the cream, stir the mixture until combined.

Return the saucepan to the stove and cook on medium heat until it reaches 250 degrees F.

Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Let it set overnight before removing and cutting into individual pieces.

God created Sundays as a day of rest but in this fast paced world that we live in today, very few people slow down long enough to even know what day it is let alone to take the time to rest and relax. Finding myself home sick this weekend and tired of staying in the house, I ventured outside to take up residence in the hammock. It was a gorgeous day - no humidity, a light breeze and just a hint of impending Fall in the air....perfect for relaxing and recuperating. My thoughts started wondering and soon I found myself reminiscing about times past.

A few weeks ago, my friend and I took in the sights and sounds of Chicago for what was my first time there. I invited all of my friends and family to view the photos from my trip on my Flickr account. A few days later, my grandmother sent me an email because it seems that my photographs evoked some memories of her first trip through Chicago with my grandfather and his sister. Back in 1952, my grandparents were in their mid 20's and newly married. Being from a small rural town, my grandmother hadn't traveled all that much herself but my grandfather made frequent trips between their home in Tennessee and his job in Michigan. I'm positive this was not my grandmother's very first trip out of her hometown, but it was quite possibly one of the first through a major metropolitan city such as Chicago. She said my grandfather didn't want to take the time to stop so she snapped photos from inside the car while they passed through the city streets. I can just imagine her bouncing from side to side in the car snapping photos, pointing and being amazed at the scene before her. Ironically, one of the photos that she snapped was very similar to of one of mine at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. Seeing the picture gave me an odd sense of comfort knowing that we both had been in the same place for the first time, but certainly a different time.



It has been two years since my grandfather left us for a better place and his memories still bring tears and sadness but I have great comfort in knowing that later in his life he found the time to enjoy a Sunday such as this one today. Taking time to relax, to stop along those city streets and take in the view. My grandmother told me that one evening, when they were much older, they had a conversation about the fact that he had pretty much seen and done everything that he had set out to accomplish and experience in life. If we could all only be so lucky!

So, just take a moment and remember what it is you're here to do and what it is that you want to do.....

Didn't we all have to write an essay on this subject right after school started back in the fall? I remember sitting in a stifling hot classroom listening to my classmates recite harrowing tales of being stuck in the back of a station wagon with their kid brother/sister during the drive to Disney World or some other far off destination. I could just imagine the 14 hours of poking and pinching each other, counting cars, and incessantly asking, "Are we there yet?" Ahhhh, family vacations......those were the days.

I can't believe it's almost time for school to start again - the summers seem to fly by. Heck, time in general seems to fly by! I don't have children myself, but I know when I start seeing all those brightly colored notebooks start lining the shelves of Walmart that very soon, every third grader in America will be nervously standing in front of the class reading from a Blue Horse notebook.....

What I Did On My Summer Vacation
by Alison Sturm
I went to Chicago for a long weekend with a friend of mine. But first, a little back story on said friend. When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I was given the gift of a subscription to a magazine called Teen Magazine. One of the issues had a questionnaire that you could fill out about yourself and when you mailed it in with 50 cents, you'd be matched with a pen pal with similar interests. Now, I'm sure they just took all the entries, threw them into a hat and pulled out two at a time and declared them a match, but either way I was matched with a girl named Toni who lived in Saginaw, Michigan.

Toni and I started writing to each other very frequently (this was way back in the time that people actually used pen, paper, and a 15 cent stamp to correspond with each other) and we shared secrets, stories of boyfriends, best friends, and growing up in general. We met in person for the first time in our early twenties when Toni came to Tennessee to be in my first of many wedding. Soon after, I went to Michigan to be in her wedding and we continued to visit and correspond with each other during the years. We eventually lost touch with one another as our lives took different paths and nearly 10 years would pass before we reconnected and decided to meet in Chicago for the weekend. Our lives have changed in many ways over the years but at the core we are still just two friends who have grown up together over the years.

We had a fabulous time in Chicago...walking, talking, shopping, eating, and catching up on the last 10 years. You can view all of my photos by clicking here. We went to the top of the John Hancock building and took in the view of the city during the day and then we took a dinner cruise on the Spirit of Chicago and had an awesome view of the skyline and fireworks at night. This being a food blog and all, I figured my essay should touch on the "eating" part of my summer vacation. We had a great lunch at the Park Grill in Millennium Park and a sinfully rich dessert at the top of the John Hancock, but it was our experience at a place called Oenology that is most memorable. The word oenology means the art and science of making wine and this place specializes in pairing wines, cheeses and chocolates and allows you to experience different tastes, varieties and regions individually or in flights (sets of three). It was definitely a fun experience for the both of us and one of the many highlights of our trip. We've decided to commit to meeting once a year during our summer vacation, so stay tuned for next year's adventure!

Several years B.C.S. (before Captain Sturm), my friend W. and I took a 10 day vacation trip out west. We opened the map and each of us took turns pointing out places that we'd like to see and then we created an itinerary that included most of those places. Our trip started by flying to Denver, Colorado where we rented a car and drove south to a little town called Buena Vista. We spent the night in a quaint little motel and the next day we headed out for our half-day white water rafting adventure. It was early May and when I called the rafting company a month earlier to make the reservations, I was told that May was a little too early in the season for them to be taking tourists down the river but we were in luck because on that particular day they were taking a group of potential guides down the river for training purposes and we were allowed to accompany them. It was a cool, crisp day and after we suited up in our wetsuits we spent the next several hours navigating class I, II, and III rapids on the Arkansas River. The scenery was absolutely, breath-takingly gorgeous - the rugged mountain peaks were covered with snow and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I took alot of pictures that day but the camera just didn't do justice to what my eyes actually saw.

Four exciting hours later, we were finished with our excursion and you cannot imagine how ravenous I was! I felt like the kind of hungry beast that was no doubt roaming the steep, rugged snow capped Rocky Mountains that stretched for miles in front of me. We drove a few miles down the road and stopped at a restaurant that looked like your average steak house. I was so hungry that I probably would have eaten almost anything put in front of me. The entree that I chose was a chicken breast covered with cheese and bacon. This wasn't something that I would have normally ordered - while I do love me some bacon, chicken and cheese, put them all together on a plate and it's just a bit much for me. But I was hungry...beastly hungry...bring on the chicken...smother it with cheese...throw some pork fat on there too kind of hungry. I don't know if it was because I was so exhaustingly hungry or maybe I had suffered a reaction to being exposed to thin Rocky Mountain oxygen, but honest to goodness that was the best meal I had ever eaten.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago, when I ran across a recipe called Chicken Lombardy from a source that I can't even remember now. The recipe as it was written became a staple in my catering kitchen and one day while preparing it for a catering job, I had to make some minor adjustments out of necessity for what we had available to use. As I tasted the revision, I immediately had one of those "When I bite into a York Peppermint Patty I Get The Sensation" moments. I was navigating Class III rapids down the Arkansas River. I was eating that fabulous chicken cheese bacon dish in the otherwise non-descriptive steak house restaurant in the quaint little town of Buena Vista in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

So, without further adieu, I give to you.......


* Exported from MasterCook *

Buena Vista Chicken

Serving Size : 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper -- to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter -- divided
1 onion -- sliced
6 slices bacon -- cooked and crumbled
1 cup fresh mushrooms -- sliced
1/2 cup marsala wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
4 slices Provolone cheese

Place chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper and flatten to 1/8" thickness with the flat side of a meat mallet. Season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken lightly with flour.

Heat vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until chicken is golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet and place in a baking dish, overlapping edges.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to drippings in the pan. Saute mushrooms and onions, about 3-4 minutes. Add crumbled bacon and sprinkle mixture over chicken. Deglaze pan with wine, scraping up browned bits. Add chicken broth and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Top each chicken breast with a slice of Provolone cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

A nice golden brown....

Gimme some cheese and pork fat, pleeze....


Take me back to that Rocky Mountain High....

Some years ago, I received as a gift, a cookbook called Barefoot Contessa Parties! written by Ina Garten. It sat on my over burdened cookbook shelf for a very long time gathering dust along with numerous other books that I just hadn't found my way to yet. One day while suffering from severe boredom at work, I logged onto FoodNetwork's website and found my way to their now non-existent food forums. I logged on to several of the message boards and finally settled upon the one created for Ina Garten's cooking show, The Barefoot Contessa. I didn't really know much about Ina, her show, or her recipes but quickly became a follower. I made several virtual friendships on that board and they carried over to the Contessa's Kitchen board that was created in honor of Ina after the Foodnetwork boards went belly-up.

Ina's recipes range from dishes that you would prepare for casual or elegant entertaining to good, home-cooked comfort foods and even wonderful desserts. I became inspired by her - her easy-going personality seemed to resonate through the TV and even into her recipes. I decided it was time to dust off the forgotten copy of Barefoot Contessa Parties! and crack it open. The first recipe that I chose was the Orzo with Roasted Vegetables. It quickly became a favorite and so I plugged along to her oh-so-good Lemon Bars and the next thing you know, Ina's Spinach Gratin had became a staple on our Thanksgiving table. Soon a second book, Barefoot in Paris, joined the ranks as one of the most used book on the overburdened shelf.

Yesterday as I'm strolling along one of the many aisle of food products at the Fancy Food Show, I come upon a booth for Stonewall Kitchen. I kept walking past the booth thinking that I don't need to spend alot of time with them as they are already one of my vendors and I'm pretty familiar with their products. I'm walking on past and there she was...Ina Garten herself, sitting in a director's chair next to a display of her Barefoot Contessa line of baking mixes, preserves, and marinades. I couldn't believe it! Were my eyes deceiving me? Was it REALLY her? Yep, it surely was. There wasn't a large crowd around, so I stepped up to the table and shook her hand. I shook Ina Garten's hand!!! She was so pretty - so natural and "girl-next-door" looking. She was very pleasant and happily signed her autograph on a postcard for me. It was so totally worth the price of the entire trip to New York. It was like Christmas in July....

Put your walking shoes on bloggers because we have one heck of a gastromonical experience going on today! Since I'll be attending the Fancy Food Show for the next three days, it was my turn to lead the city exploration today. With map in hand, we headed out. Figuring we needed sustenance for our long journey, we grabbed a quick breakfast across the street at PAX Wholesome Foods. Yogurt with granola and fresh fruit, fresh squeezed OJ, biscotti, and bagels. I've never really been one to partake in the most important meal of the day, mainly because (a) I don't have time, and (b) I don't enjoy most breakfast foods. There was something about breakfast today, though, even simple as it was. Just the fact that I was sitting in a sidewalk cafe in NYC, ready to embark on my long awaited culinary tour made it one fantastic breakfast.

A quick ride on the subway landed us at Ground Zero where we paid our respects to those lost on September 11. We milled around the financial district for awhile but since it was Saturday, Captain Sturm wasn't very interested. Neither was Miss A. Nothing compares to the glitz and glamour of neon in Times Square, according to her, least of all the fish markets in China Town - the first must see place on my list.

It's amazing how much time passes when your strolling along the never-ending blocks of the city. I could tell that my traveling companions were growing tired and weary. Lunch was in order, and I thought there would be no better place than the second must see stop, Once Upon A Tart in the trendy SoHo district.
Is it a sin to go to a place such as OUAT, whose entire existence is based upon tarts and not order a tart? If so, I guess I just guaranteed myself a nice little retirement place south of the equator. My lunch order was a salad combination with couscous, roasted veggies, and a slice of veggie frittata. Captain Sturm opted for the sandwich of the day - the chicken and roasted asparagus on rosemary focaccia. Miss A. chose the roasted turkey sandwich and unbeknownst to her it also had cranberry chutney and brie on it. She probably would have added these things to her Things I Never Knew I Ate list, but she couldn't make it past the crusty bread. I'm not sure what I expected to see at OUAT, but it was most definitely different that I thought it would be. A very teeny, tiny place indeed with good lunch fare but the ambiance just wasn't what I expected. I will, however, have renewed enthusiasm when pulling my OUAT cookbook off the shelf simply because I can say that I've been there.
Just as our lunch begins to settle, we round the corner and there it is....the famed Magnolia Bakery, the third and last must see place on my list today. I read mixed reviews about MB on the internet - about how the long lines didn't justify the end result, but I didn't care. I wanted to go anyway and form my own opinion. We stood in line for about 7 minutes and once we made it inside the teeny storefront, the smell of confections was intoxicating. I stuffed my box with 3 cupcakes and out the door I went, guarding my treasure. We caught the subway back to the hotel and I knew that my troops were secretly glad that my stint as tour guide was over. We devoured our buttercream laddened treats and while I will admit that there was nothing totally spectacular about the cupcake itself, it was the meer fact that it came from Magnolia Bakery that made it so wonderful. I'm mentally counting the recipes that will be tested from the More From Magnolia cookbook.

Now, at this point I should thank you blog readers for sticking with the story when it's only half over. I should also be upfront and honest and tell you that I am now consuming Pepto Bismol tablets every hour on the hour. Dinner, theater, and dessert are looming before me and nothing will stop me now! Our concierge had once again made an excellent recommendation for dinner at the Blue Fin restaurant in Times Square.
With a fabulous menu abundant with raw bar specialties and fresh seafood, I had no problem selecting my entree. How could I pass up a dish that combined my two most favorite food groups - goat cheese and chilean sea bass! Yes, I am aware that it is politically incorrect to eat a fish that is over-fished but since I've sinned once today I figure I had nothing to lose. My meal was excellent and evidenced by the fact that I made "Mmmmm" noises during the entire meal.
The three of us headed off to the Miskoff Theater to see The Lion King and afterwards Captain Sturm and I devoured a slice of New York cheesecake and Miss A. indulged in a chocolate milkshake. Back at the hotel, I popped yet another Pepto tablet and lulled myself to sleep with visions of cupcakes, cheesecake, sea bass and the hopes that my jeans would fit tomorrow!