The Dog Days Aren't Over: Dog Duties

Pin It Aren't you glad I'm talking about Dog Duties, and not Dog Doodies? Me, too. Now that we've scooped that pun out of the way. let's talk about morning dog duties out here in the woods.

You've got a job. I've got a job. All God's chilluns got jobs.

Even my dogs have jobs, God love them.

Deacon D. Dawg, as you know, is the Paper Boy. On weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), he fulfills his genetic destiny as a Labrador RETRIEVER, and retrieves the paper. He lives for that job. Except for the fact that we just do not need it, it would almost be worth it to subscribe to the paper daily, just to see the joy it brings to Deaky Boy. Even though he's on his last lung, while he can still happily get on his J. O. B., we are loathe to send him across the Canine Rainbow Bridge.

Enjoy HIS joy, won't you? The view you're about to see is of him coming back from the door where he was trying to deliver the paper to see what his Master Holding the iPhone wants, and then returning to the door, because he wants his treat. For Deaky Boy, it's all about the treats.
















Come back tomorrow, for Dog Duties, #2. (heh heh)
I've got video of Pilgrim Pee Dog I'm itching to share.

Chicken and Chickpea Tagine with Apricots and Harissa Sauce

Pin It

Chicken and Chickpea Tagine with Apricots and Harissa Sauce, served with Couscous

 I couldn't decide whether to call this dish "Chicken and Chickpea Tagine" or "Bobby Flay, I Think I Love You". I really wanted to give it the name of the Food Network chef, but I was scared the search engines wouldn't figure out what I wanted people to be able to find. But YOU may call it "Bobby Flay, I Think I Love You", if you like. And if you try it, I bet you will.

I found this recipe because I received a box of Moroccan spices from a giveaway at Thyme in our Kitchen, and while I was familiar with the spice blend called ras al-hanut, there was another spice called harissa that I had no idea how to use. So, I googled, and found Bobby Flay's recipe, that I have adapted here.

 It was so good, that I knew I wanted to share it with you! Tender, juicy meat, the sweetness of the apricots,  the deeply complex spiciness of ras al-hanout, the coolness and the heat from the harissa sauce: this dish was an amazing combination of flavors that burst on my tastebuds like a Moroccan sandstorm. Only juicier! And MUCH more flavorful. OK, almost nothing like a Moroccan sandstorm. I was going for the elements of power and speed here, in my little failed analogy. :-D

Don't be intimidated by a recipe that has terms that may be unfamiliar to you. Let me share with you  what I've learned about a tagine, a spice blend called harissa, and one more spice blend: ras al-hanut.

• Tagine: Wikipedia tells me that tagines (also spelled tajines) are a dish typical to Moroccan cuisine. They are slow cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in meat that is very tender. The meat is simmered with aromatic vegetables and sauce. Moroccan tajines often contain dried fruits and special spice blends. The ceramic vessel they are cooked in is also called a tagine. It's a flat, circular dish with a conical cover. If you'd like to see a picture of that dish, or research more, here's a link. I didn't have a tagine dish, but a Dutch oven works just fine.
• Harissa: a spice blend, typically used in North African cuisine, principally in Tunisia and Morocco. The ingredients in my jar, made by the Savory Spice Shop, contained roasted red jappone peppers, cumin, coriander, Hungarian and California paprika, garlic, salt, and caraway.
• Ras al-hanut: is a popular Moroccan blend of spices, whose name literally means "top of the shop", meaning this is the best blend of spices a seller has to sell. My jar, also from the Savory Spice Shop, contained nutmeg, sea salt, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, mace, cinnamon, ground allspice, turmeric, and saffron. I have, however, made my own blend at home, and here's the recipe I used, given to me by my favorite local chef, Chef Deb Paquette: 

Do It Yourself Ras al-hanut:

2 tsp. each: 

ground nutmeg

coriander

cumin

ginger

turmeric

salt

cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. each: 

sugar

paprika

black pepper

1 tsp. each:

cayenne

cardamom

allspice

1/2 tsp.: ground clove

Mix well. This makes about 8 tablespoons and you can keep the rest in a little jar, till you want to use it again. It's great for flavoring rice, or couscous, meatballs or used as a rub on a pork tenderloin, which is how I've used it.

I made a couple of slight adjustments to Chef Flay's recipe. His harissa sauce calls for crème fraiche, and to cut fat, I used Greek yogurt. That worked well. Also, he is known for enjoying spicy food, so I cut the amount of harissa in my version. He used 1 T. I cut the amount to two teaspoons: it's fiery hot stuff. And then I ended up adding another tablespoon or two of Greek yogurt to tame the flames a bit more. All that to say,  that you can adjust the heat in this recipe to your own preference.

Another way to lower the fat in this recipe would be to use chicken breasts, rather than thighs. I used thighs, which are more flavorful (but, they have more fat, too).

This recipe can be prepared either on the stovetop, or in the oven, according to your preference. I prepared mine in the oven.

Are you exhausted from all this edumacation I'm giving you?

And you're ready for the actual recipe for the dish now?

One more view, from overhead, just to whet your appetite.

Here we go, and remember, even though it has a long ingredient list, it is actually very easy to assemble.

Chicken and Chickpea Tagine with Apricots and Harissa Sauce

Ingredients:

2 T. canola oil

8 chicken thighs 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 T. olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced into half moons

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. ras al-hanut

Large pinch saffron, soaked in 1/4 c. warm water

1 cinnamon stick

1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3/4 c. dried apricots, sliced in half

Harissa Sauce, recipe follows

Chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional for you cilantro haters)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400º.

Heat canola oil in a large Dutch oven or a tagine over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the hot pan, skin side down, in batches if needed, cook until golden brown. Turn the thighs over and cook for 2 minutes longer. Remove chicken to a plate.

Remove all but 2 T. of the oil from the pan and then add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ras al-hanut and cook another 30 seconds. Add the saffron with the soaking liquid, cinnamon stick, tomatoes, chickpeas, and apricots and bring to a simmer. Place the chicken into the mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, either on the stovetop, or in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Do not remove the lid to check on the chicken until this time is up. Garnish each serving with a dollop of Harissa Sauce, parsley and cilantro.

Harissa Sauce

1/2 c. Greek yogurt

1 T. harissa

Salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

I served this dish with couscous, because it seemed like the Moroccan thing to do, but I think rice would be great as well.

I'd love to hear from you. Ever had Moroccan cuisine? 

Are you a fan of Chef Flay?

Update: This Paper Boy Still Delivers

Pin It

Neither rain, nor hail, nor life threatening breathing crisis will deter this good boy from his appointed rounds. He pins his ears back like that when he's really, really happy.

You know, down at the vet's office, they're all talking about him. Oh, yes, Deacon D. Dawg is the talk of the town: the "Miracle Dog of" our little burg. Even the employees who weren't working that dreadful day all know the story.

Here at our house, the old man is still on the job. On weekends, anyway. He takes weekdays off. No paper to deliver then. And no sense pushing one's recovery, either.

The steroids are starting to eek out of his system. He's not drinking water quite so frantically, nor acting quite so restless. He's back to sleeping through the night again, Were it not for the fact that he's so easily winded, I'd say he's almost back to his old self, the way he was before the life-threatening crisis that almost brought on a lethal injection: Deakie's near death experience, whether he knew it or not.

To Deakie's way of thinking, the "win" in all of this for him has been that now he's bullied his way into sleeping in our bedroom, the spot he's been angling to win for months.

The last post about him earned me a "Post of the Week" for "A Good Read" from Hilary at the Smitten Image. I'd like to thank Hilary, on behalf of "The Miracle Dog of ___". He and I are both grateful there was a happy ending to that tale. Tail thumps and wags all around!

I Know Why the Caged Pie Bird Sings

Pin It

Memorial Day is upon us, and Memorial Day announces the Advent of Summer. And with summer, come not only, ticks, chiggers, snakes and poison ivy, but also, the warm, sweet smell of sun-ripened peaches, slowly dribbling juice from any dent in their soft, fuzzy armor.

I won a giveaway last week that was sponsored by Le Creuset and Russell at Chasing Delicious and the prize was a red LeCreuset pie dish, with a pie bird! I had to google "pie bird" to find out what a pie bird did or does, but apparently,  it's a hollow little ceramic bird that acts as a chimney to allow steam to exit your pie. And, furthermore, it just LOOKS adorable. (This is my first piece of Le Creuset cookware, ever, and I was beyond thrilled to have won this giveaway, so thanks again to Le Creuset and Russell at Chasing Delicious, a gorgeous food blog if ever there was one.)

So when my husband came home from a song writing appointment last week, he carried with him not only a lovely new song, but also a gift from a friend who owned a peach tree: a sack full of ripe peaches. If you can believe it, some Tennessee peaches are already ripening. And then, I went to Whole Foods, and low and behold, they had gorgeous Georgia peaches for sale. And all that is to say, the arrival of peaches at my house caused my family to break forth into song. And here's how the song goes.

Don't be tricked: they're not really saying "mine".

They're saying "pie".

Oh, yes, I know why the caged bird sings. Well, at least I know why the caged pie bird sings. He sings because he wants Pie. So here's a link to my recipe for Fresh Peach Pie: wonderful, glorious harbinger of summer.

Can't you hear him singing now? "Pie! Pie! Pie!"

He sings to reach the full glory of who he was created to be, to do what he was created to do.

He sings a tragic but noble death song, for each peach who is about to cross over the great divide into the glory of the greater good: PIE.

He sings because he's trapped in 400º peach lava.  (Did you hear somebody shrieking "Help"? Good. Me, neither.)

He sings to be released from his molten prison. James Brown might be singing: "Hot Tub!"

He sings for the ruin of the crust that cracked, as Susie tried to figure out how to drape the thing around his neck,

Oh, yes: I know why the caged Pie Bird sings. He sings of life, of death, of things almost too luscious for our taste buds to bear. He sings of Pie.

My "Life's Too Short" Top Ten List

Pin It A year ago today, my husband underwent non-invasive cardiac bypass surgery, due to the heart attack he had suffered four days earlier. So, today, I've been doing a bit of reflecting on what I believe in regard to life, and how I live it, and how I WANT to live it.
.

This shot was taken right before they wheeled him down the hall to cardiac bypass surgery.
Think that didn't rattle my cage?

Thinking along these lines has caused me to generate a list, my list, of the

Top Ten Things that Life's Too Short for:

1. To not spend time getting to know and love God. (This life is but a flash in the pan, when you contemplate that your spirit was created to live forever.)

2. To not be my husband's best friend and lover.

I'm stuck in the Boonies because of this man, but God help me, I love him anyway.

3. To not love, listen to, and pray for my children.

4. To not serve others.

5. To not laugh.

6. To have no joy (which is different from laughter).

7. To eat bad calories, or drink bad coffee.

8. To not cultivate friendships.

9. To not travel.

10. To stay stuck in shame.

This I believe.

My apologies to Deacon D. Dawg and Pilgrim Pee Dog, for not having room on my list to add "To not have a pet." Because where would I be without either of them?! Life's too short to not share it with a beloved pet.

What about you? What would you put on YOUR list? 

Tell me one thing that would almost certainly make your list.

S*A*S*S! yourself slim: A Review of the Bestseller by Cynthia Sass

Pin It Cynthia Sass, a registered dietician and coauthor of "Flat Belly Diet!", has written a New York Times Bestseller, entitled "S*A*S*S! yourself slim". The first edition of this book, in hardback,  was published as "Cinch!: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches". This second edition, in paperback, contains new material, including "sensational swaps"(tips on how to effectively substitute certain foods and still remain within the guidelines of her food recommendations) and seven new success stories.

Despite a possible overdependance on exclamation points in her book titles (!!!), I'm pretty excited by what I've read in this book. So much so, that I'm actually thinking I might just give it a whirl myself for a month this summer, as soon as I make it through one more trip to "Mangia Nashville", and the end of the school year celebrations, parties, and house guests that we have coming up. I'd be glad to shed a few of the pounds I've packed on this winter.

The three key principles that Ms. Sass lays down for her diet are related to portions, proportions, and timing. It's a 30 day program with three key rules:

• Rule 1: Eat like clockwork. Meal timing is critical. You eat within one hour of getting up, and then space your meals evenly throughout the day, 3-5 hours apart. She believes that the timing is critical to your success, because it helps you regulate your blood sugar levels.
• Rule 2: Think, "Five Pieces, Four Times a Day." That's because each meal is constructed from 5 pieces:

1. produce
2. whole grain
3. lean protein
4. plant-based fat
5. natural seasonings (her S*A*S*S! Seasonings: slimming and satiating seasonings, which she outlines in her book)

• Rule 3: Make flavor your focus. Here she lists her seasonings that not only add flavor, but also rev up your metabolism as well.
• And best of all, she insists on a mandatory daily dark chocolate break!!! 

How great is that???

The book is filled with specific strategies and recipes to help you successfully complete her program. There is also an optional quick start component to the diet, where for the first five days, you eat 5 foods only, in various combinations, those foods being: eggs, almonds, spinach, yogurt, and raspberries. The fast forward program claims to potentially offer you quick results: up to an 8 pound weight loss in 5 days!

It appears to work for Cynthia Sass, huh?

I haven't tried it. I cannot truthfully tell you from personal experience that it works. What I can tell you is that I was impressed by quite a few of the recipes she offers. They do look flavorful. And a lack of flavor is what causes so many of us to abandon eating more healthily.

To get myself ready to try her plan, I've decided that I want to try making her chocolate truffles, to have them on hand in my refrigerator, so I'll have dark chocolate in the house, ready for my mandatory dark chocolate break. The downside? She only wants you to eat 50-100 calories of dark chocolate a day. That's one. lone. truffle.

Here are the titles of her truffle recipes: Balsamic Truffles, Citrus Zest Truffles, Spicy Chipotle Truffles, Green Tea Truffles and Peppercorn Truffles. I'm quite intrigued. Which to try first?

So, as best as I can determine, my problem is this:

1. I'm going to have to use self-control myself, to stay out of whatever kind of truffle I make, except for that one truffle a day, as the diet dictates.  And 
2. I'm going to have to keep use a cattle-prod and a install a combination lock on my refrigerator to keep my husband and my son out of my homemade truffles.

I really cannot see this ending well.

So...when I have made my truffles, I'll share some pictures, and the recipe, and I promise to let you know if they actually taste good or not. 

I was given the book as compensation for doing this post, but all opinions here are STRICTLY my own. 

O Death, Where is Thy Victory?

Pin It

It was a hard, hard day.

We had a hard day today.

The other night, after a very stormy day, our electric fence alarm started screaming, indicating that somewhere around the perimeter the dog fence line might be broken. We unplugged the fence to silence the alarm, since it was late at night, and then, since we were going out of town the next day, we didn't have time to track down where the break might be before we left.

We got back from our trip on Sunday night, and our doggies were delighted to see us, and all was well.

Until Monday morning.

My husband went downstairs to make us coffee, and to let the dogs out the door.

But Deakie Boy didn't come back.

Deacon D. Dawg is our 12 year old white "yellow" Labrador. He's been on what we've suspected was borrowed time for over 6 months. Six months ago, his sister, Gracie, who belonged to our good friends, passed away, and we've known that genetically speaking, his time was drawing nigh. He lies around like a huge white furry beached whale most of the day, with the exception of his daily dash (3x a day) to the food bowl. When he moves much beyond that, his breathing becomes harsh and labored, and it takes him a long, long time to settle down and catch his breath.

This morning, Deacon apparently discovered the breach in the fence, and decided to take himself out on one of his old adventures, but it was too much for the old feller.

He collapsed about a half a block away from our house.

My husband went driving down the hill looking for him first. And then my son went driving looking for him, while I stayed home, standing outside our house, calling and whistling, whistling and calling, "Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-kieeeeee".

No Deakie.

Then, the lady who had been pet-sitting for us, and who was in the neighborhood caring for someone else's pet,  came wheeling into our driveway, and told us she had seen Deakie, and he was in a terrible way. He couldn't get up, had thrown up, and was foaming at the mouth, unable to catch his breath.

Just at that moment, my son drove up, found him, got him in the car, and brought him home.

His breathing was awful: he was laboring terribly to breathe. He wouldn't take water, or even an ice cube. He couldn't settle down, even after several minutes. We made a decision to drive him down the hill to the vet, and warned the children to say their goodbyes to their puppy, in case things were as grave as they seemed to be.

On the way, we called the vet, and warned them we were on the way, and that things looked grim.

Based on his symptoms, our wonderful vet presented us with 3 possible diagnoses. The treatment for the first would require extensive exploratory surgery, and given his difficulty breathing, the anesthesia alone would likely kill him. The other two options involved a steroid injection and a sedative, which would likely be a stop-gap measure, preventing death for a completely unknowable amount of time. A few hours? A few days? A few weeks? A few months? Hard to know. He's an elderly dog, with what could very likely be a terminal disease. Option 3, given the panic in his eyes, and his inability to breathe, was to go ahead and put him to sleep.

His tongue was purple, indicating that he was not getting the oxygen he needed. He was afraid, and thus couldn't calm down. We were devastated, and after talking out the options with our vet, made the terrible decision to go ahead and put him down.

My husband called the kids at home, and told them to drive on down to the vet's office (a 15 minute drive) if they wanted to say goodbye. They said they wanted to, and so we asked the vet for 15 more minutes with him.

The vet and the vet tech went out and got the syringe with the medicine in it to put him down,  and a blanket for him to lie on. Each member of the staff of the hospital came in to pet him, and say goodbye. We were all crying. I was lying on the floor beside Deakie, talking to the staff and to him about what a good boy he has been, and about how soft his coat is, how even after 12 years, Deacon still has his puppy fur. I told him how sorry I was that we hadn't given him a few weeks worth of eating steak, and letting him up on the couch, and leaving the garbage can lid open for him.

And then, as I continued to lie with him on the floor, and kiss, and pet him, and talk to him, I noticed his tail began to wave, just at the tip. And then, I said, "Is his tongue beginning to pink up?". Because, it seemed to me that it had. And then, he lifted his head. I think he heard the "ding dong" alarm that goes off in the office every time someone opens the door. And then, my husband went out to get the kids, to tell them where we were, back in the exam room. And then, Deakie's tail started genuinely wagging.

Lazarus, come forth.

Deakie Boy hauled his great walrus self up off the floor, and stood at the door, where his master had exited moments before, with his head cocked to the side, in his Labradorian way of standing with his head right in front of the door crack, and so that you can just HEAR him thinking, "Door. Door. Door.".

His tongue was completely pink, his breathing eased, and if there had been a thought bubble above his head, it would have said, "I'm not dead yet. I feel happeeee...".

The vet and I looked at each other in amazement, our eyes wide as they could be.

SERIOUSLY???

And then my husband and the kids walked in. And Deakie wagged at them, happily.

And the vet said, "I can't put a dog down who looks that good! When he's standing at the door, wagging and ready to go..."

So, she gave him a shot of steroids, and a mild sedative, to help him sleep things off, because Labradors actually all come pretty close to needing sedatives when they are in the best of health, and we brought him home.

And we fixed the fence.

The Boy Who Cheated Death.

Deakie cheated death today. He dodged a bullet that was bearing his name, rank, and dog tag serial number.

We don't know how much longer he'll be with us, but tonight? Tonight, he's sleeping beside my chair as I type.

 And tonight, I'm grateful that my Lazarus came forth.

Oh, death, for a little while, anyway, go bother somebody else. No victory for you tonight in these parts.

Spaghetti al Vino Bianco: Spaghetti Cooked in White Wine

Pin It

Spaghetti al Vino Bianco: spaghetti cooked in white wine.

I've been wanting to try a recipe like this since I saw a similar recipe by Mario Batali, where he cooked pasta in red wine. This sounded delicious to me, but when I read some reviews that said the pasta turned an unappealing purple hue, I decided I'd hold off trying it. So when I ran into this recipe by Cooks Illustrated, where the pasta is cooked in white wine, I was eager to try it, since I figured that would solve the "purple" problem.

"Pasta cooked in wine" is a bit deceptive: it actually only finishes cooking in wine. Most of its cooking occurs in the usual large pot of boiling, salted water. While the pasta is cooking in that big pot of water, you intensify the flavor of the wine by reducing it and introducing some aromatics, like garlic and red pepper flakes. You add the undercooked pasta to the wine reduction, where it absorbs all that delicious wine flavor you've developed, and then finish the sauce with cream and grated Pecorino Romano. Next, briefly steam a delicate green on top of the pasta. And finally, you add texture, color and flavor by sprinkling your plate of sauced pasta and greens with crispy pancetta and toasted pine nuts.

So that's the general idea, and the finished product is so good!

SO good!!!

(Although, I admit, it was much more to MY taste, than to my husband's taste. He liked it, but didn't LOVE it.)

NOTES FOR CHANGES/ADAPTATIONS I MADE:

First, in regard to less common ingredients: the recipe called for pancetta, and the one I used came from Whole Foods, pre-sliced and pre-packaged. It was wonderful! I would definitely use it again. You could substitute bacon, easily, but the unique peppery flavor made it worth it to me to seek out the pancetta. The recipe also called for Pecorino Romano, which I happened to have on hand. If you don't have any, you could substitute Parmesan, which has a nuttier flavor. I'd actually be interested in trying this recipe next time with Parmesan instead. (Pecorino Romano is made from sheep's milk, and is much more pungent.)


Second: I didn't have any arugula, which is what the original recipe called for. But I did have a delicate artisanal lettuce that I purchased from Costco called Petite Tango, that looked a bit like frisée. It worked great! I'm not a huge arugula fan, but if you are, you should use it.

Third (and in regard to the wine I chose): The wine I used was a Picpoul de Pinet. Cooks Illustrated recommends a good-quality dry white wine, but to avoid a Chardonnay that is heavy on oaked flavor. The Picpoul de Pinet was dry, with just a hint of sweetness, delicious to sip all on its own. But if I'd make one change to the finished recipe, I'd add about a teaspoon more of sugar to the sauce. Cooks Illustrated mentioned that if the sauce's taste was too sharp, the cook should add up to a tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoon at a time, according to taste. I added one teaspoon of sugar, which helped the flavor immensely, considering the tartness of the flavor that the wine I had chosen had produced. I was afraid to add too much, and so I think I erred on the side of too much caution. Next time, if it's too tart, I'll add another teaspoon of sugar!

I want to eat it now.

Now, on to my adaptation of Cooks Illustrated recipe for:

Spaghetti Al Vino Bianco

Ingredients:

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4" pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
pinch red pepper flakes
1 bottle dry white wine (750 ml)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sugar (up to 1T. added 1 teaspoonful at a time, if needed)
1 lb. spaghetti
one small head of Petite Tango lettuce (or a comparable delicate green)
1/3 c. cream
1/2 c. grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
1/4 c. toasted pine nuts, chopped coarse

Procedure:

1. Heat oil and pancetta in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat; cook until pancetta is browned and crisp, approximately 3-5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off and discard all but 2 T. fat from skillet.
2. Return skillet to medium-low heat and add minced garlic and pepper flakes. Stir till garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds - 1 minute. Carefully add 1 1/2 c. wine and increase heat to medium-high. Cook until wine is reduced to 1/2 c.,  8-10 minutes. Add 1/2 t. salt. Taste and season with up to 1 tablespoon of sugar, tasting after you add each teaspoon to see if more is necessary.
3. Bring 4 q. water to a boil in a large pot. Add pasta and 1 T. salt and cook, stirring often, until pasta is flexible, but NOT fully cooked, about 4 minutes. Reserve 2 c. of pasta water in a measuring cup, then drain pasta.
4. Transfer pasta to skillet with reduced white wine. Place skillet over medium heat; add 1/2 cup unreduced wine and cook, tossing constantly until wine is fully absorbed. Continue to add remaining wine, 1/2 c. at a time, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes. Add any of the reserved pasta water necessary to keep the sauce as loose as you'd like, or if pasta is still uncooked, but all wine has been absorbed.)
5. Remove skillet from heat. Place lettuce on top of spaghetti; pour 1/4 c. reserved pasta water over lettuce, cover, and let stand for 1 minute. Add cream and 1/4 c. Pecorino Romano; toss until sauce lightly coats pasta and lettuce is evenly distributed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with pancetta, remaining 1/4 c. Pecorino Romano, and pine nuts. Serve immediately, passing extra Pecorino Romano separately. 

Have you ever tried cooking pasta in wine?

The Windmills of your Mind, aka SSS: Something Shiny Syndrome

Pin It I like to think of myself as a focused person.

I'm not.

But I like to THINK I'm a focused person.

I used to BE a focused person. Honestly!

One task at a time. I could zero in my attention with laser-like intensity, blocking all distractions, harnessing all the powers of my mighty brain to focus on the task at hand.

Behold the powers of my of my laser-like focus of days gone by.

Those were the good old days.

Before the advent of children.

Children became the Bone Spur in the Achilles Heel of My Attention.
(Which is either a really, really CLEVER play on words...or just wrong. And I'm pretty sure it's wrong.)

Anyway, suddenly, rather than listening to the fascinating account of a disgruntled music client that my husband was recounting, I was able to tune in to the fact that my toddler wanted more carrots. And that my baby was rattling the rail of her crib. I could take care of these things AND listen to my man, am I right?

And suddenly, I was a multi-tasker. My MamaEar was attuned to the cry of my kids. And it was good. To everyone but the adult trying to talk to me. But I figured, the adult could deal. The baby and the toddler had to be attended to. Or a ruckus would be raised, in my honor. And frankly, while I appreciated the effort involved, I could do without the ruckus. Who needs one more ruckus?

The baby and the toddler grew up, and became teenagers, capable of getting their own carrots, thankyouverymuch, and of climbing out of bed all on their own. Taking down the crib rails was liberating for all of us.

And then, came the depletion of my estrogen supply. (That sucking sound you hear is my uterus, begging my shriveled ovaries for one. last. egg.) And we all know what a waning estrogen supply does to the memory.

But at least, I then had the time, and the technology, to begin dabbling in social media. And blogging/writing started to become more of a potential gateway (???) to a post-child-raising career choice. (A girl can dream.) And before you know it, there are a thousand social media things to attend to, (Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter) and a million ways to improve your blog, and then: it hits you.

You start out in the morning, determined to have your quiet time.
Or... you've made a resolution to get going on improving your blog.
Or... you're writing an important or difficult post.
Or... you're going to fill out that application for...

You think you'll quickly check your email, the red light of which is glaring at you like the lone eye of a drunken Cyclops. So you'll just help yourself focus better by getting rid of that red light. Or the red light at the top of your Facebook page has 21 replies, and you decide you should quickly respond to a few of the kind people who took the time to share their precious thoughts with you, and so, you'll just make that red light go away so the thought of people waiting for you isn't a  distraction, and then...one thing leads to another...

and before you know what's happened to you, you're sharing a LOL cat with the rest of the world....

and you realize...

you don't have ADD.

But you have come down with a rip-roaring case of SSS:

Something Shiny Syndrome.

The History on your computer is a swirling vortex, a testimonial to and a record of your own personal distractibility.

I'm sorry you had to see this. But to hold your attention, I thought you might need a visual aid of a swirling vortex in my mind.

Today, just for today, my friends: today, I offer no solutions.

Today, I open up the floor for commiseration.

They say admitting the problem is the first step to finding the solution.

Can I get a witness?

Am I the only one? Surely not!

Tell me all about it.

And please: try not to get sidetracked by how much it must have hurt my nose to take that picture.

"Toaded" Grilled Chicken with Mustard

Pin It

Grilled "Toaded" Chicken with Mustard

I'm a HUGE fan of the food blog "What Katie Ate", the award winning food blog written by Australian Katie Quinn Davies. Actually, my husband and I both are. She has, in our opinion, some of the best food photography around! Katie's brilliant images prove that a food blogger does NOT have to be on Wordpress to have a food blog with a spectacular appearance, and a high number of readers.

(Drat! There goes my excuse!)

A few months ago, Katie, who was working on her cookbook, asked for feedback on what her readers look for in a cookbook, and I offered my input.

Are you curious as to what I said, by the way? High on my list of things I look for in a great cookbook is a clean layout and a clearly legible font.  I don't want to have to squint to read my recipe. And frankly, if a cookbook isn't user friendly in regard to being physically easy to read, I won't use it.

So, anyway, to encourage her readers to leave comments, Katie offered a giveaway for a barbecue cookbook by one of her favorite cookbook authors, French chef and resturanteur Stéphane Reynaud. The book is entitled Stephane Reynaud's Barbecue. Katie drew my name out of the hat, and I won the cookbook! Now, mind you, my cookbook was making its way to me via Australia, Katie's native land. (So it had a prettier cover than the American version!) And it took its time getting here from down undah, but finally, my cookbook arrived last week, complete with a few extra GORGEOUS Australian gourmet cooking magazines that Katie threw in, for fun. (She's a featured contributor to the Australian gourmet food magazine, "Delicious", you know!)

Anyway, to thank sweet Katie, I thought I would try a dish from my brand new cookbook, and share it with you. I really made very few changes in the recipe, with only two exceptions. First, I  substituted a normal store bought chicken that I had in the freezer for the "beautiful free range chicken" that Reynaud's recipe calls for. Now, if you HAVE a beautiful free range chicken, I have no doubt it would do nothing BUT enhance this already delicious recipe, so by all means, use a free range chicken if you can.

The other change I made to the recipe was to add a teaspoon of salt to the "marinade". I've learned through my Ginger Roast Chicken recipe the scientific reason that salting meat (chicken) a day before you use it really, really works., and Reynaud's recipe did not call for salt in the marinade. (While salt initially draws water from the cells, if you leave it on long enough, it forms a brine with that water, which then gets drawn deep back inside the chicken, making the meat both more flavorful and more tender. So salt your chickens in advance, kids!)

He calls it "Toaded" chicken, because to grill it evenly, you squash it "like a toad". Those wacky Frenchmen!

Kind of looks like a chia pet...but, the parsley and the onions together add so much! DELICIOUS and JUICY!

"Toaded" Grilled Chicken with Mustard

Marinating Time: 24 hours
Cooking time: 45 minutes over gentle heat

Ingredients:

1 chicken
salt and pepper
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 bunch of spring onions

Marinade: 

1 t. salt
6 garlic cloves
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1 T. honey
1 t. dried oregano
2 T. olive oil

Preparation:

Cut open the breast side of the chicken and flatten it out by pressing down hard (it will then look somewhat like a large toad!).
For the marinade, peel and chop the garlic. Combine all of the marinade ingredients: salt, garlic, mustard, honey, oregano and olive oil.
Starting at the neck cavity opening, gently slide your fingers between the skin and the muscle tissue of the chicken, loosening the skin at the bottom of the breast and around the thighs
Lay the chicken down in a dish, spread with the marinade on both sides of the exterior of the skin, as well as under the loosened skin, and cover the bird with plastic wrap.  Chill for 24 hours.
Place the chicken over gentle heat, and cook it for 45 minutes, turning it from time to time.
Once the chicken is cooked (165º), scatter with chopped parsley and spring onions and cover with foil for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

This recipe is perfect for grilling season. I'm hoping to supply you with more great grilling recipes soon, as well as another wine tutorial for wines that go exceptionally well with grilled foods in the coming summer months, so stay tuned!