Recipes from Marilyn

I told Brian that reading his daily emails on Marilyn’s recovery was like watching The Godfather. You are STARVING by the time you get done. Apparently, they’re cooking up a storm in Fanwood so I asked Mar for some of the recipes. This one for Chicken with Olives and Shallots sounded really good

Here it is. Hope you like it!

Lemon chicken with olives

• 2 tbls. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest, plus 1 tbls fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 and a half pounds chicken cutlets, thawed
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 cup pitted green olives (I cut them in half or thirds)
• One-half cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• One-half cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc – we use Trader Joe’s chardonnay)

Mix the flour, cumin, zest, a half teaspoon salt and a half teaspoon pepper on a flat plate. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and dredge in flour mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken in 2 batches until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Heat the remaining oil. Add the shallots and cook until soft. 5-7 minutes. Stir in the olives, parsley, lemon juice and wine and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan, nesting it in the olives and shallots. Reduce heat to low and cook covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Divide among individual plates, spooning the olives, shallots and any sauce over the top.Next, eat it and enjoy/ md

And the coolest thing of all....!

When this gift arrived I nearly fainted! Laura & Steve really know how to make a person feel special! It also came with Godiva truffles. They were all gone in a week!

The only thing that would have been better would have been for us all to be together.

While I'm at it, I would like to say how happy and relieved Lee and I are that Marilyn is home again and that she and Brian have survived the last year's ordeals.

And of course Laura & Steve know how we feel about their survival, too. 2007 seems to have been the year for fighters.

Rock on, cool chicks & your guys!

50 years young!

Hi CCs!!! I'm sort of on the periphery of this group, but glad to be included. Just had my 50th birthday and I feel better than ever -- except when I get out of bed or up from sitting for too long!! My thoughts at this time are that I am wiser than ever, more vital than ever, more capable than ever, and hoping that time doesn't run out before I can get all the things done I want to!

Here's a reminder for all those who live in areas where the the tapwater is unsafe to drink:

As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health
Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service.

On that note, farethewell, and go get thyselves a glass of wine!!