robot•jumping•rope

thanks for the feel better wishes. we do.

lots of this

helped me through the day. it’s sweet, of course - my mother is from New Orleans, after all…

but i must confess yesterday was one of those “why did we have kids?” days. am I the only one who has those terrible thoughts on occasion? my head was pounding and my patience had evaporated and everything they did seemed expressly created for the purpose of annoying the !@#$ out of me. afraid I didn’t handle it well.

maybe it’s just me. or maybe it’s just 3 kids, one of whom is entering the Age Of Terror That Shall Not Be Named.

anyway, moving on. so there’s a chance we might be planning a nice little trip to Chicago in September for our 10th anniversary. fingers crossed. there’s also a chance we may be sued for wrongful death (long, sad story) so if our pennies are wrapped up in that we won’t be going, of course.

we are homebodies who rarely leave the tri-state area but we LOVE chicago and we ADORE ikea (and H&M, and Trader Joe’s, and this great comics shop off the blue line that sells lots of french titles…) and a wonderful friend with a new baby boy lives there and I MUST see the new little man.

so it’s tentative.

here is a very short (seriously, it’s less than 500k) quicktime clip the Artiste shot of me the very first time I entered the Giant Blue Box of Swedish Goodness back in 2003. he’s hilarious, yes? love my slow-mo hair flip…

maiden voyage

o, and Amy, I’m jealous.

on to the food.

this is my standard company dish, so if you ever come to house for dinner, odds are this is what we will serve. it is so easy and so good, even though it’s those ubiquitous chicken pieces we all use ad nauseum. the secret is to pound the chicken to even thickness, and DO NOT OVERCOOK. it’s so pretty on a nice platter with the garnish sprinkled over. i serve with roasted red potatoes tossed with aioli and a green salad. and maybe an Aussie chard if I’ve been to Cost Plus. enjoy.

grilled lemon pepper chicken with gremolata

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
Salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
For gremolata:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or basil, or parsley, or rosemary)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

Garnish:
Lemon slices
Thyme sprigs

In a bowl whisk together lemon juice, garlic, pepper and salt to taste and add oil in a stream, whisking until marinade is emulsified. With a rolling pin or smooth side of a meat pounder flatten chicken 1/4-inch thick between sheets of plastic wrap. In a large resealable plastic bag marinate chicken in marinade, chilled, 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

Prepare grill.

Make gremolata: In a small bowl stir together gremolata ingredients.

Grill chicken on an oiled rack until just cooked through, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Serve chicken on platter sprinkled with gremolata and garnished with lemon and thyme or fresh herb of your choice.

edited to add that i adapted this recipe from a sara moulton/Gourmet article