Chicken and Old Man Time

Although travel is fun (not to mention broadening), so is coming home for a while.  During the “lull” between the return from the Caymans and the (now imminent) departure for Missouri and the FOJ’s for Christmas, we had a few days to ourselves (give or take 7 or eight events).  One of the things the feeder likes to do and seldom has or takes the time is actually cooking.  Recently we had a nice dish at a local restaurant of Chicken Marsala, and I thought, hey, I might be able to do that.  So, I found a recipe I kind of liked (was from Saveur) and invaded the kitchen.

Didn’t require too many ingredients so I did the necessary prep and accomplished the all important mise en place.

Chicken pounded thin with my trusty culinary rubber mallet,(~1/4 in), Marsala wine, Olive oil, thinly sliced (white button) mushrooms, Stock (okay, used Swanson’s, could be upgraded), shallots (never onions if you can help it), flour, some garlic, salt and pepper and fresh parsley for garnish..

Off we go, dredged the seasoned chicken in the flour and into the (medium high) pan with oil and butter, keeping well separated.

And Finally, Finally, the Feeder is learning to resist the temptation to “peek” to see if they are browned, usually leaving part of the meat in the pan…  So left alone they caramelize and you can flip them over

After the other side has had its chance, remove and set aside and add a little more oil and butter to pan, and cook the 'shrooms until golden brown

remove them to the "set aside" plate, a little more oil, with the shallots and garlic, maybe a little more butter and flour letting it thicken (the old "scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan"   

Returning the "Set aside" stuff, let the sauce thicken some more, and plate it up, garnish and maybe serve with Dauphinoise potatoes..  Nice dish.  Not hard.  would do it again, but would try for more sauce at the end..

The wheels of time:

I think I mentioned this before, but one of the longest running forecasted in Facebook (what's this world coming to?) and soon the familiar Pine Tree sign that stood guard for decades had a partner with a different message than the usual daily features

If you have sharp eyes you can see part of the reason for shuttering Lenny’s between the two signs (the sign of the “no rules just right” chain), and the rather ugly more recent edition of a CIB chain.  (Thank you Mr. Buffett – it ain’t Paradise). 

Before the final day, i had a chance to enjoy lunch there with a friend (and partner in seeking "just right" places).  Last dish was the trusty cheese sandwich with bacon.  Can't beat that.

Dan Rebarchick opened the place as the “Knotty Pine” in 1952 and has held sway since.  He has done so much for the local food scene, it will be sad to see him go, at least as a restaurateur.   (Keep reading).....

Wheels of time have not yet stopped for another iconic restaurant in the County,

Courtney’s has been in the county longer that a lot of us, and is still going strong.  Down near Ridge, it has far outlasted its long time neighbor Scheible’s.  We had some out of town guests staying over with us last night, and we took them to Courtney’s for a real (just right) SOMD experience.  The weather was crappy, and it turned out that we were the only table that was occupied.  Tom greeted us, but soon Julie took over.  It turned out to be an enjoyable evening.  Besides friendly banter, she took the order, cooked the food, served it, and cleared the table.    We had fried and broiled seafood, a rockfish and oyster basket.    I don’t think you can do better no matter where you go.  One of our party has a marginal seafood allergy ordered the chicken, which raised Julies eyebrows but with good natured kidding served it up.  She was worried it was overcooked and checked a couple of times. I told her how good the fried oysters were, and asked about the preparation, and she cheerfully divulged her technique (a subject for a future feeder).  I don’t know how old they are, but that is their life.

I have emoted about this before, but like the rest of us, they won’t last forever, so enjoy while you can. 

Okay, back to Lenny’s before ending. You noted the sign said that they were closing on December 13^th.  I decided that I should go wish them well on that day, and about four o’clock I drove out to the restaurant.  I didn’t of course pay attention to the sign that said they stopped at one o’clock.  So, as I wheeled into the empty parking lot, one car was leaving, and I recognized Mrs. R and waved.  The second vehicle contained Danny and he stopped and we chatted a bit.  A remarkable man, he’s not looking back, just forward. No regrets, “it is what it is” was mentioned.  Nevertheless it was a good chunk of his life in the brutal food service business, but now he said he’ll have time for things like grand children, and I think we’ll find him busy around food service somehow.

Eventually I said so long and thanked him for his many contributions to the local food climate, and as I pulled out, he was over to get his mail from the mail box. I grabbed my little point and shoot and got what I thought was a fitting closing shot.  

Bye bye, Lenny’s.  

where, I am told at one time you had to be

DFD