I might have mentioned that it has been a rather long week
without my beloved husband as a tag team partner...
He finally flew back from London yesterday
and I made the eager, yet ill thought out choice to take the kids
to pick him up at the airport...
I was smart enough to not make the kids
wait for him in the airport lobby,
yet I was too dim to figure in the time through baggage claim and customs...
As we sat parked in the cell phone lot for the better part of an hour,
my lovely, well behaved, poised children
recorded themselves saying potty words
and emitting bathroom noises...
at hearing themselves spew inappropriate noises and words,
over and over again,
with various techno effects added...
In our house, certain potty words have a penalty of one quarter
in the Potty Word Jar, per offense...
Jack racked up $8.00 in less than forty five minutes...
Kate brought up the rear
(no pun intended)
with a grand total of three dollars worth of bathroom language...
from gritting my teeth together...
Just to create a change of scenery,
I drove over to the international terminal...
By the 6th orbit, Tom finally emerged from the building...
I am sure the look on my face caused him
to ponder whether he could turn around
and catch another flight, anywhere...
By the time we arrived home in the O'Hare Sunday exodus traffic,
Tom's jaw looked tight, too....
These kids were fired up and frenzied...
but there are a few rare times
when the TV is all mine...
The Tournament of Roses Parade,
The Season Finale of Top Chef
and Oscar night.
That's it...
Sponge Bob and iCarly rule the rest of the time,
but please let me have those shows...
When Jack realized that his shoot 'em up video game
was being preempted by the Red Carpet,
he turned into Linda Blair...
I buried myself in dinner preparation
(placing a pizza order)
while Tom somehow jedi mind tricked him
into watching some Disney mermaid series
with Kate in the living room...
but no, my patient Friend,
we were not able to critique the gowns in peace...
The kids had their own version of Fight Club
in the next room, bouncing, tickling, crying and fighting
for the next hour...
Try as we might, we could not settle them down...
It was as if there was amphetimines in the meatballs I served them for dinner...
The final straw came when Kate tiptoed into the den
to announce that the rip in the leather sofa
I laboriously repaired a few weeks ago
had given way again...
Sermons about not using my threadbare furniture
as a jungle gym came home
and now it was my turn
at Linda Blair impressions...
Needless to say, our poor tenants who live below us
are accustomed to much noise and discord,
but this had to have been fine, Oscar worthy entertainment
as we yelled and stomped our own feet...
Kids were sent to bed post haste
and we drained the bottle of Pinot G.
I felt horrible...
I don't want to be a mommy that yells all the time,
but the confluence of events sent me over the edge...
All involved have since apologized, hugged and made up,
but since I am stuck at home,
accepting the delivery of a new dishwasher in the tenant's apartment,
I decide to cook a "make up" dinner for the kids...
Here's what's for dinner:
Pork Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce, Only Ree can dish up a soothing, comforting recipe. I am using pork instead of chicken tonight....
Ingredients
- 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
- 1 cup Brandy (or White Wine If Preferred)
- 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Grainy Mustard
- ½ cups Heavy Cream (more To Taste)
- ½ cups Chicken Broth (more To Taste)
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
Preparation Instructions
Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so that you have eight smaller, thinner chicken cutlets. Salt and pepper both sides.Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook cutlets on both sides until nice and golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from the skillet and keep on a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic to the pan and saute it for a minute, stirring to make sure it won’t burn. Next pour in the brandy (or wine if using) being careful if cooking over an open flame. Then just let the booze bubble up and cook until it’s reduced by half.
Throw in the mustards and stir to combine, then pour in the cream. Stir in chicken broth, adding more if the sauce seems too thick. Taste sauce and adjust whatever you think it needs. Add chicken breasts back to the pan, nestling them into the sauce. Allow sauce to cook for another few minutes, shaking the pan if needed to move things around.
Serve chicken with a green salad, spooning the sauce over the top.
Yum and…yum.
Courtesy of the Peach Kitchen
Ingredients:
5 large potatoes
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried/ fresh rosemary
Spanish Paprika
¼ cup olive oil
Directions:
- In a pot, pour in water and bring to a boil.
- Peel potatoes and slice them. Using a small heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as you can.
- You can include the scraps in cooking or you can also reserve them for some other dish.
- Cook potatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and let cool slightly
- In a large bowl, combine potatoes, olive oil, salt, spanish paprika and rosemary. Mix well and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Grease a baking pan slightly and spread marinated potatoes onto the baking pan.
- Roast them for 20 minutes or until they are golden on the outside at 250º turning as needed using a silico
Pretzel Bars for dessert
Martha Stewart Living, October 2011
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 3 1/4 cups salted miniature twist pretzels
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 4 14-by-13 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment.
- Pulse 1 3/4 cups pretzels in a food processor until powdery. Transfer 1/2 cup to a bowl; discard any remaining pretzel powder. Stir in flour and baking powder. Transfer remaining 1 1/2 cups pretzels to food processor, and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.
- Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and beat in egg yolk, then pretzel-flour mixture, until combined. Mix in 1/2 cup chopped pretzels.
- Press dough evenly into pan. Top dough with 1/4 cup chopped pretzels, pressing slightly; discard any remaining pretzels.
- Bake shortbread until pale brown and firm in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let shortbread cool for 1 hour. Remove shortbread from pan, and cut into 1/2-inch-wide rectangles using a serrated knife.
May tonight will be one of peace, harmony and full tummies..... And no more airport pickups....
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