My Thoughts are With You, Holding Hands with Your Heart

Chimichurri Roasted Chicken

I mentioned a bunch of years ago, my Argentinian coworker came in with a jar of this magical, vinegary, herby sauce-like concoction, teaming with garlic and I fell instantly in love.  She was so cool to ask people to taste it, straight out of the jar around the staff cafeteria as she taught a quick Chimichurri 101 pop-up class of sorts.  Some were taken aback because it was so bold tasting but I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  She told me you should never use a cuisinart, and always gently chop the herbs, being careful not to bruise and smash the garlic for the finest mince.  There are about 4-5 cups of parsley in the recipe so this is a labor of love.  But I must admit, hers was and still is the best I've ever tasted.  I've made it a few times and maybe this time was able to finally get the balance right of vinegar, oil, garlic,pepper to herb ratio. But my confession is that I did use a blender. My rationing was that since I would bake the chicken, the delicacy of the sauce was not as important as if I drizzled it on top.  

That same night and since the oven was already going, I baked two chicken breasts with pesto and Parmesan, high heat 450, quick and hot.  Those were also delicious.  I also soaked the breasts in a salt brine beforehand for 15 minutes.

I think about that Argentinian family, as the mother, daughter and son all worked in the same store at one point.  The mother was my age and suffered no fools.  She was vibrant and emotional but never apologetic about her free spirit.  A hippie Spaniard, a new one on me.  She would dance and sing, never hesitant to be who she was.  Her daughter cut my hair and went on to work as a top stylist in Manhattan.  She was also a breath of fresh air.  She always announced when she had to poop. While working with me in my department, she got a giant colored tattoo of the Little Mermaid with vampire teeth and blood dripping from the mouth on her full front leg.  It was one of the ugliest tattoos and I cried thinking how she ruined her body.  She was so young and I often wonder how she feels about it now.  Such a smart girl, such a dumb decision.  Her brother had my name and had the best laugh and smile, was big and tall, always in a positive state.  It felt like an honor watching them interact and come together at lunch, joking around, sharing food.  The brother's soon to be wife also worked there.  Now they're all gone.  People come and go in retail and the environment changes, the past often feeling like the better times. 

 Chimichurri Roasted Chicken

Good Day Sunshine!

I talk a lot about lethargy and depression, melancholy days and even phobias about leaving the house.  Sometimes though, I actually rise early and get right to things.  Less often unfortunately than I'd like to admit but it does still occur.

Today I started off making a nice chili powder blend as a gift for my dad on Father's Day.  Instead of an ass mangler, I just made a nice mild sweet powder with ancho chiles and some jalapenos, spices. 

Got it all ready to go, even tied a little bow on it. 

I'll never send it.  No, as a matter of fact I'm staring at it right now almost two weeks later.  I've even used some of it.  You see I have another disorder where I can't seem to pick up phones or mail things, letters or cards - especially gifts.  I know these blocks exist and I haven't exactly accepted them per say, let's just say, maybe I'm not so surprised to see the gift still here.  I'm a work in progess,  Can I get an amen?!

I doctored up some Campbell's chicken noodle soup with greens and a little left over egg tart.  Very good actually with some pepper flakes.

Then I whipped up some chimichurri but this time hand chopping the parsley and cilantro in order to enjoy the smell of the herbs and prolong the creative process.  I think there is a true art to getting the garlic, oil, herb balance just right with the vinegar not too tart.  Chimichurri is best learned from a pro.  I was only told how to make from a lady from work.  But the best schooling was that I tasted hers and it was DEEvine.  So once you know how it 'should' be, then you strive for that bingo moment at first bite. 

Later that day I did something of a flat chimichanga, in other words a fried flour tortilla sandwich with turkey kielbasa, spinach, blue cheese and...

.

...a side of warmed pineapple, and a 1/2 avocado with chimichurri dressing.

Better than expected.  Something happens when you fry flour torts that turns them into almost a pie pastry taste.  I just sauteed the pineapple in a little butter and mint.  When you can, I say do, because you never know when it's gonna come again.  Actually that's P's saying. He has a ton of them.  I follow the ebbs and tides of my emotional cycles and do the best I can with my limitations.  This was a good day though.

Sick and Twisted

This morning I was still feelin' a little low, not sick too much but tired. I wasn't up for our usual Saturday brunch at a fun cafe' to chat it up over coffee. P's understanding of this and was just as happy to have breakfast served to him in bed (if I did everything that is). What a sweetheart!

So sometimes you have ideas and sometimes life throws you curve balls. I had made the chimichurri sauce and was marinating the cheap steak bites for a supper over white rice and some mustard greens sauteed in garlic. That was for last night. But the night I had made the vegetable beef soup, mother nature was cookin' up her own soup of rain and high winds, and lots of lightning thrown in. Matter of fact it was a downright tornado they think, here in Brooklyn. I was already off my game, nursing a small bug and then suddenly the skies turned black, like really quickly and I knew my Lee Goldberg weatherman would have the skinny so I tuned in and sure enough, some monster storm was heading our way, di-rectly. It came alright. I wish I had pictures but truth be told, I was a little scared to be near the windows and what I did see was sort of freaking me out. I just remember the BREAKING NEWS alerts on TV and looking out seeing 'swirling' rain mixed with what looked like fire embers but turned out to be leaves. It was over as quick as it started. By the time it was all calm, I was done. My brain was fried, my knees were sore, my head was sweaty and I was done.

In hindsight I feel I could write a whole book on living in NYC post 9/11 and how since we've had a few scares (bomb threats & having to evacuate buildings, Anthrax, the big black out and walking with the entire city and by every building abandoned just as it was the second the lights went out, everyone with the uncertainty in their eyes that this was not terrorist related) and although every single thing turned out to be just fine, like this weeks storm, it can still scare the CRAP out of you in a way that nightmares about living in a post-apocalyptic world can scare you. Anyway, I think being away from P during that storm, knowing how quickly bad things can turn ugly in this city and not to mention how great my imagination works when drumming up just what ugly might look like, I think I just got wiped out these last two days.

So....very long story short, I didn't make my planned supper last night. I woke up and had the marinated steak with poached eggs this morning instead. I'm still tired but am back on the grateful train and just happy to be here alive and healthy with my ever lovin' man and two cats, a few key friends and loving families, with a job and bikes, etc.....










p.s., I was a whole lot calmer than these asswipes at least....

Jimmy McCurry

You start thinkin' your a 'cook' and then someone comes to work with the best Chimichurri sauce you've ever tasted and then suddenly you realize, you are just another woman that can make a couple of dishes and that is ALL SHE WROTE - end of story, BOOM!

I was eating lunch at work and someone was passing around this amazing dark green concoction that turned out to be chimichurri and it was too great. I have to make it. I had been meaning to try it as a marinade but never got to it. Maybe its not that hard but maybe it is. I mean, not hard to make but hard to get just right. There are several variations and it may be like a salsa, even though its the same simple ingredients, its the little things you do that make the difference.

The woman who made it knew it was the best. By her description of how she made it I could tell she was a real lover of food. Her food had soul. She gave me her recipe and a few little secrets she used. She put a very small amount of boiled water to 'cook' the garlic and release the aroma in the spices at the very end. I love when a cook reveals a secret because really, why keep it to yourself when so many others could enjoy the difference it makes? No one owns recipes really. Its all been done before hasn't it? If you look up almost anything there are hundreds of web recipes written out with pics and reviews. (Except my mom's enchilada sauce recipe of course). But its that soul and love in the making and the mixing and the adding that makes the actual difference and makes it just right.

Fun Fact: I don't know if its true but they say the name might have come from this Irishman named Jimmy McCurry who originally made the recipe for the people of Uruguay but they had trouble pronouncing his name so it became Chimichurri. Isn't that funny?

Update: made the 'churri tonight and the old bird just might have some game left up her sleeve. Now I'm feeling a little under the weather tonight so I didn't hand chop everything like she said to do, so using the blender it imulsified with the olive oil and its a bright lime green but it tastes great. I'm marinating my steak with 1/2 of it and the rest I'll serve alongside. Not sure what I'll serve it with yet, maybe a jasmine rice and leafy green.