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Comfort Food Saturday: Chris Sarandon's Mustard Chicken

You may not think you know who Chris Sarandon is, but you do.  If nothing else, you've seen him as Prince Humperdink in THE PRINCESS BRIDE. (You HAVE seen that movie, right?  If not, I may have to seriously reconsider our blog friendship. Just kidding.  Sort of.)  Anyway, he's a brilliant actor and a super human being.  I had the great pleasure of working with Chris on The Light In The Piazza.  We became great friends during the run of the show, mostly due to the fact that he and my husband have a freaky amount in common.  The fact that he and I had to spend a lot of time trapped under the stage together also led to many, many fun and entertaining conversations. 

Chris and I were together under the stage waiting for his entrance during one of the craziest nights of that show, when our onstage trap broke. His character was supposed to ride the trap up. It came up through a hole that opened in the stage.  For this particular scene, the trap came up bearing Chris, seated behind a desk covered with things from his character's tie shop, and smoking an herbal cigarette. (Can't use real ones in the theatre.)  During this show, the cover of the trap opened, but the platform wouldn't move.  We sat there for a few seconds before we figured out that the mechanism had jammed and we needed to close the 10 foot hole in the stage.  The stage manager calling the show that night said "Jen, grab Chris and all the props you can carry and come upstairs.  We'll improvise something from up here for the desk." Chris and I had about 30 seconds to gather as many props as we could carry and run up two flights of stairs to the stage.  We were laughing so hard we nearly fell down, as we tried not to drop the ties, pens, boxes and papers we were carrying, Chris balancing a lit herbal cigarette between his teeth the whole time.  He is one of the most giving, good-humored individuals I've ever met.  

On Sundays, we'd sometimes have company brunches in the backstage hallway.  Chris came from a family of restauranteurs and was right at home working the griddle.  We called him our Greek Hash Slinger.  You have not lived until you've have had bacon prepared by this man.  I still, to this day, refer to him as my Show Boyfriend.

Just like last week's recipe for Baked Oatmeal, this recipe comes from the PIAZZA cookbook.  Chris submitted this recipe, which I have made a couple of times.  It's quite tasty and different, a good one to throw into your weekly menu to break up boring routines.  Make a batch and watch THE PRINCESS BRIDE. It'll make you happy.

MUSTARD CHICKEN

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup regular (non-virgin) olive oil
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon each dried rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or crushed
• 2 lemons, squeezed for juice

Mix mustard, olive oil, soy sauce, herbs and garlic together with a whisk.  Marinate chicken in mixture for up to 12 hours in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken in roasting pan.  Pour lemon juice over chicken, mixing into marinade well.   Cover pan with foil and cook in oven 45 minutes.  Remove foil and roast an additional 15 minutes, until chicken is brown.

Remove chicken from oven, pour liquid from pan into gravy boat.  Ladle sauce over chicken on plates. Serve with rice and veggies.

Boom

I think we've officially hit the 2 year old language explosion.  In the past couple of days, Dean has said several new things, including some words I've never heard him say before which he says very matter-of-factly, as if to infer "Well, duh, mom, of COURSE I know that word!"   This goes to show that he does actually hear what we're saying to him. Now whether or not he's listening is another story.

This weekend, Dean and I went to visit my parents.  He jabbered away the first day we were there, then suddenly, he counted to three.  My mom was feeding him blueberries and he counted them.  I count with him all the time, but he usually just stares at me or puts my fingers in his mouth.  At school, they count to ten every day, and for all I know, he's been counting aloud for a while, but this was the first time I've heard him do it.  Then, just to show off, he named the color of every crayon in the box.  He's adding lots of sentences to his repertoire and has finally started repeating more things when we say "Dean, say____."  I'm extied that he's starting to be a bit more participatory in our conversations. It's especially helpful when he'll tell me what he wants, rather than pointing and grunting, then falling out and having a fit when I can't figure it out.

He still refuses to call me "Mama."  For a while now, he's been calling me "Jen."  Last week, he walked up and said, "Hi, Sugar!"  We're fairly sure he called my mom "Mammy" this weekend.  She said she'll take it. (Her name is "Grammy.")  My favorite thing he says is "Hi, girl!" whenever he sees a little girl.  It sounds more like, "Hi, gull!"  Way cute.

His language explosion makes me feel good. I've been so nervous that he was lagging, which I realize was a ridiculous fear.  He was steadily adding new words to his vocabulary, he just wasn't quite ready to string them all together until now.  So now I'm trying to chill and enjoy what are probably the last few weeks of his baby jabber. (My favorite:  diggadiggadiggadigggaaaaaaaa)

Dean came home sporting an ear infection on top of a funky cold, which he graciously passed on to his daddy and me bu coughing into our open mouths.  So one trip to the pediatrician and a Rx for "the pink medicine" later, we're home, all three of us, in our jammies trying to keep our germs to ourselves.  Now that you've read this, go and use some hand sanitizer.  We've been known to pass our illnesses through the internet, you know.

Comfort Food Saturday: Baked Oatmeal

Have I told you about my texture problems with certain foods?  They're pretty serious.  For instance, I cannot eat a raw tomato, but I love them cooked.  For some reason the seeds and slime and mealy texture just gross me out.  And I can't swallow oatmeal.  Love oatmeal cookies and recipes with oats in them, but can't make myself swallow a bite of oatmeal. GAG.

Even with my texture issues,I can eat this recipe. I had forgotten about this recipe until I was looking through a cookbook the cast and crew of The Light in the Piazza put together as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.  One of our prop guys, John Ross, used to make this for our Sunday brunches. Sometimes on random days, he'd show up in the stage management office with plastic bowls and spoons of this delicious treat for us.  It bakes up to taste like a giant oatmeal cookie.  John recommended serving it with a splash of milk and fresh fruit, but I'm lactose intolerant. Know what his quick fix for that was?  He splashed a little liquid coffee creamer on mine--and it was wonderful!  I also like to sprinkle cinnamon on mine and I'm willing to bet my mom would cover hers in nuts and raisins.  However you eat it, you're sure to enjoy it.

BAKED OATMEAL

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sugar

4 cups oats

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

Mix eggs, oil and sugar well.  Add oats, salt, baking powder and milk and stir well.  Place in casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Top with a splash of milk and fresh fruit.

Wordless Wednesday: Pants On The Ground

It's the little things

In the fabulous musical COMPANY, Sondheim gives us these lyrics:

It's the little things you do together that make (clap) perfect relationships.

It's so true. 

Saturday night I made dinner, then we got bundled up and headed out shopping. We didn't need much, just a print-out of Marcus's headshot for an audition he had on Sunday and some more Coke and Coke Zero.  We came home, played with Dean, then got ready to put him to bed.  As I was gathering up Stu the monkey and Dean's pants to take them upstairs (yep, still not wearing pants), I said "Oh, I need to put some Coke Zero in the fridge."  Marcus replied "Already did it." I thanked him and kissed him on the head and he said "Thank you for noticing little things like that.  A lot of people wouldn't." 

We talk a lot in our house about how other people do things. Don't get me wrong--we're not necessarily going to change the way we do things just because someone else does them a different way.  Part of it is a character study of sorts.  Theatre people like us are fascinated by human behavior, especially behavior that is vastly different from our own.  I think that's part of the reason I like reading blogs so much--it gives me insight into how other people live and handle situations. We were talking recently about yelling. I had been to the park with Dean that day and watched as a mother of 3 spent the entire time yelling at her kids. And when I say yelling, I mean top of her voice screaming at them for everything from trying to climb up the slide the wrong way to asking for too many sips of water.  Marcus and I are not yellers, never have been.  My mom even mentioned over Christmas that she'd never seen us fight.  We have certainly had our fair share of disagreements, like any couple does, and we bicker from time to time, we just don't choose to yell.  I'm sure there will come a time, probably when we're raising a teenager (especially if he hasn't decided he likes to wear pants by then) when yelling will happen, but for now, we choose to keep even our disagreements a little more low-key.

Wow. I just went off on a tangent about yelling.  So sorry. If you're a yeller, yell away!  Sometimes I wish I was, but I'm just not. I sound like a dork when I yell. I do talk kind of loud, though. Before I go back to my original train of thought, however, I should mention that yelling at referees for bonehead calls during football games OR yelling at teams we don't like (Auburn) is TOTALLY allowed and encouraged in our home. Just sayin'.

Anywho, I DO appreciate the little things Marcus does.  Every morning he pours my coffee for me, always giving me the first cup because I have this thing where I'm convinced the first cup from the pot is better than all the other cups. I know, I'm weird. He loves me anyway. Usually he just shakes his head and mutters "Weirdo"  under his breath and goes with it.  He also makes my grilled cheese sandwiches the way I like them (which is the CORRECT way), even though he is adamantly against eating them this way.  See, I like my grilled cheese squished as flat as it can possibly be squished. I'm talking flat like a sheet of paper. Marcus likes his fluffy and browned juuust right. No. Squish it. I don't care if that means it's browner than it should be, SQUISH IT.  And he does. And he shakes his head while I eat it as if I'm committing some kind of grilled cheese sin. But he loves me anyway. He also lets me open any and all mail addressed to both of us AND most packages addressed to anyone who lives here. Because MAIL IS FUN, people!

I try to do little things for him, too, like giving him a small spoon to eat his soup, even though you're really supposed to use the big ones, leaving him post-its to remind him to take the trash to the street on Thursday nights and never taking the good body wash with me if I'm gone overnight without him.

Are all couples quirky like this?  I hope so.

To balance out all the sappiness, I feel like I should tell you that I do talk at him sternly and roll my eyes a lot when he tracks mud on the carpet or leaves his cereal bowl in the family room and he gets really annoyed when I get the bathroom rug wet after I've showered. Hey, it can't be all sunshine and rainbows, right?

Comfort Food Saturday: Potato Logs

As you may have already heard, I'm looking for recipes and guest posts for some upcoming Saturdays.  If you have a great comfort food recipe, whether it be a well-known comfort food or just something you and your family like to eat, email me--I'd love to feature you here! 

My friend Amy recently posted in her Facebook status that her husband, one of my best friends from college, didn't know what a potato log was.  After about 20 comments from Amy's friends, we figured it must be a Mississippi thing.  Anyone NOT from Mississippi (or the south, for that matter) heard of these?  They are kind of like the potato wedges you can get at KFC now, a baked potato that's been breaded and fried until crispy and perfect.  They are delicious with fried chicken and are usually found in a deli.  My mom likes to tell about when I was a little girl and we'd go shopping at Kroger. At the end of our shopping trip, we'd stop at the deli and pick up chicken legs and potato logs for lunch.  When I was travelling home from college, I'd stop at a little gas station and get a few potato logs for the road.  Now that we have a deep fryer (Lord help my cholesterol), I imagine we'll be introducing Dean to potato logs in the very near future.

POTATO LOGS

• 4 baked potatoes (the longer the potato, the better)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
• Garlic powder and black pepper to taste

Cut previously baked potatoes (with skin) into 4 pieces, lengthwise. (Make wedges.)  Mix together bread crumbs, paprika, pepper and garlic powder.  Coat potato wedges in bread crumb mixture. 

Deep fry until golden brown, either in a deep fryer or a skillet with oil.

EDITED TO ADD:  I made these Saturday night and here's the deal.  Deep fry them at 375 degrees for 8 minutes to achieve PERFECTION.  Next time, though, I"m going to bread them with flour instead of bread crumbs because I wasn't nuts about the texture.  They were dang tasty, though.

Delurk!

Today is Delurker Day!If you're reading this or any other blog today, leave a comment, even if it's just a simple "Hi" and let me know you're there.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Also, I'm looking for GUEST POSTS for Comfort Food Saturday (or other days if you're not a foodie)!  You see, I'm taking this semester off from teaching so I can stage manage 2 plays at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival!  This means February through April will be extra-busy for me.  I don't want to leave you guys hanging, so if I can collect a few guest posts between now and Feb. 1, I can save them for my busy weeks.  It's a great way to get some new readers to check out your blog and it's a great way for me to show the world what cool online friends I have.   Email me if you're interested!

Sans pants

Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah.  He's learned to escape from one-piece outfits now.  But he has camo bootie slippers*, so it's all good.

*Camo bootie slippers which were totally on ridiculous sale at Old Navy.  Get thee there and purchase your own tacky cheap toddler footwear! Socks are 5/$5!

Molly assures me this is something boys this age just do and that some day, Dean will wear pants in public again.  For now, we're just gonna go with it and giggle and celebrate the fact that his eczema is FINALLY clearing up (knock wood...thank you steriod cream...)!  For the first time in nearly a year, my boy has sweet, soft baby legs.  That makes us ALL feel good.

Two or The Year Without Pants

Here's a little peek inside our world with Dean, the two-year-old.

• Apparently, pants are the devil when you're 2.  Dean's been taking his pants off for a long time, but these days, he takes them off every time I turn around. (And sometimes when I don't!)  We were talking to the other Lanes over the weekend on Skype and Dean took his pants off.  We went to the grocery store yesterday and Dean tried to take his pants off. I bent down to pick something up off the floor this morning and Dean ran behind the couch and took his pants off.  What gives?
• We've started potty training.  We have had a successful #1 in the potty once. Marcus is actually taking the lead on this, which has impressed me. We have a little potty training kit we got for free from Pampers that has reward stickers and a Go Diego Go trophy to put on the potty when the child uses it.  So far, we're pretty sure Dean' doesn't really get what's going on, but he certainly likes to sit on his frog potty and he gets really excited when we cheer for him.
• His drawing skills have changed so much in the past couple of weeks.  For a while, he did scribbles, then straight lines.  Now he's doing lots of swirls and zig-zags.  I've been working with him on writing a D and he's interested. He got a 2-sided easel for his birthday. One side has a chalkboard, the other a dry-erase. Truth be told, we have yet to try out the dry erase side because Mama is scurred of a toddler with a marker!  Instead, we use the clip on that side to secure coloring pages and he colors them.  The chalkboard was an instant hit, though,and he uses his sidewalk chalk to create his masterpieces.  Sometimes he'll put the chalk in my hand and put it on the board so I'll help him write his name. However, dude does NOT like to share his crayons.  Whenever he's coloring, I'll try to join in and he'll immediately drop his own crayon to take mine.  I guess he thinks my color might be better.
• The great food fight has begun.  Calling it a fight isn't really fair, mostly because we don't let it turn into one.  Our doctor told us his appetite would change and it most certainly has.  There are days when all he eats is a bowl of Cheerios, a pear and a nectarine.  (Fruit is our constant.)  Other days, he polishes off a pork chop and eats normally throughout the day.  Today's been pretty good--we got a scrambled egg in him at breakfast, had a yogurt mid-morning, then pasta with marinara sauce for lunch, a pear for a snack and dinner's cooking now. He will most likely not eat the dinner because it involves chicken and, like pants, chicken is the devil.
• Christmas and birthday gifts have turned out to be wonderful.  He was really ready for some new toys and the ones he got have been enjoyed so much.  Favorites are the aforementioned easel, a little dump truck full of mega-blocks and his Little People Farm and Garage.
• Dean has finally developed an interest in pretend play!  Every day we feed Grover, brush Stu the monkey's hair and play "Night Night."  He loves to take me over to his mat, make me lie down, hand me a toy to cuddle, give me a big kiss and say "Night Night!"  I am then to close my eyes and snore loudly until he screams "Wake up!"  We played this for an hour last night.
• He's gotten much more independent in his play lately.  Usually, whenever he switches activities or picks up a book, I try to join in. These days, he wants to be left alone a litle more to explore and do his own thing.  I love watching him sit with his books and point out the different animals and what sounds they make or "read" himself a story. 
• My champion tooth-brusher is starting to try the easy way out of brushing his teeth at night.  For some reason, the morning session always goes fine, but at night, he takes the toothbrush, points out Dora and Diego (they're on his toothbrush), sucks off the toothpaste, then hands the brush back to me. Um, no, sir.
• Dean has always enjoyed dancing, but he REALLY enjoys it now, especially since he sings along most of the time.  He even dances in the car.  Marcus turned on the radio the other day and "Single Ladies" was on...Dean went INSANE! He sang along to the "Oh, oh, oh" parts and danced as well as he could in the carseat.  When we got home, I put it on my iTunes and he broke it down as only a toddler can.  "Elmo's Song" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" are still the all-time favorites.
• He's such a little PERSON now.  Up until Christmas, I still really saw him as my baby. He's certainly still MY baby, but he's definitely a big boy.  I can't believe how much he's changed in the past year and I'm both terrified and super-excited about what the next year has in store for us.

Comfort Food Saturday: Hot Spiced Tea

Coffee reigns supreme as the hot beverage of choice in our house, but as winter drags on, I tend to crave a different flavor from time to time.  This hot spiced tea is perfect for a cold afternoon, particularly one that allows you the time to curl up with a good book or a bad movie. 

When I was growing up, we had the most wonderful next door neighbors, Ms. Dell and Mr. Milton. I adored them. It was like having an extra set of grandparents right next door.  They liked to watch the Nashville Network and Ms. Dell always kept snack-size Snickesrs bars in her freezer. Each Christmas, she would bring over a jar of her spiced tea. Hers was in powder form, containing instant tea and tang, among other things.  The recipe I've used to make it is similar, but uses brewed tea and fresh fruit juice.  Make yourself a cup today and keep warm!

HOT SPICED TEA

• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1-1inch cinnamon stick
• 6 cups cold water
• 6 tea bags
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar

In a saucepan, add cinnamon and cloves to water and bring to a boil.  Add tea bags, cover and steep 5 minutes.  Strain into heated carafe or teapot.  In saucepan, heat juices and sugar to just boiling.  Add juices to hot tea, stir and serve.