– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
; and 
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If you read my post yesterday, about steeping chicken, then you already know I made a chicken & greens salad. I had a recipe in my repertoire that I hadn’t tried before, from Michael Chiarello (Food Network), from 2006, according to my notes. His recipe was an arugula salad, with a citrus vinaigrette, with grilled chicken and a toasted spice rub. Well, I didn’t have time to go through all of that. Didn’t feel like doing the grill thing for just two chicken breasts. So I turned to an old stand-by chicken cooking method I haven’t used in a long time – submerging boneless, skinless chicken breasts in hot, just below boiling water and letting it sit. It’s like steeping tea – where tea takes 5 minutes to come to full flavor – chicken takes about 20-30 minutes to cook all the way through.
Meanwhile, I made the vinaigrette. You can see it there at the left, still in the food processor bowl. What intrigued me about this recipe was the use of whole oranges. It also has red onion, fresh sage, salt, pepper and olive oil. And it’s all made in the food processor. I added a bit of mayo for flavor.
If you want to use the original recipe for this, by all means go for it. Some people who made Chiarello’s version didn’t care for the dressing (too bitter or they thought it was unappetizing). I didn’t even read any of this before I made the dressing. It might depend on what kind of oranges you used – I used navel oranges (sweet) and they actually had quite a bit of pith attached, so am surprised it wasn’t more bitter than it is. I like the dressing – it’s refreshing. But I added mayo to it, too (not in the original recipe). With all the fruit in it, the dressing comes through as a low-fat type. 
That was my aim – something lighter in fat, not so heavy as a traditional olive oil dressing.
I defrosted the chicken, steeped it in just plain water, made a different rendition of the spice rub (without toasting) that I sprinkled all over the cooked thicken.
Here at the right you can see the moist, tender chicken strips that I tossed with the spice rub I’d made. All I did was sprinkle, turn, sprinkle turn, sprinkle turn, etc. Not overwhelming in flavor, but you definitely got the chile flavor. Mixed with the other spices in the rub, it made for delicious morsels of chicken.
I tossed the salad portion with the dressing – tasted it and added more dressing, then poured the salads out onto plates and decorated the tops with the spice-rubbed chicken strips, sliced avocado and Parmigiano-Reggiano shards. I have a ton of dressing left over, so will have to be creative with how I use it. This salad may not appeal to everyone – if you like the sour cream blue cheese type wedge salads, this won’t fit. This is a light salad, with a refreshing hint of the orange. It’s not overwhelming. And it’s also low-fat. I’m not including the calorie count because the directions include the nearly 2 cups of dressing, and I used about 1/3 cup for two salads.
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Chicken, Arugula, Corn and Parmigiano Salad
Recipe By: Inspired from Michael Chiarello recipe, Food Network
Serving Size: 4
NOTES: The vinaigrette makes MUCH more than you need, so the calorie and fat content of this dish is way off. So I haven’t included it here in the post.
Serving Ideas: You could also serve this salad with hearts of palm, even some sliced pear or apple. Even some fresh fennel too. Ideally you should use fresh corn, but if you don’t have it, use a good quality frozen corn instead. If you have extra spice rub left over roll some jicama slices in it and serve those on top of the salad as well.
2 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves
WHOLE CITRUS VINAIGRETTE: (makes much more than needed)
2 whole oranges
1/2 cup red onion — cut in chunks
1 tablespoon fresh sage — chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
SALAD:
4 cups arugula
4 cups Romaine lettuce — (or other lettuces of your choice)
1 cup fresh corn kernels — cut from the cob (or frozen, defrosted)
1 tablespoon dried oregano — (or fresh, if you have it)
1 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — shaved in shards (or Pecorino)
1 whole avocado — peeled, sliced
SPICE RUB:
1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seed
1/2 tablespoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon chile powder — or Mercken chili spice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. CHICKEN: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Gently drop the chicken breasts into the water, reduce heat to very, very low and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat, place lid on the pot and set aside for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from the water; cool for 10-15 minutes, then slice the chicken across the grain, either in strips or cubes.
2. SPICE RUB: Combine the ingredients in a mortar & pestle and grind it until it’s a fine powder. Sprinkle it over the chicken pieces and toss to coat.
3. VINAIGRETTE: Cut the ends off the oranges, cut in quarters and remove center core, and all the seeds. Place 2/3 of the pieces into a food processor. Squeeze the remaining pieces – the juice – into the food processor and discard those skins, etc. To the oranges in the food processor add the chopped red onion, fresh sage leaves, salt, pepper and process until the mixture is a very smooth liquid. Add the olive oil in a slow drizzle. Add the mayonnaise and process just until blended. Pour into a refrigerator container and chill.
4. SALAD: In a large salad bowl combine the arugula, Romaine, fresh corn and dried oregano leaves. Toss the salad with ample dressing – taste a leaf or two to see if it contains enough dressing – and pour the salad out onto plates, then garnish with the spice rubbed chicken and avocado slices and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shards. Garnish with a bit more salt and pepper.
A year ago: Alabama White Sauce (for Chicken)
Two years ago: Thai Chicken Chile Soup
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