MARIE'S MUSES

Oh dear, I overslept this morning. I had a call last night, just as I was sitting down to watch the second Corry Street after work, and it was the youngest daughter from up at the big house. She lives in America where she is going to Uni. She had invited about 15 people to dinner and wanted to know what she could make that was quick and not too complicated. So I quickly put my thinking cap on and got to work and managed to send her a menu, plus recipes through e-mail. If everything went according to plan her guests should have sat down to a delicious meal of Smoked Salmon, Fennel and Radish Salad with a Pernod Cream dressing for a starter, Slow roasted Ginger and Honey Duck with a Spring Onion Mash for a main and some delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Shortbreads for a dessert. Anyways, to make a long story short, then my brain was all fired up and I couldn't fall asleep when it came time to go to bed, so I ended up reading until the wee hours. As a result, I am up over an hour late this morning, and don’t really have time to do a proper entry like |I want to! You’ll have to make do with this I’m afraid, but it’s a pretty nice read anyways, so enjoy!

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.....one old love
she can imagine
going back to...
and one who reminds
her how far she has come.

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
....enough money within her
control to move out and
rent a place of her own
even if she never wants
to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.... something perfect to wear if
the employer or date of her dreams
wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.... a youth she's content
to leave behind...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.....a past juicy enough that
she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.....a set of screwdrivers, a
cordless drill, and a black
lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
....one friend who always makes
her laugh ... and one who lets
her cry...


A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.....a good piece of furniture
not previously owned by anyone
else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.....eight matching plates, wine
glasses with stems, and a recipe
for a meal that will make her
guests feel honored.

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
.....a feeling of control over
her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
....how to fall in love without
losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
...how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend
without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
....when to try harder ...
and when to walk away...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
...that she can't change the
length of her calves, the width
of her hips, or the nature of her
parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
.....that her childhood may not
have been perfect...
but its over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.....
....what she would and wouldn't
do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
....how to live alone... even if
she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
....whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't
take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
....where to go...
be it to her best friend's
kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
.... what she can and can't
accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

Here’s a delicious supper dish that’s pretty quick to throw together and always leaves them scrambling for more. It also multiplies quite easily to serve more and is easily halved if you are serving only one or two. These also freeze really well. I make them up and then just freeze them, in a single layer on a baking tray that I have lined with parchment paper. Once frozen solid I remove them from the tray and pop them into zip lock baggies. They are then ready to take out when you need them. To reheat, just pop them onto a baking tray and heat them for about 15 to 20 minutes in a moderate oven. I actually do up huge amounts of these and have them in the freezer ready for a quick meal at any given time. Why buy those nasty pre-made chicken fingers when you can have really delicious ones already made in the freezer, and at least you know what’s gone into these ones!  There's no nasty bits in here, only yumm!!

Makes 14 to 16

These are quick to do and children love them. Grownupsdo too for that matter. For the kids serve with a mild dipping sauce such as ranch dressing or a mild barbeque sauce, but break out the hot sweet chilli sauce for the grownups! Deeeelicious!

1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp sea salt, rubbed in your fingers until fine

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 extra large eggs

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (if you can't find these, use plain dry bread crumbs to which you have added some garlic powder, dried parsley flakes, dried basil and dried oregano)

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Unsalted butter

Good olive oil

Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cut through each, diagonally, into four or five large strips.

Take three shallow bowls. In the first one combine the flour, salt and pepper. In the second one beat the eggs together with 1 TBS water. In the third one combine the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Take your chicken pieces and, working with one at a time, dredge them into the flour mixture, then into the beaten egg and then finally roll them in the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place them on a plate without touching until they are all coated. (Your fingers will get all clumped up with doughy squidge, but that’s ok. Fingers are easily cleaned off!) Let them sit for about 15 minutes.

Heat 1 TBS of butter along with 1 TBS of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When the butter is foaming, turn the heat down to medium low, and cook the chicken strips in the hot fat for about 3 minutes on each side, just until they are cooked through. Don’t crowd the pan or they will steam instead of fry. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest. Serve warm with a dipping sauce. We like the sweet hot chilli sauce, but honey mustard is also really good, as is ranch dressing and even just plain runny honey!

PS-  there was some really big news up at the big house yesterday.  The oldest daughter is engaged to be married!  Twill be a busy year this year with the youngest daughter debuting and the oldest getting married!  It's my opportunity to really shine.  Watch this space!