Madeira Chicken: Courtesy of Uncle Mark!!

<--- Marc, in an Ozark Cafe apron no less.

This recipe is awesome. Not for the calorie conscious, come on you losers! Live a little!

Also, if you want off the "auto notification of new post list" just email and I'll consider your request in the order received before summarily denying your right not to be spammed by my stream of consciousness blogging/intarwebz grafitteezz. Ha Ha! I win, you lose!

MADEIRA CHICKEN

3-4 SHALLOTS

1 LB CRIMINI MUSHROOMS

4 LARGE HALF CHICKEN BREASTS

KOSHER SALT

BLACK PEPPER

1.5 CUPS MADEIRA WINE

BUTTER (OR BUTTER AND OLIVE OIL MIX)

HEAVY CREAM (1 PT.)

FRESH PARSLEY

IN A LARGE SKILLET SAUTE FINELY CHOPPED SHALLOTS TILL TRANSLUCENT AND ADD SLICED MUSHROOMS

TAKE CHICKEN BREASTS, CLEAN AND DRY AND PLACE IN FLOUR WITH SALT AND PEPPER AND SHAKE TILL DUSTED.

WHEN MUSHROOMS ARE WELL ALONG ADD CHICKEN BREASTS TO SKILLET AND SAUTE TO BROWN THEM. YOU MAY NEED TO ADD MORE BUTTER OR OIL, KEEP HEAT MEDIUM TO MEDIUM LOW TO KEEP THE CHICKEN FROM STICKING TO THE PAN. WHEN BROWNED ON BOTH SIDES MIXTURE SHOULD BE HOT AND BUBBLY.

NOW POUR IN MADEIRA WINE TO FLAMBE AND IGNITE WITH A BUTANE LIGHTER OR LARGE MATCH BEING CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF!

WHEN THE FLAME IS OUT ADD YOUR HEAVY CREAM AND ALLOW TO HEAT UP AGAIN.

ALLOW TO REDUCE SLOWLY TO FINISH CHICKEN. TASTE PERIODICALLY AND ADD SALT, PEPPER OR EVEN MORE MADEIRA TO TASTE. ALLOW SAUCE TO THICKEN WITHOUT BREAKING AND IF NECESSARY ADD SOME HALF AND HALF TO EXPAND IF GETTING TO THICK. SAUCE WILL HAVE A SWEET SMOKEY FLAVOR MUCH LIKE THE WINE ITSELF.

WHEN CHICKEN IS DONE ALLOW TO REST BRIEFLY AND SERVE ON EITHER ANGEL HAIR PASTA, RICE OR MASHED POTATOES. SPRINKLE CHOPPED PARSLEY ON TOP BEFORE SERVING.

APARAGUS IS THE PERFECT VEGETABLE FOR THIS MEAL

PARBOIL ASPARAGUS TILL BARELY COOKED, WATCH FOR COLOR CHANGE IN THE WATER AND THEN QUICKLY REMOVE AS IT SHOULD STILL HAVE A CRUNCH TO IT. NOW IN A SAUTE PAN ADD ABOUT A TBLS OR SO OF BUTTER AND MELT. ADD DRAINED PAR-BOILED ASPARAGUS AND SAUTE ON HIGH HEAT BY ROLLING THE ASPARAGUS IN THE MELTED BUTTER, ADD SALT AND BLACK PEPPER AND CONTINUE TO ROLL ASPARAGUS NO MORE THAN ABOUT 45 SECONDS, REMOVE AND SERVE IMMEDIATELY AS A SIDE DISH.

Funny pictures and funny people.

So, what's been going on lately? Que paso...?

Well, Jen and I have been working on the home improvement project that never ends in an effort to sell our house and move. We've already bumped the list date twice and it just seems like we'll never be done. Weekend after weekend of this crap....I've missed so many opportunities to get on the river or lake that I can scarcely keep track of them all. Next summer, I resolve, to be outside every other weekend. Weather permitting.

Resolution 2. I need a scanner, pronto.

Okay, now on to some funny pics of funny people:

We'll start with this picture of Jen from our honeymoon, which, is funny to me because she is trying to back-out of going up in the seaplane in the background for a glacier tour. Sissy. We went, it was cool, the pilots were slightly wacko.















Next:
I have no idea who this is, but he looks like a cool guy to hang out with.















This picture probably deserves a blog entry of its very own, but I'm just glad no one died or went to jail that night. Yes, it is in fact, a chevy cavalier made into a racecar.
















Mitch + Beer = Violence. I'm pretty sure John Nash has an unfinished theorem on the matter. I guess if I had to live in Denver and freeze my "boyz" off 8.5 months a year, I'd be more prone to violence as well.















Mix Master, Mix Faster.
Dave, from Justin and Jenny's wedding reception:















Yeah, get some, I just took a whiz on a civil war battlefield in Missouri.















and STFU about my beer gut or your lawn is next.

The night before my wedding, partying at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs. I don't know how we didn't get kicked out.



The End, for now: