On a Snowy Sunday Afternoon

Snowflakes are crystal clear.

Each distinct.

Massing on surfaces.

A last dance with art from a period before.

To be torched soon in the burn pit.

WNYC And Me

In a couple of weeks its Thanksgiving. I find that the meal, that huge surge of food, does not taste quite as good on that day as it does on others. I'll be visiting my mother on the holiday where I will have this stuffing: we call it, phonetically, gaw-n-za. How to spell it, no one knows. I'll be making it this Sunday, stuffed into a chicken or two for us and some friends.

Last Sunday, we had the opening reception for 'reaganography' in Greenpoint. The opening was a success, on turn out alone, and had one surprise visitor: Leonard Lopate. Now Leonard had a show the following Monday that discussed Reagan's influence on the end of the USSR. I couldn't listen, I had to run to work, but I imagined, briefly that he mentioned the show on his show.

Three years ago, I was a voice on the phone during a segment about Thanksgiving recipes with Ruth Reichl and Leonard. I submitted the gaw-n-za recipe. When I engaged Leonard at the opening I didn't mention the Ruth Reichl segment. Two and a half years prior I met Ruth at The MacDowell Colony, mentioned it, but she couldn't recall the segment. I did, however, mention that there must only be 2 degrees between Leonard and 8 million New Yorkers.

While the recipe has remained the same in my mother's cooking, I've been messing with it. This year, little shifts: the rice is basmati, not carolina long grain, the mushrooms are small portobello, not white, and I added to the beef and pork a little bit of lamb over the Jimmy Dean that somehow made it into the recipe. Other years I've added chestnuts and raisins (as my grandfather would have). I think I would like dried cranberries or other dried fruit (apricot?) with a nut, maybe pine or pecan. My mother wouldn't go for these changes, but in spirit it's the same recipe.

The recipe listed on the WNYC website omits one ingredient that seems to go into all my family's cooking: pecorino romano. Its the salty kick in everything they do.

Altered States of Chicken Marsala

I have a recipes for chicken marsala and chicken cacciatore that I often confuse. So what, right. Dinner is a recipe that only resembles its written form, resembling most what I have in the fridge. So here is my chicken marsala/cacciatore, adapted for 2 from what's in the fridge. Original recipes serve 4-6 people

• Chicken Breast (how much do you got? I only have one, but 4-6 boneless in the original recipe)
• 2 Red Bell Peppers -sliced (cacciatore -chopped)
• 1 Large Onion -chopped
• 1/2 lb. Mushrooms -halved (cacciatore -sliced)
• 3 Garlic Cloves -pressed or chopped (cacciatore -2 cloves)
• 1 Lemon
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley or 1 TBSP Dry Parsley
• 1 TBSP Chopped Fresh Basil or 1/4 TSP Dry Basil
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1/2 Cup Tamari (cacciatore does not call for this)
• 3/4 Cup Red Wine (that's what I got, but marsala calls for Marsala Wine or 1/2 cup white for cacciatore)
• 1 14 oz. can whole plum tomatoes or several fresh and skinned (marsala does not call for this)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil

Cacciatore and Marsala call for serving over Brown Rice. I have Whole Wheat Rigatoni, so that's what I am going to use. I also have 3 small white eggplants and two really small purple globe eggplants. I'm going to add those to this as well as some fresh chopped tomatoes.

See, I'm just winging it.

Directions:

Cut chicken into cubes and squeeze lemon over them. In a bag or bowl, throw the flour and a tsp of salt. Throw in chicken cubes and coat with flour mixture. Now brown the chicken in a skillet primed with the olive oil. When golden brown, set aside. In the same skillet, add the garlic, the onion, peppers, mushrooms, parsley, and basil (and in my case, the eggplant and tomatoes!). Saute for about 5 minutes. Now add the browned chicken, the tamari and wine. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Make sure to have your pasta water boiling or rice cooker on the move so that your starch is ready for the simmering mixture. When done, salt and pepper to taste. If you please, add the grated cheese of your choice. I'll probably add Pecorino Romano, but then who knows -maybe parmeggiano reggiano.