ArcaMax

My entertainment life has had a lot of variety lately. In the last week I have been to an opera, a play, a wrestling match and to Second City. May I just say, I love living in Chicago!

First up, the opera. We saw La Comenza di Tito. This was the last opera Mozart wrote before he died.

We saw a play called Into the Woods. Stephen Sondheim collaborated on all of the music and lyrics. He’s like Mr. Broadway when it comes to musicals.

Then, a client of ours owns a wrestling network called Ring of Honor. The production came to Chicago and they were taping a live broadcast of the event. We were asked to attend and took some guests.

Lastly we took one guest and saw a matinee performance on Sunday of Second City’s, Incomplete Guide to Everything.

Talk about variety.

The funny thing was when one of the guests asked me which of those productions I liked best.

I told him I could not answer.

Why?

They are all so different.

When you go to the opera you go for more than the story. The fact that this story included everyone alive at the end of the opera is unique. Most operas are usually so full of intrigue, betrayal, and sex, someone usually dies. But you also go for the grandeur of the architecture that is the Civic Opera House. You go for the staging, the lighting the amazing music and of course the vocal performances. The whole dressing up and being fancy is all part of the experience.

Compare that to going to a wrestling match on a Saturday night and there is really no comparison. The wrestling makes you laugh and cheer. We all know it’s staged. Some of the punches are so far off it has to be nothing but laughable. But those guys really do prep. They are in fine shape; their physiques chiseled. Their costumes are over the top and the audience members who are there as loyalists really get into cheering on their guy.

A Sondheim play you can recognize as soon as the first performer opens up their mouth to sing. The rhyming in those productions is so creative. And the lyrics advance the plot like no other play style. This particular play is a ‘mashup’ of lots of fairy tales we all read as kids. There was a Broadway production run, this one is in Chicago for a time, but there is also a movie in the works starting Meryl Streep. The odds of the movie producing an Academy-worthy performance are doubtful in my prospective opinion. The creativity in pulling parts from several fairy tales (that have nothing to do with each other) and then melding them into a wholly other, creative production was delightful. As an aside it was also a treat to watch the faces of the youngsters in the crowd. The play was three hours long with one intermission. The little girl who sat in front of me was about six years old. She had a bright pink outfit on and little red glasses. She reminded me of myself. (I got my first pair of glasses when I was just 18 months old). She curled her feet up into her seat and sat mesmerized for three hours. That’s an amazing feat for a six year old and a tribute to the playwright and the performers.

And lastly, who can go through life without seeing at least one performance at Second City. It was not my first time, but it was the inaugural visit for our guest. By the end I was laughing tears. I walked out needing a new makeup job. I think it was funnier than anything I’ve seen on Saturday Night Live and I started watching that show when it first came on air. We all know so many famous Saturday Night Alums that got their start at Second City. Gilda Radner, John Belushi, George Wendt, OMG… Mike Meyers, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Martin Short, Tina Fey and Steve Carell. And more. I could go on for another paragraph!

Sinatra declared Chicago his “kind of town”. I have to say I agree with him. It’s my kind of town too, for the variety of entertainment, as well as so many other reasons.

Chicken Verde (Mexican Chicken With Green Sauce)

This is going to taste just like a traditional enchilada without the tortilla. If you have Mexican food fans in your family, this is a hit!

Serves 4

For the chicken

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breast pieces
1 cup organic chicken broth
1.5 cups of water
1 clove of minced garlic (jar garlic will work)
1 good grate of sea salt
For the sauce
1.5 lb of tomatillos (Peel them. They will be sticky. Don’t worry. Then cut them in quarters)
3 serrano peppers chopped. (Take off stem and cut crosswise into slices. You can even add the seeds. Careful not to get juice in your eyes)
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ of a medium white onion, chopped
1 cup of chicken broth

For Toppings

Chopped tomato bits
Chopped red or white onion
Minced cilantro

For the chicken. Get out a medium sauté pan. Add the chicken and other ingredients. Bring to a boil to poach the chicken. Boil for approximately 15 minutes, turning once, until no pink remains. Set aside until cooler. Then shred with two forks. To make this easy, first I slice it in 1/2 “ slices. Then just pull at the slices with the two forks. Work across the grain and it pulls right apart. (If you have kids, get them to shred it. That’s a good cooking lesson. A nearby spouse can do this too!)

While the chicken is cooking you can make your sauce.

Get out a large sauce pan. Put in the tomatillos, onion, peppers, and garlic. Cover with just enough water so they float. Bring to a boil. Cook on low boil for about 10 minutes until the tomatillos go from bright green to mossy green and until they are fairly soft. Strain them along with the onion.

Then put in your blender with the last portion of chicken broth. The mixture will be hot, so be careful when you go to blend them into a sauce. I put the top on tight, vent it (take out that round plug in the middle), cover with a folded kitchen towel. Hold it down tightly and then turn on low. The hot air pressure has to escape so be careful. If you keep it low you should be fine. Don’t make the mistake of blasting it or you’ll be scraping green slime off your ceiling!

Put the shredded chicken in a bowl. Pour one cup of hot tomatillo sauce in and stir it all up. (You might have to re-heat this mixture if it’s been hanging around a while). There will be extra sauce for garnish or for those who want extra.

To serve. Get out soup bowls. Put a cup of chicken mixture in the bowl. Top with a little extra tomatillo sauce. The put on grated onion, cilantro and chopped tomato. This will likely be your protein and veggie portion, depending on how much you garnish it.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola