ArcaMax

Snow?

It “snowed” outside my window much of this weekend.

Well, truth be told, it wasn’t real snow. It was my Bradford pear trees losing their blossom petals. It looked like a snowstorm for hours though. There was a pretty stiff breeze and it had rained the night before so the trees were ready to give up their white.

Our courtyard at the new house has floor to ceiling windows, so it almost feels like you are outside as you walk by or sit near those windows. That’s why it looked like a snowstorm was so near.

And we had to clean it up just like snow; only different.

We don’t really have a yard and we don’t have a regular sidewalk out in the courtyard so a shovel would have been overkill. There are lots of nooks and crannies so a broom wouldn’t cut it either. I decided my husband needed a new shop vac of some kind. We needed to suck up the petals.

I hadn’t shopped for such a tool for many years. I was hoping there existed a smaller machine than the ones we had decades past. And there is! I found a compact one that’s only six gallons in capacity. It has big wheels on the back so it maneuvers better in lumpy places and it has a bit of a caddy on the back to store attachments you might need as you work. Any my husband’s favorite part… a 20 foot cord.

He was able to take care of our little “blizzard” in short order.

There’s still a lot to do to finish up the unpacking and the putting away. Then there’s the remembering where you put it away part. It always takes me about 25% longer to get a meal cooked when I first move because I am turning the wrong way to go get something and have to back track. I do love my new kitchen though. I think I’ll settle in just fine. And I can see the courtyard from the kitchen. That’s a bonus.

Chicken Anna Maria Alberghetti “Zolafied” (aka chicken parmesan)

I originally came across a recipe similar to this in an Italian cookbook made up of recipes from Italian movie stars. Anna Maria Alberghetti offered her family’s recipe. I have adapted it to the ZReboot portion of The Zola Diet. It’s wonderful. It’s perfect for serving to guests too. A nice dinner party. Italians of course serve this with pasta. We served it with green beans and never missed the spaghetti.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 6oz chicken breasts. Try to eat the organic ones that have not been fed hormones

½ cup of crumbs made from grinding up Melba toast or breadsticks

1 Tbl of butter or ghee

2 Tbl of olive oil

1 egg broken onto a plate and then stirred with a fork to break it up.

Garlic powder and sea salt

1 26 oz jar of marinara sauce. Get one that has only fresh ingredients in it. No preservatives.

½ cup of whipping cream

12 slices of baby swiss cheese

1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

To prepare your work surface you need to set up a bit of a production line. Take two dinner plates and put the egg on one and the crumbs on the other.

Then take out your large sauté pan and put in the butter and oil. I learned a very important lesson from this recipe years ago. The butter and olive oil recipe works wonders to keep the butter from burning. And it tastes great so I use this technique often.

Heat the butter and oil. Sprinkle your chicken with the garlic powder and sea salt. Then dip your chicken in the egg on both sides and then lightly into the crumbs on both sides. Then place top down in the butter/oil combo. Do this with all four pieces of chicken. Sauté on medium until the chicken is lightly golden on both sides.

While the chicken is browning you can take out your 9- by 13-inch ovenproof pan and pour in the marinara sauce. Add the cream and stir until the cream is all blended in.

When the chicken is golden on the outside place it top up on top of the sauce. Don’t worry that it’s not cooked through yet. You are going to bake it.

On top of the chicken place two or three slices of cheese. Do this for each breast.

Cover lightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes (depends on how big your chicken breast pieces are). Remove from oven and cut one open a bit to make sure there’s no pink left in the chicken. If there is, put it back in the oven for a few minutes more.

Then remove the aluminum foil and add the parmesan cheese on top of the chicken. Just mound it.

Place back in the oven for 10 minutes to melt and firm up the parmesan cheese. It makes a bit of a stiff crust.

Serve with your veggies for a fine meal.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.