CHICKEN with PEARS

3 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon olive oil

3 shallots minced

2 cloves garlic minced

4 chicken breasts (Larry used boneless)

2 pears (firm) peeled, cored and sliced

½ cup white wine to deglaze pan

1 cup heavy cream

zest of 1 lemon

juice of ½ lemon

parsley chopped for garnish

Salt and pepper

Sauté shallots and garlic in butter and olive oil only until tender.  Remove from pan and save.

Brown chicken in same pan, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from pan and save with shallots and garlic.

Put pear slices in same pan and brown lightly.  Deglaze pan with white wine, picking up debris from pan bottom.  Add cream, lemon zest, shallots, garlic and chicken.  Cook until of sauce consistency.  Add lemon juice, garnish with parsley and serve.

Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.
The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.
The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

Ha! Did I getcha? Happy Cinco de Mayo, and if you see my friend and coworker James Dowd today, tell him happy birthday.

Anyway, I’m headed down there next week to give it a try. If you go before I do, tell me about it.

We’d planned to go to Belmont, but one of the group had a coupon for Cozymel’s, so we went there. The nachos made a pretty picture, but they ended up with six thumbs down. First, a certain amount of goop is necessary for good nachos, and these were too dry. Plus, they were composed, and we want our nachos diggable. Further, they were on baked flour tortillas, not on corn tortillas.

I remember that R.P. Tracks used to have good nachos, so that’s on our list. And Belmont, which my friend Susie remembers served up a nice dish. We’re talking back in the day here, but we’re hoping both are still good. Where else should we go?

I’ve never been tempted by a peanut butter cookie, although I surely wish I’d created this one. But the Berger cookie is another matter. It’s a vanilla cookie topped with a fudgy icing and looks dee-vine. What I miss the most about Seessel’s is the turtle cookies. I loved them from when I was a kid until they served the last one–and I would love them still if I could get my hands on one. What’s your idea of the quentessential Memphis cookie? We get many requests for the Memphis City Schools butter cookies, and Makeda’s makes one that’s nearly a deadringer.

I found a recipe online for what might be the turtle cookies from McKenzie’s Bakeries in New Orleans, which were nearly as good as Seessel’s. Here’s the link, if you want to take a look: http://herbsaint.wordpress.com/2006/01/13/turtle-cookies/ (here’s the picture, above). I’ll let you know if I try the recipe.

What are your favorite things?