When in Doubt....

I come from this great Italian family, the greatest cure for everything is a good meal.  This is not to say that there are not other nationalities and cultures that feel the same, guess it is just my point of reference.  With that said, there is always something comforting about food, it brings us back to a good place, a happy time, a special moment that we just may want to recapture.  

As I sit here and think about about Monday night's episode many thoughts and feelings do come to mind.  Yes I know this is just a television show that some of us lose ourselves in once a week, get lost in it's character's, it's scenery, it's subplots, it's nostalgia.  I think there is a reason for everyone, and everyone a reason.  I remember when I was younger watching with my grandfather, or if the iconic music played, dancing/surfing around the living room (kind of like now).  So what is your reason?  We all have a reason, and there may be days we love what we see, days that we may think it could have been better, but that is okay.  

The one thing that I saw ever present Monday night, and what I have found in the people that I have met because of this little show, is a strong sense of ohana.  Now we have seen this term tossed around oh so many times, I bet someone can probably give me a really good Hawaiian definition of the word.  Though when you look it up on Wikipedia (and it gives you several) it states that "it is part of the 



Hawaiian culture, ohana means family in an extended sense of the term, including blood-related, adoptive or intentional. It emphasizes that families are bound together and members must cooperate and remember one another."  So our H50 team to each other, and many of you to me, funny how that is, guess no matter what may happen good bad or indifferent, you stick it out for each other, because that is what family does.

You laugh at the stupidity, the bickering, the carguments, yes that does include you Daniel and Steven.  You may not want to face the facts, but they really do bicker like a married couple.  Think about about it though, you spend more time in a day, week, month, and year with your co-worker than you do your significant other.  If they happen to be that as it may your opposite, you may start to act like a married couple. Of course I could just see my grandmother rolling her eyes at the two of them, shaking her head, there could even be a head slap.  But she would always say "are you hungry? can I make you something to eat?" That was my Gracie.  

The emotions that ran through out, the beautiful funeral, the touching hugs exchanged once everyone returned to headquarters.  Then just sharing a meal, stories and laughter at a table, whether those stories are of a first meeting, or a new business adventure.  These are all scenarios we can identify with, bring us closer, draw us in, and most of all bring us back.  

Like a good meal that can bring us together, feed us, and nourish us.  A favorite show can do the same thing for us as well (maybe with less calories).  It should be something that sticks to you, and warms you from the inside out. So to quote a very special woman, "come on in, sit down! Are you hungry? Eat something! Mangia!"    

Chicken Siciliano 
Inspired by Italian Food Hawaiian Style
(imagine that)

4 large potatoes, peeled cut into eighths
1/4 cup  +3-4 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed

1 tsp salt
ground black pepper
1/8 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp oregano
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 bell pepper seeded and julienned (mix red/green/yellow)
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Greek olives (or large green) pitted and sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut in 2 inch slices
1/2 cup herbed flour (recipe follows)

1. Dredge chicken on flour, set aside. In a cast iron skillet, add 3-4 tbsp olive oil till hot, just brown chicken 3-5 minutes on each side remove, place on a plate and cover. 
2. Once finished add 1/4 cup olive oil reduce heat, add garlic.  Once aroma starts, add potatoes simmer in oil for 20 minutes on a low heat covered.  
3. Add salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano then stir, add onion and simmer 10 minutes more.  
4. Add peppers, mushrooms and olives, simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Then add wine and chicken stock stir, return chicken to the pan and let it cook down at least 5 more minutes until chicken is heated through.  

Find a crusty loaf of Italian bread and a great white wine, dinner is served.  

Herbed Flour:

  1 cup flour
  1 tsp salt
  2 tsp black pepper
  1 tsp paprika
  1 tsp garlic powder
  1 tsp dried parsley
can be stored in an air tight container until ready to use.