Chicken Paillards with Red and Yellow Peppers and Kalamata Olives, Manners

November 1st, 2010 I can't believe that October is over. I can barely remember most of it with the exception of some rather key events. One of which is my wife breaking her leg in derby practice (which I am sure all of you are aware, I've never seen so many Facebook posts in my life), the other was our ensuing vacation where I got to experience a theme park from behind a wheelchair. You really begin to learn a lot about how rude people can be just by their reaction to you as you try to maneuver through a crowd. I think most people thought we were faking to get to the front of the line. Some seemed "putout" by our pleads for passage through meandering crowds, while there were others who liked to play chicken with us, moving out of the way just in the nick of time, while I try to prevent my beloved from careening downhill. Now don't get me wrong, it sounds as if I was miserable - this is not the case. I had an awesome vacation, and actually enjoyed pushing my wife around Epcot while tasting assorted goodies and consuming mass amounts of wine and beer. In fact, it seemed the more I drank, the better I got at pushing the wheelchair. Not once did I run over any one's foot, clip someone in the heel, or lose control and propel my wife into the China pavilion. But what was interesting was watching people's reaction as we rolled by. Most people we encountered were actually quite nice, especially when she wore her birthday pin. They would say "Happy Birthday," then exclaim "What did you do!?" I told Nandy she should make up something each time, like "Oh, I was mountain climbing in the Andes, when my goat bucked . . ." or "I was on my way to the animal shelter to deliver an injured sparrow when an out of control school bus full of blind, yet gifted, children came at me . . ." But she was honest, and while some seemed confused when she said roller derby, others were rather interested. In fact, we spent a considerable amount of time talking with people on their past injuries. "I broke my leg tripping over the dog." I sprained my wrist playing badminton with the Queen." "I got a hangnail in a Vietnamese prison camp." Ok, so I made the first one up. Of course, you can't go to a theme park filled with thousands of gawkers without finding a few assholes, even on the happiest place on earth. While I didn't nail anyone with the wheelchair, I did come close a few times. Once again, most treated it as no big deal, but there were some that gave me a look like "I swear if you hit me with that wheelchair, I will pummel you." Of course, they had no idea who was in the chair, and even on one leg my wife could throttle anyone in a Goofy t-shirt. When the crowds got bigger, I had to use some creative driving to get around. Oblivious tourists would cut in front of me and walk slower, not realizing that I was very close to severing their achilles. I had a couple of people beat me out for the elevator, stupid me didn't realize a race was afoot. We also had a family who used the companion bathroom, when it was obvious they didn't need it. Grandma apparently had to take a dump in complete privacy, too much Metamucil. Take a day, and put yourself in a wheelchair and try to get around with the help of your fellow man. You will find some decent people, but you also will find people who could just give a damn. Ok, enough of that. I have actually put my chefs hat on again and created a dish that was pretty darn good. It came from a cast iron pan cookbook - and I have to tell you, food cooked in a cast iron pan just tastes better, and cooks evenly. Go to a flea market, I guarantee you will find one, and look online as to how you are supposed to take care of it. You won't be sorry. Here are your ingredients: 2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut in half 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, will be divided 1 medium red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, cut into 1 inch strips 1 yellow bell pepper, same as above .25 cup of flour 1 tsp of salt .25 tsp of ground pepper 1 Tbs of salted butter 1/3 cup of kalamata olives, chopped 1 Tbs of capers, rinsed and drained 2 Tbs of lemon juice Chopped fresh parsley Here's the best part of the recipe - take the chicken and place into a plastic Ziploc bag. Now pound the crap out of it. Make sure the bag is sealed or you will have chicken all over the pets. You want the chicken to be about 3/8 of an inch thick. Warm 2 Tbs of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and cook for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Once done, put on a plate and set aside, cover with tin foil. In a flat dish, mix the flour, salt and pepper. Lightly coat the chicken in the mixture, and make sure you shake off the extra flour. Heat the butter and the last Tbs of olive oil over medium heat until the butter melts, add the chicken breasts and cook for 3 minutes a side. While the chicken is cooking, take the olives, capers and lemon juice and mix with the peppers while they are still warm. Once the chicken is done, place on a warm plate, top with the pepper mixture. Done. I added some rice and a veggie to complete the plate. I've got some more recipes ready to go. Slow cooked macaroni and cheese - mango lime grouper and I have to come up with a good chili recipe for a party this weekend. So the apron is back on and ready to rumble.