Friday Five 11.6.2020

1. Election Day 4 in the longest year of a week ever calls for comfort food. Ramen will always be a go to of mine. Toast with a ton of butter. French bread pizzas. Spaghetti with homemade sauce. Veggie beef barley soup. I'll be picking up some more comfort food at Target today because an order I thought I placed for delivery was actually placed for pickup. No matter, I'm headed that way anyway to dump the Comcast cable boxes. We're streaming only at the shore now.

2. Mae is a constant mood. I wonder if people who are running with the voting fraud narrative know that their bullshit behind keyboards amps up people who will act on that and endangers workers counting votes as well as officials and their families. This is America. We count all the fucking votes. Regardless of who they are for. 

3. The sectional in my apartment is large. Gus and Bruce are still crowders. 

4. How can you not see you are blocking a driveway, especially when a car is in it? This happens all the time here. 

5. So filled with joy to be back. Bonus awesome weather over the weekend, which we will be out enjoying. As George Michael says, looking out for angels, just trying to find some peace. 

Happy weekend to you all! What's some of your comfort food? 

Jusy's chicken

When I first started really cooking - late, not until I was 25 or 26 - I wanted things that would be hard to fuck up. My older friends were happy to oblige, handing over easy recipes for me to follow. I also liked the thought of comfort food. It's what felt most domestic to me. This is both a hand me down easy recipe from my friend Judy (Jusy) and comfort food. I cannot tell you the last time I made something with a cream of anything can of soup in it...these days I will typically "do the right thing" and make a replacement for it that's healthier as cream of whatever soup isn't really en vogue anymore. But Lord, was this as good as I remember. I serve it over wide egg noodles with a side of green veg (usually steamed broccoli or green beans).

Ingredients
family pack chicken breasts
kosher salt
pepper
American cheese slices (American is preferred, here I used colby jack)
1 can of cream of chicken soup or equivalent
Sliced tomatoes in season, or a can of diced tomatoes drained well
Stove top stuffing mix
2 tbs butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and place in a greased 13x9 dish.

Cover each piece with a slice of cheese. Pour cream of chicken soup over dish and spread it around evenly. Place sliced tomato or diced tomatoes over entire dish. Put stuffing in the microwave with butter until butter is melted. Stir together. Sprinkle over entire dish. It looks less than appetizing in its making, but it's good.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375.