lemony = spring

I love to make lemony things in the spring, so I dug out this recipe, which I haven't made in several years. You're gonna love this savory lemony-ness.  It's delicious served with red potatoes, couscous, or rice.  And best of all, like almost all the dishes I make, it's quick and easy. Give this a whirl and let me know how you like it. Notice the Blue Willow? Julia would be proud.

Willow's Chicken Francaise

(ingredients are approximate ... I'm not big on measuring)

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp half and half
1 tsp tarragon (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley)
1 whole lemon, thinly sliced

Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound with flat side of a meat mallet until 1/4 inch thick.

Heat oil in a 15 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat til hot.

While oil is heating, stir together flour, salt, pepper in shallow bowl. Dredge chicken, one piece at a time in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow bowl. When oil is hot, dip floured chicken into beaten eggs to coat, letting excess drip off.

Then fry, turning over once, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and cover loosely with foil.

Pour off and discard oil, then heat butter over low heat until foam subsides. Add wine, broth and lemon juice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally until sauce is reduced to about 3/4 cup or so.

Whisk in about 1 Tbsp flour, then remove from heat and whisk in about 2 Tbsp of half and half. (Sauce should be on the thin side.) Add tarragon or parsley. Immediately spoon sauce over chicken, top with lemon slices and serve.

Plates

The lovely Elizabeth Wix, About New York, proposed we do a blog
on plates for Friday. I, of course, was game, since I adore all kinds
of tableware. And I'm the first to admit, I have entirely too many
sets of plates. I am including just a few of my favorites for you today.
The plate pictured above, is hanging to the right of my kitchen sink.
It's a 1987 Annual Christmas Stamp art plate from the United States
Postal Service. I collect all kinds of Madonna and Child icons, so this
beautiful plate was a must.

This pattern is "Brookline" by Woods Burslem, England. I started out
with only four dinner plates of this vintage set when we were first
married. I had searched everywhere all these years for additional
pieces, but to no avail. Enter eBay. I bid, with no one bidding against
me, and won a complete set of eight table settings, plus serving pieces
for $39.00. The eBay steal of the century!

Over the years I have slowly collected a sizable set of random vintage
pink Staffordshire plates. I like to serve Christmas dinner on them.
This particular plate is "The Ride of Paul Revere".

Most times, I serve dinner on plain white Faltzgraff plates and
matching soup/salad dishes. I like the way food looks on simple
white. But that's no fun to show and tell. So here's another set I
like for everyday. The pattern is the well known "Blue Denmark" by
Johnson Brothers. I like to serve Saturday brunch on them.

My latest obsession are these beauties. Mason's "Bow Bells"
pattern in brown. I found two plates last year at the Scotts Antique
Show for $2 each. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for them and
have added one more since, for a total now of three. They're ironstone
and extra large. I'm nutty about them.

And last, but certainly not least, my tried and true "Blue Willow" also
by Johnson Brothers. I've had these since the late '70s. About 15
years ago, I thought I was tired of them and boxed them up. Last year,
I dragged them back out and fell in love with them all over again.

So there you have it, my bloggy friends. A little sampling of plates
from Willow Manor. Be sure to click on the link to Elizabeth's blog
for a list of other "plate" participants. My real passion is for bowls!

What's Hot

As most of you already know, I adore old bookshops. There is a perfect one in town that is owned by a delightful lady, who knows just about everything there is to know about books. The shop is bulging at

the seams with books, with a huge overflow stack on the floor in the back. It has tall ceilings, wonderful creaking hardwood floors and that curious inviting smell of old paper and dust.

Not too long ago, I stumbled across an old copy of The Story on the Willow Plate, by Leslie Thomas, copyright 1940. Remembering it from second grade, I was absolutely thrilled to find it. It tells the story portrayed on the pattern of Blue Willow china. To make a long story short, it is about two star-crossed young lovers who are running from her father, the wealthy mandarin. You can see them crossing the bridge in the pattern. The two doves at the top of the plate are the lovers who have been transformed by the gods to live forever. Isn't that just so charming?

I recently dug out an old Johnson Brothers set of Blue Willow dinner plates we had when we were newly married. I had forgotten how much I loved them. There is something very comforting and strangely nostalgic in eating dinner on a Blue Willow plate on a cold winter evening. It might be cold outside, but Blue Willow is so hot right now at the Manor!