outlet shopping, Chicken Clemenceau, and a date

Outlet Shopping
Tuesday my mom and I spent the day outlet shopping in Edinburg. This is one of our favorite things to do together, and since Rollie and my dad were watching the kids for the day, we had lots of uninterrupted time to talk. Rollie and Granddad took the kids to buy donuts and play at a park, and all 4 of them took naps in the afternoon. I found Rollie and my Christmas presents for each other at the outlets... new ski jackets! (Yes I know it's only October.) Rollie is ready to start planning a ski trip. Anyone want to watch our kids for a few days this winter?

That night my mom and I made one of our family's favorite dinners: Chicken Clemenceau. My mom's parents visited New Orleans when my mom was growing up, and my grandmother came back with recipes from Brennan's, one of New Orleans great restaurants. Chicken Clemenceau is the one recipe from those that we all make. Now I have a cookbook from Brennans, and Rollie and I like to choose a new recipe from it once in a while. For my 30th birthday Rollie made me seafood jambalaya from Brennans.

So even though this isn't a new recipe, I just have to share the Chicken Clemenceau. It's too good not to, and I got to make it with my mom :)

 and this is just the leftovers!

Brennans' Chicken Clemenceau

• 1 small whole chicken, in pieces (we always just use 4 chicken breasts, bone-in or out)
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 6 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced (we like crimini/baby bellas, but white mushrooms are standard)
• 3 potatoes, cut in bite-sized cubes, french fried golden brown in oil (we have a cast-iron deep fryer), drained and seasoned with salt (we often put ours in the oven to stay warm and get crispier after they're done frying)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder is fine)
• 1 cup frozen peas

Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute the chicken and garlic until chicken is golden brown (you want a nice brown crust) and cooked through. Remove to a serving dish. At the same time, saute mushrooms in a separate skillet in 1-2 tbsp butter and add peas when mushrooms are almost done and saute until heated through. Season with salt. Toss in french fried potatoes into the veggies and mix together. Remove veggies to a serving dish. Enjoy!

(So this is a recipe that we all make from memory and we vary the amounts of each ingredient according to personal taste. Don't be afraid to add more garlic or more peas, etc., according to your taste.)


Scholar's Inn
After our delicious dinner that night Rollie and I went out for dessert at the Scholar's Inn in downtown Bloomington. It's an old mansion and the wine cellar used to be part of the Underground Railroad. It's now an upscale B&B and they have a fantastic restaurant that is known for it's gourmet desserts. Rollie and I shared a Bananas Foster outside on the patio. What an amazing night!