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05/03/2018 12:01 AMI visited Pittsburgh recently for a memorial service for my brother’s wife. They had been married for almost 60 years, and I had been their flower girl.
At the memorial, I, my brother and his four children (two of whom are now grandparents) were together for the first time in at least three decades. It’s an awful time to be together after such a long time, but my nieces and nephew are articulate and smart and three of them, thank goodness, share my political affiliation, which is always a comfort in these complicated times.
Pittsburgh is hipper than it used to be, with many restaurants that looked promising. But the focus was primarily on getting together with family. The first evening we had Chinese takeout in my brother’s kitchen. The memorial luncheon was good banquet food but still, banquet food. The next two meals were McDonald’s at the Pittsburgh airport and a sandwich at a Zingerman’s kiosk owned by the Ann Arbor, Michigan deli.
The travel itself was grueling with long flights, multiple airports, and difficult connections. I returned home and crawled into bed around 2 a.m. Still sleepy the following morning, I made chicken from a recipe I created in the mid-’60s and a salad with a dressing that I make frequently. I was glad I had all the ingredients for a healthy meal upon my return home.
Wish-Bone Chicken
Yield: Serves 4 (with leftovers)
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs
4 chicken breasts
one small bottle of Wish-Bone salad dressing (low-fat is fine)
Directions
Wash and dry your hands. Wash and dry chicken pieces and place in a Pyrex pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces skin side up. Top with salt and pepper to taste. Shake bottle of Wish-Bone and pour dressing over chicken. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or longer.
About an hour before reading to serve, set oven to 350 degrees. Place pan of chicken, uncovered, in oven for 45 minutes. In the meantime, make a fire in your charcoal grill or turn on the gas grill to medium high (if using a charcoal grill, bank the charcoal so there is a high point and a lower-high point). Take chicken from the pan and place pieces on the grill. Grill for around 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Caesar Salad Dressing
Yield: Enough for 6 side salads (I triple the recipe; the dressing lasts in the fridge for weeks)
Ingredients:
1 large egg
juice from one medium lemon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ to 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
In the blender, add egg, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, and anchovy paste. Blend on high for about 10 seconds. Remove the plastic top (not the lid) from the blender. With blender running, very slowly (almost by drops) add the olive oil. Pour into jar, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. If it separates, give it a shake before dressing the salad.