Stuffed Grilled Chicken and Bananas Foster

Every once in a while, I found myself bumbling into recipe that is so damned good and so damned easy it makes me look like a professional chef.

Take a chicken breast and clean it (you should always to that). With it laid out on a cutting board, cut into the side and create a pocket like a pita pocket. Shove into said pocket a few sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and some basil leaves. With an oiled toothpick (I used simple vegetable oil), close up the pocket. While the grill warms up, marinate the breast in olive oil and lemon juice with liberal amounts of salt and pepper. Grill. Done. Delicious. Gone.

For a side dish, it was simply portobello mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese and spinach. Oh sure, at this point, I suspect I could tell you how I spent tons of time preparing them. The actual time involved was the time needed to swipe a card at the grocery store. Sure, they were ready to heat, but don't let that fool you. They were delicious, too.

Dessert was every bit as fabulous and every bit as easy to make. We need, by the way, to square away the name - Bananas Foster (not to be confused with Bananas in Fosters ( I can only imagine how gross that would be!)). While I did not torch the recipe, it was really damned good. Butter, brown sugar, a squeak of vanilla, and a shot of rum in the frying pan. Add some walnut and sliced bananas for a few minutes. Serve over vanilla ice cream. Damned good.


Of course, a full-fledged gourmet meal would not be complete with out a gourmet beer (read: non- junk). I have recently become a fan of saison style of beers, but, unfortunately, the Golden Cap (#628) from the New Holland Brewing Company does not pass muster. Well, let me take that back. It was horrible by any means ; it was just not as good as others of the same style. Average at best. A three.

The dessert beer paired with the Bananas Foster, as recommended by the cook book, was a Pale Ale. Stoudts Double IPA (#629), from the Stoudt's Brewing Company, got the call. An absolutely spectacular coppery color with a solid creamy feel on the palate. The light to moderate hop finish was subdued by the sweet of the sauce on the ice cream making for a solid after dinner beverage. A solid four out of 5.

Total prep time for the whole meal was in the order of minutes. Really. Easy and good.

They Moved The Goal Post!

Don't you hate it when you have a goal set in your mind and you almost meet that goal only to find out that you're really not even close?

Beginning in 1999, I opted the play role of every 4th grader in the country. I went out and bought one of those binders for the 50-State Quarter series that had been set up by the Treasury. I'm sure you have seen them, right? Each state gets its own quarter with some cool design that signifies that particular state (Michigan is the exception here. What an ugly coin...). Anyhow, over 10 years, all 50 states released their coin in the order in which they entered the Union. (On a related note, the Treasury is doing the same thing with the National Parks.)

Anyhow, I decided to make life difficult and get a state coin from each mint (either Philadelphia or Denver). So, instead of 50 quarters, I needed 100. It all had to be done with basically one simple rule - I can not go out and buy the quarter. In some cases, a trade was used to acquire a needed coin or people where operating as...well, operatives and looking, too. I just can't buy the coin. Up until a week ago, I was almost done. I only needed the Denver mint Alaska quarter.

I was complaining to a buddy of mine about how hard it has been to secure that 100th coin. So, yesterday, he brings me a little envelope when I was in the parking lot. Some people might have looked at that little package and the circumstances and thought "Cool! Drugs!" but, that is not my thing. This particular envelope was quite heavy. I dump the contents in to my hand and voila, there it sits - the Alaska quarter from the Denver mint. Coin #100. Woo-hooh! Mission accomplished, right?

Wrong.

The envelope was rather heavy because it was stuffed with a few other quarters - Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Washington D.C. with both mints accounted for.

Huh? Well, it turns out somewhere in the last 10 years the Treasury department decided to include the United States Territories, as well. So, I acquired #100 only to find out that I now need to get 112 coins. The goal posts got moved. I hate that. I will now be on the lookout for the US Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands coins. Then I'm done. I think........

Oh, speaking like a lawyer or politician, Mike's gift does not violate my rule. I said I can't buy them. The rule doesn't say anything about someone else buying them and giving them to me as a gift.

By the way, guess what the US Territory quarters cost if you buy them from a coin shop?

Fifty cents a piece.

Nailed It

I spent some more time at the Detroit River Hawkwatch today. The season started just yesterday. One advantage of having a hawk count on a lake shore is the opportunity to watch Osprey hunt.

As a fish eater, they soar in lazy circles or hover over water when it is meal time. When a fish is located, they simply crash into the water feet first. If they manage to actually grab it (they miss quite a bit), huge talons (I mean huge!) and rough soles on the feet help them hold on tight. They can even re-position their outer toe to improve their grip. (You can do that, too. Lay your hand flat on the table. Take your pinky and bend it back towards your wrist. Okay...nevermind. I was kidding. If you heard a popping sound, call a doctor.)

This bird did a bang-up job of nailing this fish. There was no hovering. As she(?) was cruising up the creek (maybe 30 feet off the water), all forward momentum suddenly stopped, the body was repositioned for entry, and she crashed right in. Unfortunately, she was just a bit beyond the reach of my lens (I use a 100-400mm f5.6). When possible, I try to ID the fish, too. While this pic does not clearly show it, the fish may be a steelhead.

Sitting Pretty

The opening day of September continued to be a nice productive time of year for birding at Lake Erie Metropark. Among the 10 species of warblers this morning was this Chestnut-sided Warbler.

"Wait a minute!" you're saying, right? "This bird does not have chestnut sides!"

No, it doesn't. So when does a Chestnut-sided Warbler not have chestnut on it's sides? When it is a first fall female! (This bird was born this year and is in it's first fall of life. Get it?) Check out the totally clean gray underparts, white eye ring, green back and yellow wingbars. That combo of field marks is a knock down. The park was full of them this morning.

Needless to say, she was quite cooperative.

A Nice Week

While it can be a bit more challenging in the fall, birding is every bit as exciting and fun. Sure, the spectacular colors of migrants birds are partly gone and the songs have all but stopped. Yes, the leaves are out (making it harder to find the birds), and the swellings from mosquito bites resemble small tumors. But so what, right? Get out there and enjoy it!

I have!

Since Sunday, I figured I have walked over 10 miles at between Pointe Mouillee State Game Area (6 1/2 miles in one afternoon) and Lake Erie Metropark (1 or 2 miles on at least 3 three separate days).

I can say for certain that I have recorded 95 birds species in that time. Highlights of my week might include...
...12 species of shorebirds including Baird's Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, and Wilson's Phalarope
...15 species of warblers including two different Hooded Warblers
...7 raptors including an early Broad-winged Hawk (seen on August 23rd)
...two different Common Loon fly-overs (maybe the same bird twice?)
...a young Peregrine Falcon landing on a mudflat less that 200 feet away after making repeated attempts to nail an American Avocet. If you go here, you can get an idea of the look we had through out scopes. Absolutely breathtaking.

And to think September isn't even here yet!