Veal or Chicken Maria

Cooking with Propane

"There is something about Mary"

The Casa Bianca where I grew up was a wonderful place if you liked great food, lots of aunts, uncles and cousins and plenty of drama! It was reality TV without the TV. It was truly extended family living in-house, as a result, there was always somebody in crisis. Growing up in our house there was Uncle Peter, Uncle Gigi, Aunt Esther, Aunt Teresa, Mama Lee, my brother and me. Then there was the staff at the restaurant; Anna and Pauline two polish sisters  who worked in the kitchen for twenty plus years with my mother. They were like family but then there was Mary.

Well that group was truly old school; they saw the world different, they ate different, they didn't value their time, it was their gift to everyone. We were the first group of children to really protest the old ways. I was relieved when we broke from the tradition of waking the recently passed in the living room of our home.  The Italian women were professional mourners it was epic when we said goodbye.

Mother was a tough cookie with a mind of her own, it is well documented her distrust for almost everybody; doctors, lawyers, bankers even the catholic priests that frequently dined with her. She was translucent about her feelings.. I find myself from time to time invoking the same skepticism, distrust fostered by our mother. Is it inherited? I catch myself and think that's Mom talking. The very same response from her used to make my skin crawl.

That being said Lee had a heart of gold, if you were hungry she would feed you, her true passion in life, if you needed a room because you may have had one too many she put many guests to bed in our 10 upstairs bedrooms over the years. Her life was built from the sacrifice she made for her children, her brother and her sister. She was what is all good in people.

Mother was stubborn, I hear the story that the night I was born mother was on the stove cooking when her water broke. Her cousin and OBGYN Dr. Bove was just finishing dinner in the dining room and he was alerted of the situation. He got up and went to the kitchen. Lets go Lee, "Doc you just sit yourself down until I put out the rest of these dinners"! He had no choice. My mother only left the building under duress or to go to the hair dresser. My brother would have to take her and pick her up she hardly ever drove but claimed she was an accomplished wheel woman. My brother was late picking her up one day and she hated to spend any more time than necessary listening to the women at the parlor. Angry with Peter the next day she bought a car, maybe she drove it twice.

Lee was kind, and loving but mean as a junk yard dog when she was riled. She was plum impossible to reason with if she had made up her mind. Thankfully there was Mary she subscribed to a whole different perspective about most everything. She would say Lee "let them be" Lee was a control freak. Mary somehow could see into the future, she was like having our own palm reader. For instance she would always maintain that she could tell when a girl who my brother brought to dinner was crazy about him. Oh yah I can tell she would say "she's crazy about him". Generally she was wrong on this account!

Mary was always there to be the voice of reason and was about the only person who could tell my mother to chill! Mary worked at the restaurant full time from her late twenties and on into her sixties. She spent a lifetime with us. I think her 5 children gave her a better view into the real world and she at least left her house!

Mary had a way with the guests at the restaurant all those years, many people thought she owned the place. We didn't advertise so all of our business was word of mouth, Mary was social media old school style, she communicated with our guests face to face. If you were sent to the Casa via word of mouth, it was normal for people to show up at the front door on their first visit and ask for Mary. They would say 'so and so sent me' and Mary in one smooth movement would acknowledge the sender and give them a hug at the door and sit them on the stairs to wait for a table. She owned them right out of the gate even if she had no idea who the people might have been who sent them.  

It was rare that we didn't sit at the round table in the back room at some point each night and discuss the overall problems of the group. (The table now in my kitchen) Mary had five children and they are, each of them extremely diverse. It seems like she had one of each, kind of her own Gilligan's Island. The oldest was somewhat like Thurston a business man, then a jet setting movie star type, beautiful, sultry and a hand full like Ginger, there is the professor, ethereal, musical, clever and quietly a real ladies man, the little sister like Maryann beautiful but more reserve and a bit less precocious no flying about, a bit more grounded than her older sister. Then came the restaurant guy who would if allowed have been the "Skipper" he inherited his mothers engaging personality.

There was always an issue with one of them, or the favorite topic, my brother. Somehow the madness of it all gave Mary a sense of decorum and just made her stronger. Mary could shift through the BS of most situations and leave you with an answer that would satisfy the group. As a result her children are all fiercely dedicated to her, she is still the glue that holds them all together.

People still like to talk about the Casa Bianca, fond memories for most. I always hear "I loved your mother" and then they ask me about Mary. We talk once in a while... not enough, she is still putting out the fires alongside her children, still the rock she always was. I just answer "There is something about Mary"

This is a dish my brother named after Mary at the Casa in 1982. It became our best seller and was on the menu until the end. Use the stove or your new Saber Grill from Proctor Gas.

Veal or Chicken Maria

Serves 4

4 chicken breast

4 paper thin slices prosciutto
4 slices  eggplant cut lengthwise/ brush with olive oil and S&P grill on both sides
8 thin slices of fresh mozzarella
flour for dusting the chicken
4 tablespoons good basil pesto
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 stick cold butter cut in small pieces
olive oil to pan sear the chicken

 Dredge the chicken lightly in the flour shake off any excess. Pour olive oil in a saute pan and heat. Place the chicken into the hot oil and brown on both sides lower the heat. Deglaze the pan with the wine and let the wine cook out. Add the chicken stock and marinara sauce let it simmer covered until the chicken is tender and cooked through about 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the breast.

Take the cover off and build the chicken breast:

spread a spoon full of pesto sauce over the top of the chicken
place a slice of prosciutto over that
place the grilled eggplant on top of the breast
place the two pieces of cheese on top

Place the lid back on the pan and let it simmer just to get hot and melt the cheese. Remove the chicken from the pan, dish it up...turn the heat to medium and add the cold butter to the sauce and simmer together, pour over the chicken

Mrs. Tom's Secret

I like to use my gas grill to cook this. It does take a pan on the grill but you use the grill same as a stove and the grill lid acts as a cover, just close it. Also be aware for your guests, that there are no nut allergies in the group. The little spoon of pesto to the wrong person can be a real bummer for all. Serve with a nice wild mushroom risotto.