Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Actors and Youngsters.

I am somewhat disappointed. Actor Liam Hemsworth was on Good Morning America. He is starring in The Last Song with Miley Cyrus. He is a young Australian actor and when being interviewed, he used 'like' in most of his sentences. I had naively assumed this was a North American phenomenon that kids of today were totally unable to hold a conversation without using the word 'like' constantly. We once asked a young friend to talk without using it, she was stymied. We all get stuck with words or phrases, one of mine is "I must admit" but this business with the word 'like' is really bad and when you end up with the inteviewee using um as well as like, grrrrr. Apparently Liam Hemsworth is Miley Cyrus' love interest both on and off the screen.
Another group interviewed on GMA were three youngsters from a new series called The Middle which is supposed to be very funny. However, I was struck by the youngest star, an 11 yr old called Atticus Shaffer - talk about precocious (did you know that word actually means early ripening?) who had everyone smiling this morning. He has been acting for quite a while by the sound of it and has worked with Betty White for whom he had lots of praise plus praise for the mom figure in this new series.
I was quite chuffed last night, I won three games in our weekly session of Cribbage. Haven't done that well in a while.
Chicken Cordon Bleu is a very popular dish in North America and Eating Well have come up with a quick recipe to fix for a weeknight meal. I notice the tips talk about small chicken breasts, if you live near an M & M Meats, the frozen breasts they sell are just about the right size.
Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu for Two From EatingWell: November/December 2009
To make traditional cordon bleu, you layer prosciutto (or other ham) and cheese in between thin slices of chicken or veal, then bread and sauté the whole stack. This quick, easy version keeps the flavors the same, but skips the fussy layering and breading steps. Serve with: Delicata squash and broccoli. 2 servings Ingredients •2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (10-12 ounces), trimmed and tenders removed (see Tip) •1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided •1/8 teaspoon salt •3 tablespoons shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese •1 tablespoon reduced-fat cream cheese •2 tablespoons coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs (see Tip) •1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or thyme •2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided •2 tablespoons chopped ham (about 1/2 ounce)
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 400°F. 2.Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon pepper and salt. Combine cheese and cream cheese in a bowl. Combine the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper with breadcrumbs, parsley (or thyme) and 1 teaspoon oil in another bowl. 3.Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium, ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Move the chicken to the center so the pieces are touching. Spread with the cheese mixture, sprinkle with ham, then top with the breadcrumb mixture. 4.Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F, 5 to 7 minutes.
Nutrition 280 Calories; 13 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 6 g Mono; 98 mg Cholesterol; 4 g Carbohydrates; 34 g Protein; 1 g Fiber; 331 mg Sodium; 260 mg Potassium Exchanges: 4 1/2 lean meat, 1 fat Tips & Notes •Tip: It can be difficult to find small chicken breasts. Remove the strip of meat from the underside of a 5- to 6-ounce breast—the “tender,” about 1 ounce of meat—to yield a perfect individual portion. Freeze the tenders and use them in a stir-fry. •Note: We like Ian’s brand of coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs, labeled “Panko breadcrumbs.” Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets. To make your own breadcrumbs, trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear the bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F until dry, about 15 minutes. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs.
Have a great day

2 comments:

  1. Congrats with the cribbage win.

    Yes, people (and not only the kids) all over the world adopt the American way of speaking 'like' they have no brains.

    I also dislike 'like'. I also dislike 'good' as in, 'how are you?' and the answer is, I'm good'. I say that I am well, but I will not say that I am 'good'.

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  2. Any repetitive speach patterns can be very irritating. If I know I have 'em I try and correct them.

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