I love Lucy
Tuesday, May 17 2011
Did you ever just click with someone? I did with Lucy. It was love at first recipe. An outsider would think our friendship odd; we were born decades apart, and she was beautiful and smart, and I am, well… I can cook. Lucy is my friend’s mom and recently, she passed away.
By Larry Vivola
Lucy and I spent hours sharing food-related memories, swapping cooking tips and reminiscing about meals shared with family and friends. Our strongest bond was our common belief that shared meals sustain cherished relationships.
I love writing for In&Out, and Lucy fed that love. As soon as Lucy read my article, she followed up with an email to me. She had me trained like a Pavlovian dog; I would wait for her email, which always included praise for my article. I loved Lucy’s seal-of-approval. She was president of my fan club, a fancy title for a club with two members: the other is my mom, (and sometimes my wife). If she felt my article didn’t run frequently enough— Oh boy, my publisher would receive an email, too. No stamp-of-approval, just a list of 22 reasons why I should get more ink.
Lucy’s most flattering gesture was the ‘Larry File’ she maintained of my columns. It doesn’t get any better than that, folks.
One Christmas, Lucy told me I reminded her of the roly-poly, gregarious Dom DeLuise. A Clooney comparison may have boosted my ego a bit more but, baby, where I come from, a compliment is a compliment. She gave me Dom’s cookbook, “Eat This…It’ll Make You Feel Better.” His book, like my articles, is chock-full of loving anecdotes inspired by food. Shared meals feed more than the body; they feed our souls. This is the philosophy that Lucy and I will always share.
I hope you enjoy this recipe from Dom’s cookbook. We miss you, Lucy.
Ciao, Lucy!
Chicken Dominick
(or Chicken Lucy)
4 boneless chicken breasts, split
flour
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp. butter
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
3 oz. white wine
Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of wax paper; pound them so they look like cutlets. Dredge in flour. Sauté garlic in butter, remove when brown. Add chicken breasts and sauté 1 minute on each side. Add green and red peppers, mushrooms, and wine. Shake the pan. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.