The Cookoff

This weekend was all about the cook-off. Jim has been boasting...since well before I got here, I am sure, that his chicken parm is the best and would rival anyone in the North End. Since it is one of the only two things he can cook, naturally this gloating could not go unnoticed by those of us who cook many different things and never miss an opportunity for a good face off. So Kathy challenged Jim to a chicken parm cook off and I also was invited to take part. I went all out. I got up early Saturday morning because I wanted to make my own Pasta Sauce too and I was off to the store. Since the big grocery store is a twenty minute bus ride, I did not make it back until 11am. Another disadvantage for me is that apparently people do not use breadcrumbs in this country! Who ever heard of a country without breadcrumbs!!! Jim and Kathy had gotten some at the army base when Kathy still had a friend over here, I made my own. Sounds like that would be a bonus, but making breadcrumbs not as easy as you may think, especially without an oven and with fresh not stale bread...Amy S. I think I need a lesson when I get home! Anyway over all I think for having a few bumps in the road it came out pretty well. We all brought our dishes to Kathy's house and baked them in her oven. And being the forward thinking person that I am I made an extra dish to bring for lunch for the week, which has now turned out to be the lunch for my group tomorrow...I am the only girl and I think the only cook, go figure! Kathy invited four of her friends over and they were the judges. She won by a landslide! So the good news is Jim did not win (although his Chicken Parm was really good) and the bad news is I did not. Maybe next time we can pick something that I have made before and something where the ingredients are easily accessible. On a high note, my sauce came out awesome! Sunday was again low key, but it was another beautiful day. I slept late and did some laundry, then I went to one of the many outdoor cafes and read my book and drank some coffee. After that I walked around the Casemates, someplace I had not been to before but really beautiful outdoors. I tried unsuccessfully to take a self portrait and the one that the tourist I stopped took of me was very unflattering so maybe next week we can rectify that. Next week it is off to Disneyland in Paris! I guess the next pictures will be with the Mouse!