David Broughton's
Chocolate Chicken
(The ingredients are all to taste. David Broughton's nickname is 'TooTall' and from what he tells me, skinny people don't taste as they cook)
Lightly brown some chicken in a slight amount of oil in a big, deep skillet.
When lightly browned, add mushrooms, if fresh, saute in butter with the chicken juices in the same skillet. Add diced onions and green pepper, saute until about half cooked. Add some water, or better yet chicken stock if you have it handy. cover the chicken. add some garlic, either fresh or powdered, but if you use powdered go lightly. You may add basil, fennel, or cilantro if you have it and like it. While it simmers, add three or five semi-sweet Hershey's chocolate kisses, two tablespoons of prepared cocoa mix, and a tablespoon of peanut butter, unless you're allergic, then of course you leave that out. Add some seasoned salt, some lemon pepper, then simmer until the water or stock is down to half. Baste well with the remaining liquid, cover with Swiss cheese, or whatever your favorite kind is. Allow to rest in the liquid. When you plate it, you can serve it on rice, with or without mushrooms. Portabello's are particularly good with this sauce over it.
The point here, is you can use things not ordinarily used as seasonings with the common ones to create new flavors. The chocolate and cocoa powder don't make it taste like chocolate, but give it a unique flavor, as does the peanut butter.
I also use peanut butter in my spaghetti sauce, just a bit, it adds a nice mellow flavor and cuts the acid of the tomato a bit.
This book review is written in memory of Linda Broughton who passed on to a better world last April. Linda was the heart and love of the Circle H ranch series. She is truly missed not only for her writing ability but also because of the person she was. Learn more about this beautiful woman by clicking on her name Linda Broughton
Black Lightning – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and A Book and A Dish
“I
saw it all. I was hiding in the closet, trying to stay safe from that
man.” Robinson raises her eyebrows, “What man?” She blurts in her
staccato way, “My stepfather—momma’s husband, Tom Gilcrest.” Patting
Josie’s back lightly, the detective asks, “So what did you see?” Like a
blast from a machine gun, the little slip of a girl fires out, “They
were fighting again. I don’t really know over what, they were always
fighting about something. He shot her four times fast, then once more
when she was lying on the floor. He started soaking the house with
gasoline. When he went into another room, I snuck out. I hid in the
tool
shed where the firemen found me.” Robinson
quits rubbing Josie’s back, to start writing things down, “So, we
should only find the remains of one body?” Josie replies only slightly
slower, “No, there will be two. I saw him dragging in a man… a dead
man, I think. I don’t know who it was. He was dressed very raggedy,
nobody I recognized.”
Josie
Stevens has just witnessed the murder of her mother by her stepfather.
Her father was murdered was murdered about a year earlier. He
grandmother, whom Josie was living with at the time, died after falling
into a well and now her mother was gone. Due to the fire, the only
thing Josie has left in this world is the teddy bear with the big red
heart given to her by her dad before he was killed.
Detective
Lizzie Robinson knows what
it’s like to be alone. At a young age she had
found herself in the same position. The only help Lizzie feels she can
give this young girl is by calling her friend Natalie (Nat) Cohen who
is the head of county social services child welfare and a ward of the
court survivor herself. So with the help of Nat Josie is placed in the
care of Ben and Hannah who run a working horse ranch for orphans. These
two people took Lizzie and Nat under their wings years ago and helped
shape them into who they are today. Nat is sure they can do the same
for Josie.
As
soon as Josie steps out of the car at the ranch she spots one of the
most beautiful horses she’s ever seen. She immediately climbs the fence
and then onto the back of this black beauty, racing him across the
corral and into the pasture. This turned out to be a surprise to Ben
since the black horse had been determined as too wild
for the other kids. He
was amazed to see the kindred spirit that had immediately developed
between Josie and the black horse. What Ben didn’t know was that Josie
could talk to the horses and they could talk back to her. She was in a
sense what some call a “Horse Whisperer.”
Black
Lightning is one of the most loving books I’ve read in a long time.
Josie has her love for the horses, Ben and Hannah have the love for all
of the kids past and present that they’ve helped through the years.
They pride themselves in the knowledge that so many have gone to college
and made something of themselves instead of just being allowed to slip
through the cracks of society. But love isn’t all that I found in Black
Lightning. It has just enough murder and mayhem to keep you wondering
what will Josie’s stepfather do next to get his hands on the secrets he
feels are hidden inside the
teddy bear belonging to Josie. This book turned out to be a real page
turner that I really enjoyed.
So, if you’re a horse fan, a fan of suspense and/or a fan of touching love, don’t miss Black Lightning. It has it all.