George is in the hospital with pneumonia. He had been coughing and had difficulty breathing for about six weeks. We saw two doctors. The first messed up our appointment; the second suggested a nose spray. George ran no fever and had a fairly good appetite. Who knew?
The first night we didn’t eat at all because George was in the emergency wing where they had run out of food. When a bed finally became available at the hospital, they moved George to the ICU to a room that overlooks the East River.
The first dinner didn’t look great. In fact we couldn’t tell what it was. But, the meat was tender and surprisingly tasty. Beginner’ luck or hunger is the best chef.
Next day’s dinner offered “Pork Roast with Gravy.” The pork was overcooked; the gravy stuck to the plate and wouldn’t budge.
George’s appetite had returned. Time for action.
Menu
Deviled Eggs
Chicken Breast with Rosemary Broiled over Bread
Chickpea Salad
Dessert: Wedge of Camembert
I hadn’t made deviled eggs in decades and realized, once again, how terrific eggs are. I buy mine at the farmer’s market and don’t worry about the bad wrap they have received. The chicken could have been warmer. It didn’t really matter because this was more of a picnic than a formal dinner. I brought colorful plastic plates, attractive paper napkins, and regular cutlery.
Recipe: Chicken Breast
½ large chicken breast with skin, boned, cut in two portions
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Some lemon juice
2 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 slices of bread
Preheat the broiler.
Line the broiler with aluminum foil. Trim the bread to fit the chicken pieces (I used Pane Francese), and brush the top of the bread with olive oil. Brush the chicken breasts with oil, season with salt and pepper, dab with some of the lemon juice and sprinkle with half of the rosemary. Place the chicken breast, skin side down, on top of the bread. Broil for 10 minutes
Turn the chicken, skin side up, brush with additional lemon oil and remaining rosemary. Broil for an additional 8 minutes.
When the chicken had cooled slightly, I wrapped them in aluminum foil and packed our dinner into a basket and took it to the hospital.
“Too bad, we can’t have some wine,” said George.
I knew he felt better.
3 comments:
I haven't had a similar experience yet, but next time I'm in the hospital, this opens up the possibilities for requests from visitors. Your hospital dinner sounds heroic. Who needs a park for a picnic.
Peggy
By coincidence, I was in the hospital for two nights just this week--I had an emergency appendectomy. Sadly, the doctor kept me on what he called a liquid diet (although I called it a gloppy diet). That works OK for breakfast (yogurt and oatmeal). But the same gelatinous "chicken soup" for both lunch and dinner two days and nights in a row was almost as painful as what sent me to the hospital in the first place. Alas, your fabulous-sounding chicken breast would not have passed the gloppy test, but now that I am home and recuperating, it sounds mighty good indeed. Thanks, Helen!
I agree with Peggy, a picnic in the hospital sounds both cool and adventurous.
Post a Comment