Bon Appetit

So I always have a hard time thinking of ideas for dinner. I'm also not the type of person that gets a few signature dishes and just rotates them threw out the week. It seems I always want to try something new. This dish, however, is one that I keep coming back to. It's a spin off of Carrabba's "Chicken Bryan". It's both complex in taste and texture and can pacify those health freaks in your life (like my husband). Oh and if you don't like goat cheese you could substitute for mozzarella, but really you should just learn to like goat cheese cause it's the most amazing cheese on earth. I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Bryan

Chicken
4 large chicken breasts
1 to 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn black pepper
4 oz crumbled goat cheese, softened to room temperature

Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic (food processor works really well for this)
1 tbsp finely chopped yellow onion (food processor works really well for this)
1/2 cup dry white cooking wine
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small peices
1 1/2 cups finely sliced sun dried tomatoes (food processor works really well for this)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basel
1/2 tspn kosher salt
1/2 tspn pepper

Spinach
1 pk frozen whole leaf spinach
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic (food processor works really well for this)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Chicken: Slice breasts down the center. Cover with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Grill till center is no longer pink.

Sauce: Place butter, garlic and onion in a large skillet over medium heat and saute until garlic and onion are tender and transparent. Add white wine and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer to reduce by half.
Reduce heat to low. Add cold butter one piece at a time. Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and stir to blend ingredients. Set aside.

Spinach: While sauce is cooking, start the spinach. Add the oil and garlic to a medium skillet over medium high heat until garlic turns soft. Lower heat to medium and add spinach. Saute spinach until its soaked with the oil and garlic and becomes limp. In the end add a bit of the sauce to the spinach and mix in (if you want).

Plate Chicken, place a scoop of spinach on top of the chicken, spoon sauce over plate. Crumbled goat cheese goes on last. Extra spinach is plated on the side. Bon Appetit!

Jacklyn Lorraine

Shore Style

Who says you need to live near the beach in order to enjoy the soothing colors and scenery of the crashing waves and sandy shores? For my living room, I've been inspired by "beach life" or should I say "the best life". To me, there is no better way to spend your time then on a beach with a book in your hand, while watching your husband bob up and down in the tide while searching for the perfect shells. And since our best memories and mementos are from the beach, I figured why not try to compass that feeling into our home. We already had the shells from trips past, beach themes tend to keep surfacing at home decor stores, and my shabby chic obsession lends itself nicely to the creams and aquas of the beach inspiration.

When my husband and I get an idea in our head it doesn't matter if it's 20 degrees outside, we will find a way to get it done. And that is precisely how this fireplace surround and bookshelves came to be. I wanted a larger fireplace mantle and my husband wanted bookshelves, so in the middle of January we threw on our down jackets, pulled on our gloves and 3 toe numbing days later we had our dream fireplace surround.

It's taken a while to fill all the shelves and decorate the mantel top. There are still some empty shelves but I am happy with what we have so far. It has really become a collection of items from our travels. Shells from our trips to Florida, aqua sea glass and a photo taken of us on our honeymoon sit atop the mantel.

A blue glass Ball jar filled with tiny white wild flowers adorn one of the many shelves. A clock I bought in England sits above it. I looked for one similar in the states, but never found one so I was overjoyed when I spotted this one overseas. On the top shelf sit my collection of Nicholas Sparks books.

The tiny antique jewelry box and eyelet pot filled with peonies and roses are treasures I also found in England. Below that sits more of my favorite books held in place by an A book end, standing for Adamo. One of our many wedding albums takes up one whole shelf. I thought the colors of the album went well with the surrounding decor.

Detail was a must for the fireplace surround. I knew I wanted molding details and dimension. We used small sand colored tiles to create the mosaic around the fireplace insert. I wanted a new mantle with an old world feel to it and I think we were able to achieve that.

Jacklyn Lorraine

Shore Style (continued)

Shelves flank the interior wall where I display some of our shell collection in a glass jar. A shell tiled mosaic mirror helps reflect light from the opposing window. A wooden lantern brings a rustic touch to the display. One of my flea market finds is tucked next it; the blue glass Ball jar I bought while in PA. Some tiny white daisy peek out of it's top.


Light gray walls framed by white molding keep with the soothing beach aesthetic we were looking for. The use of ivory objects was intentional. Mixing different whites and ivories gives the room that beach infused feeling. The black shelves are an eysore right now. When I find time they will get a fresh coat of cream paint as well.


Jacklyn Lorraine