Part 1:You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties.. Part 2: Nudity.. it's hilarious.

Last night I had an emergency birthday feast alert and had to come up with something delish just *snaps fingers* like that. A friend of my sisters had been stood up at her birthday dinner by not just some, but ALL of her guests .... and to my shame I was planning also take a rain check on account of feeling more in the mood to stay home and watch Cars than brave the crush of people trying to relive the 70's and 80's at Boogie Nights club. So, when the distress call came through it seemed only right to hold the birthday dinner at my place and I made a frantic search through my latest issue of Dish to see if I could find something quick that involved ingredients that at least approximated things I could find in my cupboards and fridge.

Voila! My creation!
Seeing as it's a bit hard to actually see what the hell it is, in spite of my best effort at food magazine photography, I'd better elaborate:

It's chicken thighs stuffed with an oregano mix (the book said to use Tarragon, but you do what you can) and, according to Dish, 'deglazed' in chicken stock and muscat wine with vine tomatoes. It worked out crazy good and even the fussy eaters were impressed.

Assemble the following:
8 Chicken thighs or 'Marylands' - you have to use the 'skin on' version, for reasons that will be obvious shortly.
5 shallots
100g ricotta cheese (I used quarg)
6 tbsp Fresh oregano (or tarragon)
3 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
chicken stock
tomatoes still on the vine (it is better to use smaller ones than I did, and use more of them)
1 large pan that can go on the stovetop AND in the oven

Mix the ricotta, finely cut oregano leaves and crushed garlic together. Stuff this mix under the skin, being careful not to cause a blowout. You can tie the chicken bits with kitchen string if you want but I didn't have any and there was no excessive leakage.

Slice the shallots and sautee them in the oil in a large pan. Once they start to change colour add the chicken, then the chicken stock (enough to about half cover the chicken) then add the wine (I used about a cup) and tomatoes. Simmer on the stovetop for 5 mins covered. Uncover and transfer to the oven for half an hour or until the chicken is cooked right through and slightly browned. Serve with veges. You can pour a little of the cooking liquid over the chicken when served if you like, but I left it behind - along with the fat that had melted out of the chicken and into that sauce.

Of course, the rest of that wine didn't go to waste either... ;)

Nudity.. the funniest thing ever?

Due to the above partying activities of her mum, my niece Jasmine stayed the night and, as most 13 month olds do, got up with the sparrows to go jump all over Aunty Sara. I didn't hear her sneaking up on me and there I was, wandering into the bathroom in the nuddy, when she surprised me and I surprised her. Apart from her mum, I doubt Jasmine has ever seen a nude person before. She did this long, noisy intake of breath 'ooooooooooooooooh!' that signifies she has found something extremely interesting that she can hardly believe, then started to giggle.. and point. Pretty soon she was laughing with big hiccups, almost hyperventilating, and biting on her fist, then she walked in a few tight circles - that's her 'this is all too much for my little mind' move - and collided with the wall because she was laughing so hard that it threw her off course. Then she sat down and grinned toothily at me while I got myself decent.

Kids are put on earth to remind adults not to be so uptight. We should remember that bodies are fun, and funny. I was in C1 yesterday when a little boy asked his mum "where's Daddy?" and she informed him "He's gone to the toilet, darling". Spying his Daddy returning from the loo, the little boy yelled across the cafe "Dad, did you go poos in your pants???", and then again, louder "DAD, DID YOU GO POOS??" Equally funny was watching everyone in the coffee line trying to arrange their faces into an appropriate 'amused but not too amused' expression when really.. you just want to lean on the counter and laugh long, hard and inappropriately like a kid would do.