Marlena and Me

Marlena Spieler has been teaching me how to cook and influencing my taste ever since the day (many, many years ago) that Mom came home with a colorful paperback called From Pantry to Table: Creative Cooking From the Well-Stocked Kitchen. I couldn't help but listen to Marlena. Her writing was as lively and captivating as her recipes were, full of (then) exotic ingredients, self-deprecating humor, hints of life and travel in far-flung countries and casual suggestions for tweaking her recipes as if you knew what you were doing. Her recipes were primarily prose, her directions were casual, and her voice was the friendliest and smartest I had ever encountered in a cookbook. I read it from cover to cover. Her words became part of the running cookbook in my head, and the pictures that she painted of food shaped my ideas of what I wanted to cook and how I wanted to live with food. I loved her unapologetic passion for garlic and her way of dancing through the Mediterranean for flavors, then throwing in an ingredient from Asia or South America just for kicks. Her food is spicy, brash, and vibrant, but simple all the same. If you can find one of her many books, particularly this one, do get it. She will make you want to cook. Immediately.

This recipe, shaped from two of her recipes and a casual suggestion, became one of the few dishes that I genuinely felt pleased with almost every time I made it as a relatively new cook. It is casual, messy and bright in flavor. And I apologize to Dad for posting yet another chicken recipe. I'm seriously not even that fond of chicken, I swear. Next up, meatballs and pie!

Rosemary Garlic Chicken Sandwiches
Adapted from From Pantry to Table, by Marlena Spieler

Marinated Chicken:

4 chopped garlic cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (the sandwiches will be easier to eat if you pound these a little bit)

Combine the first four ingredients and pour over the chicken breasts. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the aioli.

Olive Aioli:

2 minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Puree garlic and olives in a food processor or blender, then add rosemary and mayonnaise and blend well. Drizzle in the olive oil slowly. When it is fully combined, add the lemon juice and chill for a bit while you grill the chicken breasts.

The Sandwich:

4 large crusty rolls
4 rosemary-garlic grilled chicken breasts
Olive aioli
Roasted red peppers
Arugula or another herby and robust lettuce mix

Slather the rolls with the aioli, pile on the chicken, peppers and lettuce, and enjoy.