In Death Series Reading Challenge: March 2011

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time of the year at wherever in the series you currently are. See the sign up post HERE
and join the fun!

After missing three months of the challenge, I finally read an In Death book this month! I don't know what happened that I couldn't get into the mood to pick it up before, but once I sat down and read the first couple of chapters, as usual, it was tough to put down. I hope this is the beginning of a new groove and I keep up with a monthly read from here on in.

How did you do?

CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS:
Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and enter in the Mr. Linky below along with your name so we can find each other's posts easily.

If you're just keeping a running list of the books as you read them, grab the link to your list post and enter in the Mr. Linky so we can recognize your success this month.

If you're reading or rereading without documenting it on your blog, let me know in the comments which book(s) you read in this month. This will also help me keep track of who's eligible for the challenge giveaway this month!

REMINDER: In order to be eligible for the challenge giveaway in April 2011, you must have read four In Death books between January 1, 2011 and April 30, 2011 and have documented that you have either on your own blog, on goodreads [please leave a link to your profile if we're not already friends there] or you can let us know what you read here in the comments of the monthly In Death Reading Challenge posts.

BOOK REVIEW:


Imitation In Death by J.D. Robb
Book 19

In this installment, Eve and her team are on the hunt for a murderer who is choosing his victims so that he imitates the madness and methods of famous serial killers from the past, including Jack the Ripper, the Boston Strangler and more. The only lead he leaves behind is a note on each victim addressed personally to Dallas. By tracing the source of this high end and illegal, un-recycled stationary, Eve has a shortlist of suspects to investigate.

I found this murder plot fairly interesting. Obviously not because the crimes were so unique--they're copy cat murders, after all, but I found it interesting to learn so much about the different suspects personal lives in the process of the investigation. Each suspect had very unsubstantial alibis that led Dallas to investigate further in their lifestyles to try to verify their whereabouts during the times of the crimes, catching the suspects and their family members in all sorts of lies. Which of course, led to some very interesting other revelations about their personal lives and potential motives for murder. I wasn't exactly sure who the killer was for most of the book, but my gut instinct proved correct in the end.

As always, I enjoyed the personal components to the story as Eve's relationships with her colleagues and friends and of course, her marriage to Roarke continue to evolve. I know I've mentioned it before, but I really adore the rapport between Eve and Peabody and how well they know each other. Peabody isn't as timid at pointing out Dallas' shortcomings, either.

For example, in one scene, Dallas tells Peabody that they will be returning to the U.N. to speak with one of the suspects who happens to be a very powerful politician who did not appreciate being questioned for murder. So much so that he filed a complaint against Dallas to her superiors.

     "We're going back to the U.N., to Renquist, and not risking federal imprisonment?"
     "We're going back to apologize, grovel, and eat massive portions of crow."
     "You don't know how to to do those things." Peabody looked mournful. "We're going to the pen."

LOL!

I also continue to get a kick out of Eve's uneasiness regarding anything outside of NYC. Eve and Roarke are in New L.A. researching an older murder case with the same MO as her current case in New York and Eve finds herself outside her comfort zone in such a sunny, laid back city such as New L.A.

      "Can't figure out why anybody lives out here," she said. "Just because they've had the big one doesn't mean there's not another big one just waiting to flatten them."
      "Nice breeze though," Roarke commented. "And they've certainly battled back he smog and noise pollution."
      "Whole place feels like a vid, you know? Or a VR program. Too much peachy, pinky, white. Too many healthy bodies with perfect smiling faces on thop of them. Creeps me."
      "And I just don't think you ought to have palm trees waving around in the middle of a city. It's just not right."
      "This should please you then. The building you want appears to be suitably shabby and unkempt, and the locals seem to be satisfactorily shady."
       She sat up, stifled a yawn, and looked around.
      Only about half the streetlights were working, and the building itself was dead dark. Some of the windows were riot-barred, others boarded. Several people skulked and slithered around in the shadows, and in one she spotted an illegals deal winding up.
      "This is more like it." Cheered, she stepped out of the car. "This thing got full security?"
      "It's loaded." He put the top up, engaged the locks and deflectors.
      "Her flop was on the third floor. Might as well poke around since we're here."
      "It's always a pleasure to poke around in a condemned building where someone might stab, bludgeon, or blast us at any moment."
     "You've got your kind of fun, I've got mine." She scanned the area, selected her target. "Yo, asshole!"

Classic Eve. I love it. :)


BOOK DISCUSSION:

I'm lacking creativity for our discussion topic this month, so I'm going back to the old AutoChef thing. I'm still stumped by how it all works. Having a "stocked" AutoChef is frequently mentioned. Exactly how does one stock their AutoChef? With fresh ingredients? Fully prepared meals that are fresh? Or frozen? Also, I'm under the impression that AutoChef's aren't that big. I suppose there could be different sized units--small ones for your office that maybe just have coffee and maybe a snack or two. Like a mini vending machine, right? Okay, fine. But what about the ones that produce freshly prepared full course meals? Those AutoChefs have to be pretty big in size, right? It stores and cooks the stuff. Or not if you order salad. How do they even know what dishes are available in there? How does this thing work?! Anyone else wonder obsess about this?


Don't forget to link up and thanks for keeping up with the challenge! :)

Books In the Movies

So much for getting my blogging groove back last week, huh? That plan backfired. I have nearly 1000 posts in feeds that remain unread--yikes! I think I'll be doing a lot of skimming, but I really want to catch up on what's going on with everyone and what you've all be reading and so on. As for me, reading has been kind of slow this month (what in the world have I been doing??), but I have read two really wonderful books that I hope to post about in the very near future. Needless to say, I miss blogging and interacting with all of you. I hope everyone's been well... happy, healthy and reading lots of great books!

Last weekend my little girl turned twelve. I can hardly believe it. To celebrate her birthday, she had a dinner, movie and sleepover party. Originally we planned to see the Justine Bieber movie, but it was no longer playing in any of our local theaters by last weekend, so I was spared. :o Instead, we saw Red Riding Hood. As a fan of fairy tale retellings, I was actually looking forward to seeing this one, but a little leery when I noted it wasn't getting such good reviews. Turns out I really liked it! I thought it was suspenseful enough without being too scary or gruesome and the romance part was subtle enough to not overpower the fact that this story is indeed a grim fairy tale--not a Disney romance. Although there was one scene for which I wished I had octopus arms so I could cover each of the girl's eyes. No nudity, but it was suggestive. Thankfully it lasted all of 30 seconds or so.

One of my favorite parts of going to the movies is seeing all the previews. For once, I walked away wanting to see almost all of the previewed movies, several of them based on popular novels that I have not yet read.

movie poster

book cover

The first was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I have seen this book everywhere over the last couple of years from bookstores to Target to the library, etc., and more recently when my book blogging friend, Michele told me she recently read it with her book club and loved it. Now that I saw the preview for the film version, I finally want to read the book, too!

movie poster

book cover

Another preview I saw was for the movie Something Borrowed based on the same titled 2005 chick lit novel by Emily Giffin. Hilcia read and reviewed this book several months ago and because she liked it, I thought I might give it a try even though I was hesitant because of the nature of the story. Basically the main character of the story is in love with her best friends boyfriend-fiance. You know that's just setting up for heartbreak and disaster, right? It looked like it in the movie, too. Frankly, I'm still hesitating about the book and the movie.

Have you read Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin? What do you think?

The third preview that grabbed my attention--although this one is not based on a literary work-- was for an upcoming dark fantasy film called Suckerpunch. Have you heard about it? It looks really bizarre, but that's kind of its appeal, I think. Set in the 1950s, a girl named Babydoll had been horribly abused and gets admitted to a mental institution where she transports herself into her own fantasy world to search for a way to escape the hospital. I'm not sure if the fantasy world is real or in this girl's head, but maybe it doesn't even matter. The special effects look amazing and the whole package looks like a strange, far-fetched, but thrilling ride. Of course the twelve year olds in the movies with me all thought Suckerpunch looked creepy and even my teenager gave me the weirdest look when I told her I wanted to see it. Apparently, you have to be a cool grown up like me to be suckerpunched by psycho girls in weird outfits, excessive makeup and wielding fantastical weapons while fighting their way through some grim alternate reality in order to escape institutionalization. Who knew?

The trailer:




Suckerpunch will be in theaters March 25.

Who else wants to see it?

I'd also really like to see the latest film adaptation of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, but it seems it's only playing in select theaters and none of those select theaters are in my neighborhood. I'll most likely wait until it's available to rent from redbox or netflix.

Another book to movie adaptation that I'm looking forward is Beastly by Alex Flinn that opened earlier this month. The book was one of my favorite young adult reads of 2010. I'll probably end up renting this movie down the road as well.

What book to film adaptations are you looking forward to?

Fitness Challenge Mid Month Progress Report: March 2011

Sorry I'm posting this a few days past our mid-month check point. I had plans of posting more this week and now, poof! It's Friday afternoon already! Anyway, I've been working out really hard in the last few weeks having already accumulated 69.5 fitness challenge miles as of today, just a few days past mid month. Let's hope the rest of the month goes just as well.

As I mentioned last month, I started swimming lessons one night a week, which has already helped me tremendously with my freestyle technique. However, I still find swimming nonstop really hard. It's the breathing. I find a do a lap and a half of freestyle and have to switch to backstroke to catch my breath. I understand that it's more difficult to breath while swimming because the water applies additional pressure to your lungs while you're in the water and well, you can't breath when your face is in the water (!), so hopefully I'll see improvement if I just practice, practice, practice. Which I'm doing one other day of the week now in addition to the lesson. We learned breaststroke in this week's lesson, which is just what I need because from what I understand from other triathletes, many swimmers alternate between freestyle and breast stroke during the race. I'm guessing freestyle is best for speed and efficiency and breast stroke is best for sighting the course and other swimmers.

How are you doing so far this month?

Do you use any home exercise DVDs?
"Move-type" video games such as Wii or Playstation Move?
On demand exercise shows?

I've been using the Get Fit with Mel B workout game for the Playstation Move lately on days when I'm unable to exercise outdoors or get to the gym for cardio. I'm still exploring all of the options in the game, but it's okay so far. Not as good a workout as what I can do at the gym or running or biking, but it's a good back-up workout.

Wishing you all a great weekend! Got any fun plans?

It's a gorgeous 79 F (26 C) right now here in NJ--a real treat for this time of year. I'm off to pick up sticks in the yard and rake out my flower bed while it's so nice outside. We'll be back into normal March temperatures in the low 50s F (11 C) for the next few days.

Pi Humor

It's been a while since my last post--nearly two weeks! Unfortunately, I haven't visited many blogs, either. I've just been unusually busy with different things, working out really hard and consequently falling asleep earlier than usual at night. I hope to catch up on my blog hopping this week and get some posts up here as well. In the meantime, a quick post to celebrate Pi Day, which is today!

March 14 was established as Pi Day in 1989 by physicist Larry Shaw to commemorate the mathematical constant pi, the date chosen because the first three significant figures of pi are 3, 1, and 4 which are represented by the date 3/14. In 2015, the first five figures of pi will be represented by the date 3/14/15.

How does one celebrate Pi Day? Discuss pi and eat pie, of course!

I'm making yummy Curry Chicken Pot Pie for dinner tonight. As for discussing pi, ponder this:

What do you get when you cut a jack o'lantern by its diameter?

Pumpkin Pi.

:)



Info gathered from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Day.

What I Read Last Month

February 2011

I read another interesting mix of books last month, including my first graphic novels! :)

Total books read: 9

Graphic Novel: 3
Romance: 2
Young Adult: 2
General fiction: 1
Cozy Mystery/Romance/fiction/whatever: 1


1. A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch
The Adventurer's Club, Book 2
I bought this book months ago after having read Lori's review. I picked it up one day on a whim and really enjoyed it. It tells the love story of the very proper and popular Theresa "Tess" Weller and the sullen and physically wounded soldier, Colonel Bartholomew "Tolly" James. Tolly is the brother-in-law of Tess' cousin. Everyone tiptoes around Tolly since he's come home from India crippled and so melancholy and ill-tempered all the time. Everyone, except Tess, that is, who has no problems telling him how rude and insufferable he is. This, of course, is just what the surly Colonel needs to start feeling alive again. Of course, spending time with the Colonel would be the most improper thing for Tess to do when she is supposed to be the epitome of a proper lady. Not to mention that she has already caught the attention of several acceptable suitors. Of course, Tolly and Tess fall in love anyway.

I enjoyed both of these characters immensely. Although their burdens were clearly very different, both of them needed to learn to forgive themselves and start following their hearts rather than what the rules of proper behavior. They each helped the other heal from their pasts and were really so well suited for each other.
Grade: B+


2. Kiss Me Deadly anthology edited by Trisha Telep
This young adult paranormal anthology was a great way to sample the writing of several prominent young adult authors. My review can be found HERE.
Grade: B



3. The Lover's Dictionary: a novel by David Levithan
This first adult novel by accomplished young adult author David Levithan offers the reader glimpses into the relationship between an unnamed man and his lover. It is more a sharing of the trials and tribulations of love through anecdotes than a story. Each anecdote or reflection accompanies a word and its definition from the dictionary from A to Z. Interesting story telling style and a very insightful and realistic look into the love between two real people, but it left me feeling a little undecided about the couple and the book because I don't know what happened to their relationship. I couldn't ever decide if they were happy together or not. Did they stay together or did they break up? I'm sure the author intended the reader to feel this way, but it unsettled and disappointed me. Perhaps I'm too idealistic in my romantic views of love.
Grade: C


4. Marly's Ghost by David Levithan
Another book by David Levithan, Marly's Ghost is one of his earlier works. This story is a modern retelling of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with a Valentine's Day twist. Ben is a teenage boy whose girlfriend Marly has recently died from cancer. Stricken in his grief, he has become a scrooge on anything to do with love. With the help of ghosts from the past, present and future, Ben is reminded to live life to the fullest and with love in your heart just in time for Valentine's Day.
Grade: B




5. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
I finally read this very popular, well loved Jennifer Crusie novel and I absolutely adored it. It a funny and romantic love story that will have you sighing on one page, laughing on the next and thinking "uh oh" on the next. Really a fun read. You can read my review and a book club discussion HERE.
Grade: A

6. Amulet
Book One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
I'm admittedly brand new to the genre of graphic novels, but I have to say this book packs both fantasy adventure and coming of age into one dramatic story. After a family tragedy, Emily and Navin move with their mother to a distant uncle's old house in the country. Emily discovers an elaborate study and in it, a curious and subsequently powerful amulet. Emily and Navin soon also discover a dark, fantastical world hidden beneath the cellar where a tentacled creature has kidnapped their mother. Emily and Navin embark on a dangerous search for their mother, finding both friends and foes along the way.

My middle schooler is reading this series with me. She's on book two already, finished book three while I typed this! I'm anxious to start book two this week.
Grade: B+

7. The Good Neighbors
Book One: Kin by Holly Black & Ted Naifeh
This graphic novel is a young adult urban fantasy story of the dark world of the faerie. Teenager Rue Silver's mother has gone missing and her father is under suspicion for her murder. To make things more confusing for Rue, she starts to see strange things that no one else is noticing. Faerie things. As she learns the truth about her heritage, Rue becomes entangled in the faerie world.

Although this kind of urban fantasy faerie mythology and story premise isn't exactly fresh, the novel is still a great introduction to the Good Neighbors series. Readers who enjoy dark faerie worlds and teenage angst will certainly enjoy this story. It ends on a cliffhanger, so be prepared with the second and third books at the ready.
Grade: B

8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Graphic Novel adaptation by Amy Corzine
I'm so glad I discovered this graphic novel on the library shelves. This is a graphic novel of the classic Jane Eyre novel by Charlotte Bronte in Original Text. While I know it is not the same experience as reading the original classic novel, at least now I finally know the story and am familiar with the characters. The book includes a character glossary and a lot of information about Charlotte Bronte herself. This graphic novel is a great way to introduce reluctant readers to a classic novel of British literature.

As for the story itself, I never realized how depressing the story of Jane Eyre really is. What a life this poor girl had, but what determination to make the most of her life and not compromise her instincts. You can't help by admire her tenacity to survive and her determination to preserve her individuality and sense of worth.
Grade: B

9. Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber
A Lucy Valentine Book, Book 2

The Valentine Family runs a successful match making business that uses the psychic ability to see the colors of people's auras to make compatible matches. A childhood accident zapped Lucy Valentine of those abilities, but left her with the unusual gift of being able to determine the location of lost objects. In this story, Lucy is using this gift and working with her new boyfriend, private investigator Sean Donahue to help solve two different missing persons cases. Add a slew of complications and dramas such as the unwelcome arrival of Sean's ex, pre wedding troubles for Lucy's best friend and much more, and you've got a really fun and crazy story that is sure to surprise you with it's warmth and character depth.

I'm not even sure what genre this book is. It's part psychic mystery, part romance, part chick lit... but you know? It doesn't even matter. The important thing is that it's such a great read. The books in the series are fun and light hearted, but just when you think it's fun, romance and adventure, it packs some unexpected depth and emotional punch. Deeply, Desperately is even better than the first book in the series, Truly, Madly, both really delightful reads. I'm looking forward to reading Absolutely, Positively that just came out last month.
Grade: A


Questions? Comments? ;) 

What was a favorite book you read last month?

Fitness Challenge Report Card: February 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles* goal in your comment.

*NOTE: One fitness challenge mile = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR a 15 minute increment of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.


So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

I set my goal for 100 fitness miles and came in at 96.1 miles. I spent most of my workout hours in spin class and strength training, followed by boot camp and kickboxing. I knew meeting my goal this month was going to be a challenge because February is a short month and I knew ahead of time that I was going to miss a few days in the beginning of the month. Yet I ended up coming much, much closer to my goal than I expected, so I'm still pretty pleased.

I'm even more pleased to be ending the month on really high note because I ran a 5K Race [3.1 miles] yesterday and ran my all time personal best! :D

Almost at the finish line.
I hadn't spotted my husband yet, otherwise I would have smiled. :)

Not only did I meet my fitness goal to run a 5K in 31 minutes, but I had seconds to spare!!!!

Jan. 1, 2010 5K    Race results: 34:51 11:19 min/mile pace

Feb. 27, 2011 5K Race results: 30:44.60 9:54 min/mile pace

Wooooooo!!!!!

That's over four minutes off my time from last year! I'm SO thrilled with this time. As if it isn't obvious, right? ;) I totally surprised myself yesterday. I set that 5K in 31 minutes goal and hoped I would come close, but didn't think I'd quite make it because I haven't run better than an average 10:17 min/mile pace before.
But I DID it!  

I'm looking for the official race results.
I'm anxious to know if I broke a 10:00 min mile pace!

Yesterday I ran an average pace of 9:54 minutes per mile!

Thank you to those of you who cheered me on yesterday when I posted about the race on twitter and facebook. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. :)

This race was originally scheduled for January 1, 2011 but had been cancelled and rescheduled twice since due to snow and ice conditions. I'm so glad it finally took place yesterday and the weather was perfect. Overcast, but temperatures were upwards of 50 F [10 C].

I'm going to set my fitness challenge goal at 100 fitness miles again for March. :)

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for February?

Did you have trouble meeting your goal?

If so, what were some of your obstacles?
Time? Motivation? Illness?

I hope you all join me again for March! :)
Please include your new fitness miles goal in the comments.

Thank you all for participating. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Exercising minds want to know....


Do you own a jump rope?



[*Playstation Move workout]

In Death Series Reading Challenge Post: February 2011

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time of the year no matter where you are in the series. See the sign up post HERE to join the fun!

I am failing miserably at this challenge this year. I am at slump in this series and I don't know why. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with the series, but more to do with a recent interest in exploring other genres. In any case, I'd better get back on track next with this challenge next month or else it'll just get harder to pick up momentum again.

I hope you did better than I this month. Please share what you've read.

CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS:
Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and enter in the Mr. Linky below along with your name so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily.

If you're just keeping a running list of the books as you read them, grab the link to your list post and enter in the Mr. Linky so we can recognize your success this month.

If you're reading or rereading without documenting it on your blog, let me know in the comments which book(s) you read in this month. This will also help me keep track of who's eligible for the challenge giveaway this month!

REMINDER: In order to be eligible for the challenge giveaway in April 2011, you must have read four In Death books between January 1, 2011 and April 30, 2011 and have documented that you have either on your own blog, on goodreads [please leave a link to your profile if we're not already friends there] or you can let us know what you read here in the comments of the monthly In Death Reading Challenge posts.

BOOK DISCUSSION:
I think maybe everyone has read enough books in the series to have come across someone stealing Eve's personal stash of candy in her office. She's started to hide her candy bars, but the thief is still managing to steal her candy.

Who do you think is the candy thief?

If you definitely know who it is because it has been revealed in later books, please don't spoil it. Speculations only!!! Thanks! :)

I have no idea who it might be.

I don't think it's Peabody. She already begs for Eve to share whenever she eats candy in front of her. I don't think Peabody is so gluttonous to steal and eat Eve's stash behind her back, too.

Feeney seems too obvious a choice.

It would be funny if it were Roarke, but he's supposed to be too busy buying and selling and owning half the world to be sneaking into Eve's office when she's not there to steal her candy.

Summerset would do it just to piss her off, but again... showing up at Eve's office for any reason would be beneath him.

Nadine? Nah.
McNab? Maybe.
Commander Whitney!? That would be funny.
Dr. Mira? That would be even funnier!

Who else could it be?


BOOK REVIEW:
None.

RECIPE: Chicken Marsala

My inspiration for sharing my recipe for Chicken Marsala comes from having recently read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Bet Me is a fun contemporary romance that I recently reviewed here on my blog and for which I hosted an online book club discussion. [See previous post]. The couple in the story--Min and Cal, go to a little-known Italian restaurant called Emilio's for their first date. The date proves to be disastrous, but the Chicken Marsala is phenomenal. Despite trying to avoid each other, Min and Cal keep crossing paths and can't help but fall in love. It's quite an adventure, and throughout it all, everyone is eating a lot of Chicken Marsala.

I guess we'll never know if my recipe could top Emilio's, but mine seems to go over quite well in my house, so maybe it will in yours as well.

Chicken Marsala

1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon paprika, optional
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion
1 garlic clove, minced
8 oz. baby Bella mushrooms [or white button]
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good quality Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce


Trim fat from chicken breasts. Horizontally slice the thick portion of the chicken breast so that the pieces are of uniform thickness.

Lay pieces of chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or heavy can [such as a can of tomatoes] to pound chicken. Start at middle of the piece of chicken and work your way out to the edge of the meat.

In a shallow dish, combine flour, paprika [if using], salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in flour, gently shaking off excess.

 Melt about 1/3 of the tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet or a well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat.

Add about 1/3 of the chicken pieces into the hot skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 7 minutes, turning half way through. Remove chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Add another 1/3 of the tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and brown several more pieces of chicken, cooking until lightly browned.

Repeat with last remaining butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and remaining chicken, watching carefully not to burn chicken, especially towards the end when some flour and chicken bits may be stuck to bottom of skillet. You may want to lower the heat a little bit if it looks like the bits are getting too dark.

When all of the chicken is cooked, add another 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet along with the onion, garlic and mushrooms.



Give the onion, garlic and mushrooms a few good tosses to combine and to evenly coat with olive oil, then let it cook undisturbed for 1-2 minutes. If you keep tossing the mushrooms, you end up steaming them instead of sauteing them and they will never brown. You get the most flavor from the mushrooms by letting them brown and caramelize so don't over handle them. After the first minute or two, gently stir. You want to see that the mushrooms have browned, like in the photo below:

If they have browned, stir a few more times and then let everything sit again. If they have not browned, let everything sit another 1-2 minutes before stirring.

Once the onions and mushrooms have browned nicely, season with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add the Marsala wine and cook for 30 seconds, stirring the browned bits from the bottom of the pan until they have dissolved into the wine. Then stir in the broth and soy sauce.

NOTE(s):Buy a decent quality Marsala wine from the liquor store. It's not that expensive and will definitely make a difference in the taste of this dish. Do not use the cooking wines you can buy at the supermarket that is sold alongside the vinegar. Those cooking wines will ruin the flavor and quality of the entire dish. Buy real Marsala wine for real Chicken Marsala. I'm sure Emilio would say the same. ;)
I'm sure he wouldn't say the same about adding soy sauce to Chicken Marsala. I know it sounds unconventional, but soy sauce is often my secret ingredient for adding depth of flavor to a dish that salt just can't achieve.

Return the chicken to the skillet, lower the heat to low and cook, covered, for about 10-15 minutes.

I always serve Chicken Marsala over pasta such as fettuccine, but you can also keep it simple and serve with a nice loaf of Italian bread alongside the chicken. Sauteed spinach and a tossed salad would make nice accompaniments as well.


 I hope you give both Bet Me and my recipe for Chicken Marsala a try. Please let me know if you do!

:)

REVIEW & DISCUSSION: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

C This book is the February selection for the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club, representing letter C.

Bet Me is a fun, sweet, romantic story about two people who come together over a bet and end up taking their chances on true love. Although, in the end, you can be assured their happily ever after is a sure thing.

Min Dobbs has just been dumped by her boyfriend David in a bar. She's crushed and angry. It's not like she was in love with the guy, but she was working on it. He seemed to have all the right credentials to be 'the one,' after all. Now she's left without a date for her sister's upcoming wedding, which wouldn't normally bother her, but she'll never hear the end of it from her over-controlling mother.

Calvin Morrissey is a charmer and a heart breaker who has a reputation for dating a girl until she falls for him and then promptly breaking it off. Cal is at the same bar as Min when she has just been dumped. He's out with his friends and business partners, trying to avoid his most recent ex.

Min's friends encourage her to get over David asap by approaching a good looking guy in the bar and introducing herself. She and her friends single out Cal. As Min crosses the bar, she overhears David making a bet with Cal that he couldn't get the girl in the boring gray suit to sleep with him within a month. She realizes David means her and is obviously furious, but decides to play along just to burn David and maybe have a date for her sister's wedding in a couple of weeks to boot!

Min and Cal leave the bar together and grab a bite to eat at Emilio's Restaurant which turns out to be fabulous. The food, that is. The date, not so much. Min and Cal clash and bicker over everything! Yet there's this underlining current between them like gravity pulling them together. Yes, their conversation is prickly, but aside from the whole bet thing, they're honest and comfortable with each other to just be themselves. They part ways both happy to never see each other again--Min giving up on the wedding date idea and Cal thinking 'good riddance' to the woman who's taking out her anger against her ex-boyfriend on ALL men! Only it doesn't work out that way and Min and Cal continue to cross paths, slowly getting to know each other, quickly falling in love although of course, they don't want to admit it.

Bet Me is so much fun to read. It's fast paced, charming, funny, sweet, romantic, loaded with great dialogue and full of little surprises. The cast of secondary characters and all of the connecting side stories are entertaining and add a lot of drama and warmth to Min and Cal's love story. There are misunderstandings galore over the bet--make that bets, that will keep you laughing and guessing until the very end exactly how it will all work out.

If you haven't yet read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, what are you waiting for? I bet you'll just love it!

WARNING: This discussion and the comments below are a SPOILER ZONE! If you have not yet read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie you have been warned that there are SPOILERS AHEAD. Read at your own risk.

BOOK DISCUSSION:
This is my first time hosting the book discussion for the monthly Authors By the Book book club and Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie was my selection. If we were a book club that met offline, we surely would have had to met at a little Italian restaurant where we could chat about Min and Cal and the supporting cast of characters over Chicken Marsala, don't you think? ;)

Bet Me is a cute, light hearted romance. The characters and story is engaging yet my questions are quite simple.

Feel free to answer some or all of the questions on your own blog or here in the comments, You can also just Feel free to pose your own questions to the group in the comments or share what you didn't like about the book, too!


1. What did you think of 'the bet'? Do you think Min should have just asked Cal about it or do you think she was right in waiting for him to reveal it himself?

I thought the misunderstandings over 'the bet' were great. It kept things unsettled throughout nearly the entire book with both Min and Cal keeping what they knew about the bet to themselves instead of being honest about it. I mostly wanted Min to just ask Cal about the bet, but I completely understood that she wanted him to be the one to bring it up. It was her way of protecting herself from disappointment if the truth was that he really was just dating her for the bet. And even then, how would she have known if what he said was the truth if she did ask him. He could easily lie to her and still win the bet, right? The answer is that the only way she would believe him would be to trust him. Something that was difficult for both Min and Cal to do for a while. Thank goodness they straightened it all out and finally figured out to take that leap to trust and love each other regardless of that stupid bet. And how fun was that??? :)

2. What is your favorite scene in the book?


I have many, but here are a few of my favorites:

Every time Min and Cal kissed. I know it's sappy, but I can't help it. It's the romantic in me that felt all "awwww..." every time, because each and every time Min and Cal kissed it was unexpected, sweet and romantic. Every kiss was like a perfect first kiss and I loved how they both felt surprised at how strongly they felt for each other.

Another favorite scene is when Min, Bonnie and Liza are having dinner at Min's apartment and Liza tells Min that Cal is trouble and Bonnie tells Min that she thinks he's 'the one.' Liza and Bonnie had completely opposite views on Cal and I loved how convincing and determined Bonnie was when she stood up for believing in true love. She has some really great lines in that scene. [pp. 169-172 in the hardcover edition].

I also loved the very end of the last chapter [before the Epilogue] when Min and Cal discuss whether they'll actually live "happily ever after" once they're married.

3. Who is your least favorite character and why?


While I thought David was pretty much a jerk, I didn't think so highly of Cynthie either, although by the end I did feel sorry for her. My least favorite character, though, has got to be Min's mother, Nanette. Her obsession with controlling Min's diet and putting so my emphasis on her figure as an indicator of her happiness in life was crazy! At first, I thought Nanette just wanted to help Min fit into her maid of honor dress, but soon enough I figured out that she was just shallow and mean to reduce Min's self esteem, the last thing a mother would want to do to their child! Ugh. Although Min often told her mom to get over it, she was born with curves, end of story, it wasn't until Min's sister Diana finally told off Nanette that I finally cheered.

4. Who is (are) your favorite secondary character(s) and why?


I think the cast of secondary characters in this book is awesome. Cal's friends Roger and Tony, Cal's nephew Henry, Shanna, Min's friends Bonnie and Liza, and her sister Diana are all favorites. Everyone comes across very realistic and I enjoyed all the little side stories that were going on. Maybe Bonnie is my absolute favorite of that bunch. She had such a great attitude and despite her sometimes too-rosy view of life, she had some really great insights for her friends.

5. Do you believe in the fairy tale ending of finding true love and living happily ever after?


I imagine most of you do, otherwise you wouldn't be reading a book like Bet Me! :)

I believe in true love and living happily ever after, but it's dynamic-- constantly evolving and moving forward over time without the 'the end' part. There are ups and downs, give and take, hard parts and easy parts, but you stick together and love each other through it all and that's what living happily ever after is all about.

At very nearly the end of the book, Min says she's worried about what comes after the fairy tale ending:

"--but I'm worried. There aren't any happily ever after stories. That's where it ends. Where the hard part starts."

"All right," Cal said. "So?"

"So," Min said, meeting his eyes. "What are we going to do?"

[...]

"We're going to take it one day at a time," Cal said, holding on to her. "I don't know anything about this, either, I didn't plan for this, but I think we just stick together. Take care of each other. Pat each other on the back when things get tight." When she still looked unsure, he smiled at her with so much love in his eyes that she went dizzy, and then he said, "Bet you ten bucks we make it."

:)

200 Days to Race Day!

Some of you may remember back in October when I announced that I registered to participate in my first triathlon. The race is a sprint triathlon {1/2 mile swim [0.8 km], 12 mile bike [19.3 km] and 5 K run [3.1 mile]} that takes place in September 2011, exactly 200 days from today. I only figured this out an hour or so ago and am excited to start counting down the training days to race day.

I registered for the Tri with several of my regular workout buddies, but a couple of weeks after signing up for the Tri last fall, I learned that another friend of mine (not a workout friend) also signed up for the same race! We were both excited to discover this and have talked about training, what to expect, what we're worried about, etc. often over the last few months, both of us expressing a lot of anxiety over the swimming. Today she emails me to say that she signed us up for semi-private swim lessons at our community indoor pool and it starts tonight!

Say what? At first I wanted to laugh, but I knew she wasn't kidding and that this was probably a great idea to get me in the pool and start training--starting with learning how to swim freestyle properly. So I consented and was at the pool a few hours later for our first lesson. I'm also counting today as my first official day of training for the Tri. Out of curiosity, I later looked up how many days there are until race day and discovered that it is exactly 200 days away from today! Let the countdown begin!

I'm so glad we took the plunge tonight.  {ha ha! pun intended}

Are you a swimmer? 


What's your favorite stroke?


I can't do butterfly at all and freestyle is probably my weakest stroke, but only because I never learned proper breathing technique. Hopefully I'll get that straightened out over the next several weeks of lessons. :)