Some things that make me cry

Recently, I sent Dylan a piece of creative nonfiction I wrote to get his opinion. He loved it, in part, he said, because I tend to express emotion more strongly in my writing, such as in my blog posts, than in person. I was a little surprised by that, given how easy it is to get me to cry as I've gotten older. But then I realized Dylan hasn't often been around when I'm doing one of the many things that starts the tap flowing for me, including:

1. Family gatherings where I have to say something about any of you;
2. Being injured and unable to run for an extended period;
3. Listening to the great German tenor Fritz Wunderlich sing "Ombra mai fu" from Xerxes by Handel;
4. Watching A.S. Roma beat Barcelona on a late goal in their 2018 Champions League quarterfinal tie, while Dylan and I were madly texting each other from across the country;
5. Watching the "you had me at 'hello'" scene from Jerry Maguire;
6. Watching the "I choose us" scene (among others) from The Family Man;
7. Watching the concluding scene from Crocodile Dundee;
8. Watching the concluding scene from "The Gift," Season 5, Episode 22 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer;
9. Listening to Grandpa Guy tell this story during our recent visit: After Grandma Pina died, my Zio Franco told Grandpa Guy that he had once asked Grandma Pina if she ever regretted leaving her close-knit family behind in Italy to marry Grandpa Guy and live with him in New York. Given how hard it always was on Grandma Pina to be 3,000 miles from her family, Grandpa Guy feared the worst. But Zio Franco said Grandma Pina immediately answered that she would do "everything the same" ("tutto lo stesso").

Okay, so being a sucker for sappy movies may not be tres manly, but I'd have to be a pretty cold-hearted s.o.b. not to well up at #9 on the list.

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This is a chicken dish I haven't made in years, but it's pretty easy and should be right up Dylan's alley, with the mushrooms and tasty sauce to serve over buttered egg noodles or dip some good bread into.

Chicken Marsala

Adapted from Christopher Kimball, from a "Kitchen Detective" recipe I can no longer find on the internet

Sautéed Chicken Breasts
~1¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts in most packs)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil such as sunflower or canola

Sauce
8–10 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms, rinsed and halved or quartered into bite-sized pieces, as needed
1 medium garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 teaspoon (5 grams) tomato paste
1 cup sweet Marsala wine
½ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 3 pats

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 200 degrees. 
    2. For the chicken breasts: Make cutlets by slicing each chicken breast in half horizontally: place the palm of your non-knife hand on top of the breast, then slice through the center of the breast with a sharp knife to make two even pieces. (You can see how to turn chicken breasts into cutlets here; no need to pound the cutlets with a meat pounder for this recipe.) Pat each cutlet dry with paper towels, then season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
    3. Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan (not nonstick) over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Lay the cutlets in the pan and sauté, without moving, until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary so the cutlets are browning, not burning. Flip the cutlets (tongs work well here) and sauté until golden brown on the second side, about 2 to 3 more minutes. Transfer the cutlets to an ovenproof plate and park in the warm oven.
    4. For the sauce: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the mushrooms to the pan and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they have released their liquid and browned some, about 6 to 8 minutes.
    5. Add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the Marsala and broth (do this off heat if you have an open flame). Increase the heat as needed to maintain a vigorous boil; cook until the liquid is reduced and syrupy, about 8 minutes. Add the juices from the chicken and cook for another minute.
    6. Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning. Add the butter, and whisk until melted and the sauce is thickened some. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce on both sides. Serve promptly, with buttered egg noodles and/or crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Serves 4.