9/11 - How do you even start to write about this day....

September 11, 2001.  How do you start to write about this day. So many emotions come to the surface or lie deep down in wait. A day that will always stick with you. Today, I wrote on Facebook, "Today is a day to remember. Today is a day to honor. Today is a day of sadness but also of strength and connection. Today is a day to live, truly live in the moment. Grateful." I will write just a few of the many, many thoughts of the day here.

Everyone has their where were you moment on this day. Every story is important.

I was coming into work, pregnant, on the 33rd floor of the John Hancock Tower in Boston. I walked into my office and my friend/co-worker in HR said - Did you hear about the plane that crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC? She told me to try to get onto Boston.com but I wouldn't have much luck getting on the site because so many people are trying to access it. Then, news hit about the second plane and things started to get more serious. The DC office called wanting to close. My boss was in an employee meeting. It was around this time that I started to realize that one of our employees and a dear man might have been on one of the planes. He and I had to let an employee go the day before and I knew he was on an early morning flight to LA for a work trip. He had made his own travel arrangements online instead of through the office so determining if he was on the manifest was not as simple. I think 30 people called his voicemail, multiple times.

We had heard a rumor about the Sears Tower being hit and we immediately closed the office. Walking into the lunchroom with my boss where much of the office had gathered watching the television. I remember being surprised by this, realizing that this was much bigger than I wanted to admit to myself and that I had been so focused on the moment, strangely forgetting the world outside. My boss explained that the office was closing and an employee said, "Do we have to leave?" My boss' response, "They are targeting tall buildings. This isn't a good place to be right now."

I remember waiting in the elevator lobby until everyone left the building to leave myself. My husband was picking me up a block or so away from the building. I called a candidate to let her know her interview would be cancelled but she had been in the library and didn't know what was going on in the world. I said, "Bad things are happening. You need to go watch TV." We gave a ride home to a co-worker of mine and it was during the first part of the drive that the first tower collapsed. So surreal. I had just been at the Trade Center that July, eating dinner at Roy's. My friend worked there and we were visiting her and her fiancé on Staten Island. The ferry back to Staten Island that summery night, sitting in the back so we could get a full view of the Twin Towers. I won't ever forget that.

Meanwhile, we were trying to grapple with the stunning, incredibly shocking, possibility that John might have been on Flight 11. I called Security to have them go to our offices to get his personal file and emergency contact information. I passed it along to my boss so she could call them. John Jenkins was on that plane. My day was spent with my sister in law and close friend in my house, watching the news and me on the phone at various points for work about John.

That night, in bed, listening to the eerie silence sliced by fighter jets in the sky, rubbing my belly, wondering what kind of world I was bringing my child into. No, I won't ever forget this day.

When you hear about a death of someone you know, you mourn, of course. You feel the loss and it is very, very sad. Then, oddly almost, life moves on. Life moves on. It is a weird feeling. Disconcerting. Life is moving on without that person in this world. It puts our individual lives in perspective. 9/11 is different. You pause. You think about every detail of that day. Every person who was indirectly or directly affected or involved or helped. Yes, life does and should move on but it does pause today, ever so briefly. To remember. It is a day that warrants a moment of silence. Thousands of heroes were made that day and the days, months after....

People will deal with this day in their own way, as they should. But alone or in groups, this is a day for connection and strength, grateful for what we have, grateful for this moment. 

Put on Ugly Heart by G.R.L. and get cooking!

Seattle at sunset. Thanks, JC.

So, this is a comfort food meal. This is a downright gluttonous meal but boy is it good! It was requested by Sage, so I had to make it for her. A perfect fall dish. Rosemary Chicken from Sweet Basil in Needham, MA.  Sometimes I have made it and the sauce has been too thin. There is an optional chicken broth that I would omit and last night I made a simple roux with flour (didn't have cornstarch) and olive oil that worked. I would also consider adding slightly less cream than the 2 cups that it calls for! That might help thicken. I do like to add more asparagus and tomatoes too just because I always like more vegetables in the meal.

Rosemary Chicken, Sweet Basil
2 strips pancetta or bacon, diced
1T olive oil
Pinch unsalted butter
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch thick chunks
kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1 clove garlic (minced, about 1T)
2 pinches chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (I omit)
2 cups heavy cream (I would use a little less)
1 stalk asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch long pieces (about 1/2 cup) (I used a bunch of asparagus)
2 plum tomatoes, diced (about 1 cup) (I used 3 - would use 4)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used way more)
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, plus a pinch for garnish (I used way more)
1 lb dried rigatoni pasta
2 pinches chopped fresh basil, for garnish (I used a couple pinches in the dish as well)
3 pinches chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (I used a couple pinches in the dish as well)

In a small skillet, fry the pancetta or bacon over low heat until crispy. Transfer the crispy bits to a paper towel to drain the fat.  Reserve the fat in the skillet for cooking the chicken.

Heat a large skillet over high heat until smoking hot. Add the olive oil and the butter. When butter is melted and brown, add the chicken. Season the chicken with a pinch each of salt and pepper, searing both sides of the chicken until golden brown.  Decrease the heat, and then add the pancetta or bacon bits and a pinch of reserved fat as well as the garlic and the rosemary.

Continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes, until the garlic is toasted. Deglaze with the white wine and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until the liquid is almost completely reduced.  Add the optional chicken stock as well as the heavy cream, asparagus, tomatoes, and cheese (add cheese last to prevent burning). Continue cooking until the sauce is thickened to your liking. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the rigatoni, stirring to prevent the pasta from sticking. Cook for 6 minutes, or until al dente. Drain thoroughly.

Toss the rigatoni with the chicken, and then evenly distribute among serving bowls.  Garnish with basil, parsley and Asiago. Serve immediately.

Enjoy and have a thoughtful day, everyone!