I repent of my diets...

In the opening line of one of my favorite books, Isabel Allende writes, "I repent of my diets, the delicious dishes rejected out of vanity, as much as I lament the opportunities for making love that I let go by because of pressing tasks or puritanical virtue."

The book is Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses, and it is described on Amazon.com as a long, savory, enthralling ode to sensuality, bawdy memoir-cum-cookbook.

I discovered this book during the summer I spent in San Francisco in between my junior and senior years in college. I spent a large amount of time in the North Beach section of the city, studying my Italian and obsessing over men. I found it in an Italian bookstore and bought it immediately. I poured over it for about a year, making the recipes for family and friends.

I would love to dedicate this blog to going through each of Ms. Allende's recipes one by one and showing the results (a la Julie and Julia), but my problem with seafood (and my gag-inducing response to it) throws a wrench in that plan.

Instead, today I'll share with you one of my favorite recipes from this book:

Chicken Alegre

Ingredients:

2 slices hickory-smoked bacon, diced

2 cups chicken, cut in large pieces (I only use breast here, but I'm sure thigh would be especially tasty and tender)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (I use 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, because I love garlic)

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar

1 cup plain yogurt (I use greek yogurt here)

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and nutmeg to taste

1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed

2 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced

Preparation:

Saute the bacon and chicken pieces in the oil until golden. Add the corn, garlic, and vinegar and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Remove from the heat and place the chicken in a baking dish. Stir the yogurt and cream into the pan juices. Season with salt and nutmeg. Pour over the chicken. Cover with the spinach leaves and top with tomato slices. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes. The dish will be a beautiful green highlighted with the red of the tomatoes.

This meal serves only 2, as it is intended as an aphrodisiac for two lovers...

The aphrodisiac qualities in this dish are:

Spinach which, according to Ms. Allende, strengthens the body and longing to make love.

Tomato - "The red, juicy, sensual flesh created a scandal; so much credence was given to its powers that fortunes were paid for a single tomato. Virtuous women refused to eat it, but not their counterparts, who could then blame their peccadilloes on the irresistible tomato.

Garlic - said in Aphrodite to be sacred, erotic, medicinal and restorative. The one condition is using it is that both lovers must eat it, because you can smell it even on the skin.

Corn - symbolizes fertility and abundance.

Chicken, while the main dish, is not an aphrodisiac, nor is bacon... But both are delicious!

I hope you enjoy this delicious dish!