I went back up St. Marys Peak for the second Saturday in a row, this time with a good crew and visibility.  Why twice?  It has the highest TH in the Bitterroot, and thus the least amount of hiking for the skiing.  It’s also a very aesthetic mountain that sticks out just a bit further east than the rest of the big peaks in the range.  There is a reason they put a lookout on it.

It’s also skiing fantastically today.  What I couldn’t see last week was loads of fantastic ski terrain, in prime spring nick.  My legs and their forgotten ski muscles are pretty worked.

More media is uploading, but this evening I’d like to share a recipe for chicken that I invented a few hours ago.

-Place chicken breasts/thighs/etc in glass casserolle dish.  Pieces of meat should be approx. the same size.
-Pour in 1/3-1/2 of a bottle of red wine.  Wine leftover from the memorial day party is ideal.
-Add one standard can chopped, diced, or crushed tomatoes.  Bonus for cans with added onions and garlic, and without corn syrup or other crap.
-Lightly salt and spice (basil, oregano, lavender, rosemary [not pepper as it will scorch and taste bad]) both sides of the chicken.
-Generously cover the tops of the chicken pieces with plenty of: sesame seeds, thin sliced almonds, bread crumbs (the dehydrated kind), brown sugar.  Must use all of these! 
-Cook uncovered at 450 (F) for 20-30 minutes, ie until the tops of the chicken pieces have a nice crispy brown coating baked on, and the wine has reduced substantially.
-Serve as you see fit.  I suggest slicing the chicken and mixing with some pasta and sauteed spinach.  Spoon generous amounts of wine sauce on top.  Grated romano or parm would work well.

Oil from the almonds and sesame seeds are released at high temps, and mix with the sugar in a divine way.  Bread crumbs provide structure.  The top half of the pieces end up almost like fried chicken.  The bottom halves get steamed in a nice acidic wine broth, and will satisfyingly turn a deep purple.  Presentation options abound.