Do I Have To?

Last Friday I went on a date. Like a real date, with someone I'd actually met in person. So, this is a good thing, right? I'm wondering why I was filled with such dread. Little things kept coming up during the day that made me want to cancel. A fight with S on the phone. The oppressive heat. Too much work. The sneaking suspicion that I'd rather be at home in bed watching episode after episode of Mad Men.

But then S and I made up, I bought a new outfit after frantically texting and emailing everyone I knew for wardrobe advice, and I went on the date. It was fun. Not earth-shattering, but fun. He took me sailing in Boston Harbor. Being incompetent at sailing, I got to just sit around and make sure that I didn't get knocked out by the mast. We sailed by the ICA and Legal Harborside. I saw a part of the city that I love from a completely different view. After the sail we went to dinner. It was one of those places that you're sure will suck (too eclectic a menu and a bar filled with college kids and televisions), but it doesn't matter because you're sitting on a deck by the water. The food was surprisingly good. I got "drunken shrimp and lobster saute," and the shellfish actually tasted fresh. And while the recommended drink sounded dreadful and was served in a plastic cup, it was delicious and did its job to take the edge off.


Then we went back to his very cool place with a pool. And we made out. And that was as far as I wanted to go, which didn't please him, but I didn't care. He's not a bad kisser but not a great one either. He has this amazing, possibly sexy, New Zealand accent, but he mumbles, so while I love the lilt, I have no idea what he's saying half the time. It was pleasant, but we didn't really laugh. He likes good food, but doesn't read fiction. He's smart, financially secure, and available, but is that enough? Like Carrie Bradshaw would say "is a relationship a relationship without the zsa zsa zu?" That feeling of excitement and butterflies is missing in this case.

In a group of women I was with last week, I mentioned some glaring typos in one of his text messages (that couldn't even be explained away with the plague of the iPhone auto-correct). One woman looked me in the eye and said a little too definitively: You are going to end up alone.

Perhaps I will. I think I'd like to date some more, but I'm not wedded to the idea. I like a life of easy laughter and I'm just not seeing it with this guy. One of the best times I've had all summer was with a different (more supportive) group of women, six of us eating and drinking on my deck and laughing for hours. This is what I served:

Fricasseed Chicken with Eggplant and Fresh Tomatoes

Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

1 1/2 pounds eggplant

salt

1/2 pound fresh, ripe tomatoes

2 1/2 pounds chicken cut up

1/4 pound pancetta

2T extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, lightly mashed

1/2 c dry white wine

black pepper

1T parsley chopped fine

vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash the eggplant in cold water, cut off the green tops, and slice it into strips about 3 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 1 inch thick.

2. Place a colander over a bowl and spread the eggplant strips along the sides of the colander. Sprinkle liberally with salt and let stand for about an hour.

3. Cut the tomatoes into chunks

4. Rinse the chicken and pat thoroughly dry

5. Chop the pancetta very fine.

6. In a saute pan large enough to accomodate all of the chicken pieces (later) without overlapping, put in the olive oil, pancetta, and garlic and turn on the heat to medium high, keeping the pan uncovered.

7. When the garlic becomes colored a pale gold, add the chicken pieces. Brown them well, skin side down first to melt the fat, then on their other side.

8. Add the wine and sprinkle with salt and several grindings of pepper. When the wine has evaporated, add the parsley and the cut up tomatoes. Turn the contents of the pan over once or twice with a wooden spoon, then cover the pan and turn down the heat to medium. Turn the chicken pieces over from time to time.

9. While the chicken cooks, take a frying pan and pour in enough vegetable oil to come 1/2 an inch up the side of the pan. Turn the heat on to high.

10. Drain the eggplant strips thoroughly with kitchen towels. When the oil is hot enough to make the eggplant sizzle, slip as much of it into the pan at one time as will fit without overlapping or crowding. Fry the eggplant on both sides until it becomes colored a rich gold, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a platter covered with paper towels to blot.

11. When the chicken is done (it should be cooked through and feel very tender when pricked with a fork) turn off the heat and tilt the pan to spoon off nearly all the clear fat.

12. Add the fried eggplant, turn on the heat to medium, and cook for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Some of the eggplant may dissolve (yum), helping to make the sauce creamier. Transfer to a warm platter with all the pan juices and serve immediately.

* The eggplant may be fried and set aside several hours before cooking the chicken. And, as is usual with a braised dish, the entire thing may be made the day before and reheated gently just before serving.