Romney Plodding Towards the Finish Line After Nice Dinner

Nate Silver at the FiveThirtyEight blog this morning:

If Super Tuesday once again demonstrated that Mr. Romney is not likely to win the nomination by acclamation, it also demonstrated (once again) that all of the other candidates have deeper flaws. Mr. Santorum had a good night relative to expectations, but his path does not appear to be a majority one, carving through a swath of prairie states that contain 40 percent of America’s landmass but perhaps 20 percent of its population — and not extending quite as far east as Ohio or Michigan, or quite as far west as Arizona.

 . . . .

If you were expecting the kind of dominant candidate who could win North Dakota and Tennessee despite once having governed as a moderate in Massachusetts, you will have been disappointed in Mr. Romney. You would also have been paying very little attention to national politics for the past year. Dominant candidates do not trail people like Herman Cain and Donald Trump in the polls. They do not lose the national polling lead to Mr. Gingrich after winning New Hampshire, or to Mr. Santorum after winning Florida.

Romney spent last night in his own home in Massachusetts.  The first time in many weeks.  He announced last night that his son, Tagg, was cooking him a nice dinner of Chicken Marsala.  Does this guy just not care how he sounds?  Does he want to just blow off the KFC voters?

Here is a good recipe for Chicken Marsala from the Food Network.  It's Emeril's and it took forever to load this morning.  I guess there were lots of political junkies asking themselves, "WTF?" 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
• 2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake)
• 3/4 cup Marsala
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup