Back in what seems like a lifetime ago, we’d go over to Victor’s mom’s house for dinner and she would invariably have chicken cutlets for us. Actually, it was chicken cutlets, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a nice salad.

And a nice salad has become a bit of a joke with us over the years with one or the other making the comment after describing what’s for dinner on any given night. Of course, it has to be said just right with the slightest bit of Northeast Philly twang. Way back in the day, before getting married and heading to Jersey, Nonna was an Adams Avenue girl.

A nice salad was always iceberg lettuce with a nice Kraft dressing with maybe Hidden Valley Ranch and tomato and cucumber for a special occasion. My father’s go-to dinner for us was veal cutlets with dirty potatoes and cole slaw with apple. The man was a great cook and could cook absolutely anything, but this was his go-to.

It’s been many years since either of them cooked for us and I would truly love to see either of them in the kitchen cooking away. But… it’s all memories, now. And a bit of humor. I mean… ya gotta laugh because it really isn’t fun watching them get old and it really sucks when they’re no longer around, at all…

So enough of the good ol’ days – on to today.

I pulled some chicken breasts out of the freezer before heading off to work this morning and when I got home, there was a plate of – you guessed it – chicken cutlets – in the ‘fridge just waiting to be fried up! I seriously love Victor being retired!

He mentioned he had a hankerin’ for a baked potato, and the next thing I knew, he was in the kitchen cooking the complete meal. Did I mention I love that he’s retired?!? Chicken cutlets, baked potatoes with sour cream, fresh steamed broccoli… and no nice salad. We had nice homemade rolls, instead.

And there are cutlets left over for sandwiches!

Victor did dinner, so I did dessert. I made a Pumpkin Pie – because we had not one, not two, but three cans of pumpkin in the cupboard. And we had all the ingredients to make the crust and the filling.

And whipping cream.