Vying for the spotlight: To catch a thief

A few weeks ago, while driving my husband Jerry to the Valley Stream Station (after he managed to saunter and putter around, thereby missing the Woodmere train), I found myself stuck at a light at the intersection of Mill Road and Sunrise Highway. While breathlessly waiting for the light to change (I had three minutes to get him there on time) a car in the opposite direction crossed the highway, cut in front of me and entered the park on my right, at full speed through an entrance not meant for cars, then onto the grass and sped ahead, stopping only when a body of water got in its way. The driver jumped out of the car and into the water, trying to get across as fast as he could, as if to escape pursuers (who we didn’t see).

Jerry and I looked at each other and realized we had to do something. As the light changed, I charged ahead toward the station while calling the police (hands-free of course). I explained the situation and they said they would send a squad car immediately. I basically threw Jerry out of the car and told him to run, not saunter up the steps and make that train! I then made my way back to the park, only two blocks away, and saw that the police were there. Not knowing if they caught the guy, I called back and described him, and gave a detailed account of what I saw. An hour later I remembered a few more details and called again. The officer thanked me for my help and said they had caught the guy. Satisfied with my good deed for the day, I hung up with a smile.

That Friday night over dinner Jerry said those words I’ve heard so many times before, “That reminds me of a story…” As usual, Jerry managed to shoehorn his way into my column.

Over 30 years ago, while out for lunch with a colleague, Jerry saw an elegantly dressed older woman across the avenue. Suddenly, a teen ran over to her, ripped a pearl necklace off her neck and knocked her to the ground, leaving her shaking and stunned. Jerry shouted to his colleague, “Let’s get him,” and ran full speed (probably the last time he ran!) to cut him off.

Although there were men chasing him from behind, Jerry’s brain, now in football mode, cut him off at the spot he anticipated he would end up at. Having played football in Marine Park with his best friends from Rambam — Mike Halpern, Neil Stien, Sol Genuth, Stuie Stern and Irwin Shulkraut — Jerry launched at him and made the perfect open field tackle, and got the kid in a headlock. People shouted to the kid, “Don’t worry, you’ll be ok.” Jerry shouted for the crowd to call the police.

He pleaded with them to understand that this kid just violently knocked an old lady down and left her shaking and injured on the ground while running off with her necklace. Still they felt for the young kid who was held in Jerry’s headlock. Jerry, as only Jerry can, was trying to reason with these people, asking them, “How can you want to let him go, look what he just did!”

Finally his colleague (not one to get involved), caught up to Jerry and went to a pay phone to call the police. Now Jerry, who was quite the athlete in his day, and is still quite strong, didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to “tackle this kid.”

“Didn’t the police cars arrive much quicker on TV?” Jerry thought. Eventually the cavalry (police) came to the rescue. Unfortunately, they couldn’t initially determine who was the bad guy and who was the good guy. After Jerry’s statement as well as his friend’s, the police arrested the boy and returned the pearls to the woman.

Speaking of pearls, I just love pearl onions and I think you will enjoy this recipe.

Chicken Breasts with pearl onions, mushrooms, shallots

Tweaked from a recipe from The Mayo Clinic Healthy Dinner Recipes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil

6 skinless, bone-in chicken breast halves, about 3/4 pound total weight, each cut in half crosswise equaling 12 pieces

1 shallot, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

1 pound small white button mushrooms, brushed clean

1/2 pound peeled pearl onions

3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable stock, chicken stock or broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a shallow dish, stir together the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour.

In a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter.

Add the shallot to the pan and sauté until softened, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and sauté until they begin to pick up some brown color, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the stock and wine and deglaze the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken and vegetables are tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Stir vinegar, chopped thyme, teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

To serve, place the chicken on a serving platter and top with the vegetables.

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