Washington, Jefferson, and FDR Memorials -- Washington, DC

Teressa's journal entry for Monday: We drove to the subway at 10:30 to get to the Washington Monument by 11:45 for our noon entry time. Up the big elevator we went, to the top of the world. It has a fabulous 360 degree view of Washington. It was one of those things that is good to do once, just to say you did! Gary, Brian and Laura were ready to walk the 500 feet to the top, but the staircase was closed in 1976 due to corrosion, vandalism and too many heart attacks.

From there, we walked all the way over to the Jefferson Monument and on around the pond to the FDR monument. Jefferson’s is large and open and quite magnificent to honor the man, his deeds and inventions. He had such a gift with words. Amazing. Powerful. The FDR monument consisted of a series of water falls. Different areas within the monument grounds related to the vastly different problems he encountered and solutions he implemented: World War II, the Great Depression and the soup lines, and the returning of people to work on federal projects.

We caught a cab to the Portrait Gallery where, after lunch, I bought a couple of gifts. First we returned to Ella’s for their wonderful pizza and their chicken polenta dish. Here is how they told me the chef made it…I’ll have to experiment with measurements:

ELLA’S CHICKEN WITH POLENTA CAKES

Chicken thighs (not white meat like breasts…need the juiciness of thighs). Lightly bread the thighs and pan sear them.

Then bake them in the gravy: (Probably at least an 45 minutes.)

Chicken gravy with a little red wine added
Red and yellow peppers (fairly thin long slices)
Onion slices
Capers

Hmmm…I’d add a little pepper and top with a sprig of basil

Serve with a crusty bread and maybe some polenta or a good rice or rosemary potatoes. Oh--and a glass of good wine!