I'm sorry that I've been out of touch lately, but so many things going on since Thanksgiving.

I went to the Mega Bingo at the Gold Coast with my sister-total value of prizes over two days-$500,000. My sister and I didn't win anything, but it was alot of fun.

I went to the Pahrump Winery in Pahrump, NV. Only 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas, but it took going over two mountains to get there. I bought a bottle of there Cream Sherry, which is excellent, but I'm using it for cooking mostly-more about that later. The winery is small, compact and surrounded on two sides by homes & though their grapes come mostly from CA, they are doing a very good job on their wines.

Also, we went to Bootlegger Bistro on Las Vegas Blvd. I was trying to talk my sister into going to the bar, so she could meet some men. But she thwarted me and insisted on the dining room, where I had an excellent Pollo di Saltimbocca. Which translates to chicken stuffed with cheese and Genoa salami, rolled in egg batter and sauteed with mushrooms & wine. I'm going to say the cheese was cream cheese and I'm looking for the recipe. It took forever to cook, but it was well worth the wait-the best.

Plus, I've been working on my EBay website-Valerie 2901 and now have 156 books listed. It's taken alot of time and is great. Lots of really good books listed, more than to come. I have at least 100 more great books to list. And back to media mail, with .99 listing. The sales are back-thank goodness and I may start making money again.

I have two books listed, worth looking into. They've already been bid on-so you need to be quick. The 1st book is Edible Wild Plants in Eastern North America. Actually, I got the book for a friend of mine, but she's in Idaho, where she works in a gardening place. I thought this book was for edible wild plants all over America-my mistake, but lots of people are watching this book.

Also, Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin. This book is a memoir of a New York hostess, who remembers recipes from the 60's & 70's with charming stories of past dinner parties. Look under EBay-Valerie2901 or general heading of cookbooks.

My picture on this website, is couple of years old & about 20 pounds heavier (but it does show my smile). I still need to lose more weight & I'm searching for the diet for me. I looked into Skinny Bitches, which is really a book that wants to turn you into a pure vegan-not for me. Now, I'm reading The Lazy Lady's Easy Diet, published in 1969, to see if this is the right fit. Anyway I need your support-everyone's support to make this diet work. I only need to lose weight for me, not for anyone else & that's the best reason to diet! My health is great, but I hate exercise, but may succumb to it-we'll see. Pictures will be published eventually. You know what diet works if you like fruit, including alot of mango & papaya-The Beverly Hills Diet-the original one. I've done this diet before & I can eat fruit, just not alot of mango & papaya. But this diet does work.

So I decided that I want to be famous like Paris Hilton and Khloe Kardashian-famous for doing nothing. I may be middle-aged, but I can do this. So if anyone knows anyone, who can put me on a morning TV show or anything. I'm going to be famous too, for doing nothing.. This is my new goal in live.

So my first recipe, using Cream Sherry: Cream Sherry Chicken

So wonderful, very rich, worth trying.

1 cup sour cream, 1 can cream of mushroom, 1/2 cup dry sherry, chicken pieces, salt, pepper, garlic powder, 1 can whole mushrooms, mild paprika

Combine sour cream, soup and sherry. Arrange chicken in baking pan and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour sauces over chicken. Pour canned mushrooms over top. Sprinkle lots of paprika on to top to give it color (otherwise it will look kind of gray looking). Bake in a 325 to 350 oven for about 1 hour. This sauce as stated above is for about 6-8 servings-I served it with rice. Also, I only planned about for 4 servings-way too much sauce for 4, but oh so... good.

That's all for now.

Cookbook Val