(Editor's Note:The following piece is from Barbara Krannich's "Simple Cooking For One" blog. You can find more information at http://simplemeals41.blogspot.com/.)

There are plenty of days when some odd something or another will trigger thoughts of places or foods from my distant past. The other day during a particularly bad morning, I made an off-the-wall comment about looking forward to a two martini lunch and somehow the conversation took a turn toward the past. Our conversation turned almost immediately to old Akron restaurants where you were likely to find business men sitting at a bar sipping their lunches. These places are nearly gone now, but those that came to mind were Nick Anthe's (still an icon on North Main) and Iacomini's on West Market. 

The other name to come to mind was Sanginiti's on East Market Street. In the 1980s, while working in downtown Akron, Sanginiti's was a rite of passage. As a young girl never exposed to anyone sitting at a bar at anytime, much less at lunchtime, walking into the place gave me quite a sense of sophistication. 

Well, needless to say, my martini lunch didn't happen last week, but it did inspire me to recreate a favorite menu item from Sanginiti's that I still remember very fondly -- chicken parmesan. My family never ate anything like this -- we were hillbilly pretty much all the way, so the only way we ate chicken was fried and pasta was reserved for spaghetti and meatballs served at our table only once or twice a year. So aside from the mystique of the bar open at lunch, the food was also a bit exotic to me.

This was the place I had my first Waldorf Salad and I still love to make these from time to time. But today was reserved for the chicken parm. This meal is easy to assemble with things most of us have on hand: shredded mozzarella in a sack and a wedge of parmesan from the fridge; a small jar of marinara sauce and some penne pasta or spaghetti in the pantry; and a chicken cutlet from the freezer. Twenty minutes later my dinner was ready with a glass of nice red wine alongside.

No doubt this wasn't up to the Sanginiti's standards, but it satisfied an itch of mine and allowed me to relive an old memory through food. I've made better versions of this in the past given more time and fresher ingredients, such as tomatoes out of the garden, fresh basil for my own marina and some fresh mozzarella from DiVitis. For today however, this was just the thing to satisfy an urge.

CHICKEN PARMESAN

1 4-ounce chicken cutlet
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of California seasoning (mixture of garlic powder and dried parsley)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup penne pasta
1/2 cup good jarred or fresh marinara sauce
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

See my blog for cooking directions and feel free to comment about your favorited Akron eateries, whether still here or gone but not forgotten.