Nov 10, 2010

The Junior League Project- Chicken or the Egg?


So we first turn to River Road Recipes, a classic for good reason.  however, it does include a few recipes which are wee bit dated.  My eye caught this Sunday Night Quickie and my curiosity was piqued, as it frankly sounds equal parts disgusting and intriguing. 

I can just imagine a young housewife in Baton Rouge, trying to get ready for a party, her hair in rollers with a kerchief tied around her head.  She's sweating in her late 1950's Louisiana kitchen, wearing a man's shirt and pedal pushers, dealing with a crying baby, and a a couple of sick toddlers. Frantic and frustrated, she makes herself drink, while trying to find a clean pair of stockings with the baby squalling on her hip.  Taking a gulp of her drink for fortitude, she stumbles on a clean pair of stockings, and finds her dinner plan in the pantry.  A can of soup won't go far enough, but mixing it with some eggs in resting in the icebox would do just right.  Her girl would be there to watch the babies soon, and she just need to get them fed.


So young Miz Benton came up with this concoction.

4 eggs, slightly beaten.
 A can of condensed chicken noodle soup.  I used alphabet, because my local grocery didn't have regular noodle.  I know.

 Pour into your buttered skillet and scramble.

Eat with toast. 

Well, Miz Benton, I think this should be renamed "Tummy Bug Kiddie Quickie".  It tastes like something your mama would make you when you're little and sick.  As an adult it tastes like chicken soup flavored eggs.  Which is disconcerting. And worthy of a couple bites, before it just gets bizarre.

 Even Buddy was not a fan.

So now it's time for one of the accomplished ladies of the league to help us.  Nothing like a roasted chicken on a late fall Sunday evening to make your husband a happy man.  I got a high five after this one.

Of course, garlic chicken has a stick and a half of butter, but I just ignored that aspect.  Stick some parsley, 1/2 a stick of butter, and a clove or two of garlic in the chicken's rear end. Then for modesty's sake, cover it with some tin foil.  I add some fingerling potatoes to the dutch oven.  Cover and put in a 300 degree oven for a couple hours, basting with a butter sauce every 15 minutes or so.  This gives you plenty of time to do some laundry, take your adorable new golden retriever for a stroll, take a bath, make some rice and roasted Brussels sprouts, and set the table.


This was delish.  I've been eating it all week.  The slow low roasting of the chicken led to a super juicy chicken, without the dreaded dry breast.  Now, Mrs. Duchien didn't tell me how long it was supposed to stay in the oven, so you just gotta keep an eye on it.  Poke it with a fork- if the juices are pink, then keep it cooking.  If you have a thermometer the breast should be about 160 degrees.

Now this was a great dinner.  The chicken was wonderful- again probably due to the butter.

I have a feeling that my jazzercise session did not cancel out this tender buttery chicken.  I wonder if Mrs. Duchien's face was as round as mine?

7 comments:

  1. this looks so good (the first one was hilarious!). I'm a jazzercise girl too! love my 1980's workout!

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  2. Buddy! I love the idea of making old-school crazy recipe. I have a vintage copy of James Beard's American Cookery and it has some doozies in it.

    I haven't roasted a chicken in forever. Time to get on that...

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  3. now those eggs just do not do it for me, either - but the chicken sure does, the butter addition is surely the winner here.... thanks for stopping by, hope to see more of you...

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  4. Ooohh... I LOVE my River Road cookbook - only if to get inspired. Although, they did have a very yummy baked chicken-noodle dish, that I can't remember the specifics, other than to say it was YUMMY!

    My grandma gave me her copy a few Christmases ago, when the Hubs & I got married. We're originally from New Orleans - where much of my family still resides & the lil sis goes to school... Geaux Tigers! So, whenever I feel like I'm getting homesick for some of those sticky swamps, crawfish etoufee, bright lights or those sweet Caijun people I call my family, I pull out my River Road cookbook & get down in the kitchen :-)

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  5. I'm sketchy about eggs to begin with but those might be the strangest eggs I've ever seen. What a crazy recipe! I loved your recap of the 50's housewife whipping it up though!

    Your roast chicken looked DELISH!

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  6. I love my River Road cookbook! I'm going to have to take it down and peruse the weird recipes now... I lvoe how so many list oleo as an ingredient. :)

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  7. Hey - I'm a Tennessee gal too and I am so glad I found your blog. I love old JL cookbooks (and new ones too for that matter) and some of the recipes are just like a trip back to the way we ate when we were children. What a fun idea you have :-)

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