6. CHICKEN

Chicken is a most rewarding dish, with which you can do practically anything, at any moment, in any way. William Randolph Hearst made it a rule that in every one of his nu­merous homes, there should ALWAYS be a cold roast chicken in the icebox. He might not visit that particular home for two years . . . but such was his power that 365 days of every year, a chicken was roasted tenderly and placed in readiness for his coming. . . .

Although the story goes that Mr. Hearst's servants grew very tired of eating up cold chickens, there is little doubt that under ordinary circumstances anyone would feel himself a millionaire if he could only open his refrigerator at any moment to discover within—a cold roast chicken!

Chicken, like shrimp, is good for any course but dessert. It can be absolutely plain-cooked (boiled, broiled, steamed, roasted) or it can be entirely a matter of its sauce . . . and almost nothing responds so amiably to the window-dressing of herbs, spices, wines, sweet and sour, minced vegetables and all the other gourmet tricks.

Chicken dishes, for this reason, often seem similar . . . because many of them start with disjointing and browning broiler sections. For instance:

CHICKEN NICOISE, NANTAISE, BENEDICTINE

In these great French dishes, all depends on the end-flavor you desire, for all are merely special sauces for sauteed chicken.

All chicken dishes will require every scrap of your quick-cookery time allowance—plus an extra 5 or 10 minutes some­times, to create a really tender piece of chicken (depending on the bird).

In, each dish, the first step is to brown chicken parts. If you start with the entire small chicken, set aside neck and back sections which merely take space in the pan and are not too rewarding on the plate. If possible, buy the chicken parts you personally prefer, whether breasts or thighs and legs.

To Start the Dish

Wipe chicken sections on paper toweling, melt 1/4cup butter in a large frying pan, and brown the chicken over medium-high heat. Reduce the flame, cover tightly and con­tinue to cook chicken while making the sauces.

CHICKEN NICOISE

Baked chicken with olive-tomato sauce.

Nice is a southern French city; its cooking is closer to Italy than Paris. For this dish, brown chicken parts in a mixture of 2 T olive oil and 2 T butter. Remove to an ovenproof dish with ¼ cup of fat, and bake tender in a 375 oven for about 15 minutes, basting once or twice, using pan juices.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce, as follows:

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

24 pitted black olives

8 small tomatoes, peeled and coarsely cut

1 cup dry white wine

4 T tomato sauce

½ crumbled bay leaf

1 pinch each: rosemary, summer savory, tarragon

2 T flour

4 cooked artichoke hearts, coarsely cut

In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and brown onion and garlic; sprinkle with flour and cook gently until golden brown, adding a little more olive oil if needed. Add the wine, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olives; season with herbs, and simmer over lowest possible heat for 20 min­utes.

Pour the sauce over chicken and return to the oven for another 10 minutes before serving.

CHICKEN NANTAISE

Chicken in a creamy onion-mushroom sauce, with wine.

Sauce:

½ cup dry white wine

½ tsp vinegar

2 small peeled chopped tomatoes

2 small tins boiled onions, drained

½ pound mushrooms, coarsely cut

3 T heavy cream

1 T chopped fresh parsley

salt, pepper, paprika

For this dish, brown chicken parts in ¼cup butter for 10 minutes. Add the drained tiny white onions and mushrooms and simmer in a covered pan, for 15 minutes.

Drain off most of the pan fat (leave about a tablespoon), stir in wine and vinegar, add chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove chicken and vegetables to a heated serving plate; add cream to the pan sauce, blend thoroughly and cook for 3 minutes.

Strain the sauce over chicken, top with chopped parsley and a sprinkle of paprika.

CHICKEN BENEDICTINE SAUCE

A creamy liqueur-flavored sauce for the chicken…

½ pound mushrooms quartered

¼ cup heavy sweet cream

salt, pepper

2 T Benedictine

Brown chicken parts with salt and pepper in melted but­ter; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add mushrooms and simmer 10 minutes.

Remove to a warmed serving plate.

Discard all but a tablespoon of the cooking fat, add % cup heavy cream and Benedictine liqueur. Stir smooth over low heat for a few minutes, and pour over the chicken just be­fore serving.

CHICKEN BRANDADO

A richly sauced, brandy-flamed chicken dish

Chicken sections for 4 serving portions(breast meat, legs and thighs, or what you like)

¼ cup butter

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup white wine

½ cup brandy

1 cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

salt, pepper, and ¼ tsp nutmeg

Saute chicken pieces in butter and garlic slices for 15 min­utes, turning to brown thoroughly. Remove garlic and dis­card.

Add wine and brandy, raise heat to warm alcohol and flame the liquor, shaking pan vigorously until brandy stops burning.

Reduce heat to medium, cover pan and simmer for 15 minutes until chicken is tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove chicken to heated platter. Add cream, salt, pep­per, nutmeg, and egg yolks (slightly beaten) to pan juices, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Pour over chicken before serving.

ARROZ CON POLLO and CHICKEN CACCIATORE

These are Spanish and Italian versions of chicken. Both recipes include tomatoes, but the Spanish version adds rice and colors it bright yellow with a touch of saffron.

2 thin sliced yellow onions

4 T olive oil

6 shallots or scallions, minced

Chicken parts suitable for 4(breasts, thighs and legs – or chicken wings, if you’re in a mood to save money)

½ cup seasoned flour(1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ¼ tsp chervil, ⅛tsp each of cumin powder garlic powder)

1 bay leaf

2 T minced parsley

½ tsp saffron, steeped in a tablespoon hot water

2 cups consommé

1 large tin of drained tomatoes

2 cups quick-cooking rice

2 sweet green peppers

½ cup sherry

Arroz con Polio (pronounced arROTH conPOYo)

Saute onions and shallots in olive oil. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour and brown completely in pan with onions. Reduce heat slightly, add tomatoes, bay leaf, parsley and consomme plus saffron. Cover tightly and simmer 15 min­utes. Add sliced seeded green sweet pepper and rice, and simmer 10 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

Finish the dish by stirring in the sherry and blending with the sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore (pronounced catchyaTAURray)

Italian chicken stew.

1 large sliced onion

4 T olive oil

suitable chicken parts for 4(breasts, thighs, and legs)

½ cup seasoned flour(1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp Marjoram, ⅛tsp garlic powder)

2 cup canned tomatoes

1 cup coarsely chopped sweet green peppers(seeded)

½ cup white wine

Saute onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, while you toss chicken parts in a brown-paper bag with seasoned flour. Add chicken (floured) and remaining oil and brown. Add tomatoes and peppers, cover and sautee 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add wine, salt and pepper to taste, and cook again gently for 10 minutes or until tender.

ROAST CHICKEN STUFFINGS

Roast chicken is always roast chicken, unless you spend your ingenuity on a basting sauce—but the plainest little pullet can rise to great heights by its stuffing.

A roast chicken, however small, will still take most of an hour, and there is nothing to do about this—aside from offering guests an extra drink and special canapes.

To cut cooking time slightly, however, you should choose two very small chickens rather than the elegant capon; make the stuffing beforehand and leave the birds ready to GO. If time will really be at a premium, you may dare to precook your birds for 10 or 15 minutes—in which case, wrap them in aluminum foil to prevent over-browning of the skin before final cooking.

Stuffing #1(a sweet-flavored Greek-Albanian stuffing)

1½ cups prepared package stuffing(or cubed stale bread)

½ cup butter

¼ cup each: seedless raisins and currants

2 T each: chopped black walnuts, chopped almonds, pignolias, hazelnuts(or plain walnuts and pecans)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup consomme

Saute bread crumbs in melted butter for 5 minutes; add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly, adding more con­somme if the stuffing seems too dry for your taste.

Stuffing #2(Chestnut stuffing, traditional American style)

2 tins plain cooked chestnuts(take care! You do not wish the chestnuts intended for dessert sauces)

3 shallots, chopped

2 T butter

½ lb sausage meat

1 tsp chives

¾ cup prepared bread crumb stuffing

2 T minced parsley

½ cup brandy

¼ tsp marjoram

Saute shallots in butter, add sausage meat, parsley and chives.

Cook 5 minutes gently, stirring with a fork to keep sausage crumbs separate.

Coarsely chop half the chestnuts; grind the other half.

Combine all ingredients and mix well, adding the brandy last to moisten the stuffing.

Stuffing #3 (for squabs)

2 small tins wild rice—thoroughly drained  

1 teaspoon sage

½ cup butter

tablespoon chopped fresh  

¼ cup minced celery parsley

½ cup consomme salt

1 teaspoon finely sliced onions

¼ tsp pepper

Saute onions in melted butter until golden; add all other ingredients, and toss about rapidly over medium heat until well blended.

CHICKEN CUTLETS KIEV

Rich and Russian (White Russian, obviously!), these are deep-fried buttery chicken breasts.

2 whole chicken breasts, split in half

bread crumbs hot frying fat

4 T very cold sweet butter

4 wooden skewers (resembling drumsticks)

2 beaten eggs

Remove skin from chicken and take the meat from the bone. Flatten severely with the flat side of a meat cleaver.

Place a tablespoon of very cold butter at one end of the chicken fillet and roll slightly; insert a skewer and continue rolling to the end of the slice, securing firmly with thread.

Heat the frying fat to 370.

Slightly beat eggs, and dilute with 1 scant T water; dip the rolled cutlet in egg and in bread crumbs. Fry in the hot fat.

Unless the chicken cutlet is very thick, 5 minutes should be sufficient cooking time.

MOO GOO GAI PAN (Chinese Chicken Almond)

2 whole raw chicken breasts, removed from the bone and cut in fine strips

4 T olive oil

2 cups bamboo shoots

2 cups diced celery

1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage

1 cup water chestnuts, sliced

½ cup blanched, halved almonds

2 T soy sauce

2 tsp Monosodium Glutamate(Accent powder)

3 cups chicken consomme

4 T cornstarch, mixed smooth in 3 T cold water

Fry chicken strips in olive oil over high heat, stirring con­stantly for 5 minutes.

Add everything else but cornstarch mixture, cover the pan and steam over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Stir in the cornstarch-water paste, using high heat and stirring vigorously and constantly to thicken the dish. Cook for 5 minutes. Serve at once with plenty of boiled rice.

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI

A delicious leftover chicken preparation, with the rich sauce beloved of the great Italian diva, Luisa Tetrazzini.

2 cups cooked chicken meat, cut in pieces

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

½ cup thin cream

½ pound mushrooms

6 T butter

3 T sherry

salt, pepper, ¼ tsp nutmeg

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup sliced truffles

2 cups cooked spaghetti

Saute coarse-cut mushrooms in butter over a low flame until soft and slightly browned (8 minutes). Meanwhile, cook ½ pound spaghetti in rapidly boiling salted water until tender. Drain and keep warm.

Combine soup, cream, sherry, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a double boiler and heat gently, for 8 minutes.

Add half the sauce to mushrooms and drained spaghetti; mix the other half with chicken and truffles.

Place the spaghetti in a buttered shallow baking dish (or distribute among four individual ramekins); make a well in the center of the spaghetti and pour chicken mixture into it.

Top with grated cheese, and brown lightly for 10 minutes in a moderate 375 oven.

CHICKEN DIVAN

Leftover chicken slices, on a bed of broccoli, topped by a rich cream sauce.

1 box frozen broccoli

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

3 T sherry

½ cup heavy whipped cream

½ cup Hollandaise sauce

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tin condensed cream of chicken soup

½ cup milk

4 large slices of cooked chicken

Heat the oven to 500.

Place broccoli in boiling water and slightly undercook (10 minutes).

Sauce: heat condensed chicken soup and milk, plus nut­meg, sherry and Worcestershire Sauce in a double boiler, stirring smooth. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove from fire and stir in ½ cup prepared Hollandaise sauce.

Drain broccoli, arrange on a shallow baking dish, sprinkle with ½ cup of grated cheese and top with chicken slices. (Ar­range for easy serving in 4 portions.)

Fold whipped cream into the warm sauce, pour over the chicken, top with remaining cheese and broil until the top is lightly browned, keeping the dish about 5 inches below broiler flame, for 10-15 minutes.

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