Rappie Pie!

contributed by Canada

Well, here I am again, after a little post-Kitschmas break. I promise I'll be up and running at full speed soon, h-honest!

Today's offering (it's our anniversary, so I avoided something potentially disgusting) is a dish Dr. Husband and I tried in Canada a couple of summers ago, Nova Scotia to be precise.  Rappie Pie (from the French patates râpées) is a traditional Acadian dish made with potatoes and whatever meat or seafood you might happen to have lying around. Most commonly chicken, so that's what I used.

You'll need chicken, cheesecloth, and potatoes. LOTS of potatoes. Most recipes call for 20 pounds (rappie pie is often served at Christmas or other large family gatherings, so recipes are designed to feed a crowd.)  I used five pounds, and maybe could have done with ten...five pounds yielded only a medium-size mixing bowl full of grated potatoes.

Oh, did I mention the grating?  The potatoes need to be grated within an inch of their lives.  I cheated and used a food processor (the actual chopping blade, not the grating blade - you're not making hash browns, you want a very very tiny grate.)  Some people these days use a juicer with a pulp gathering feature.  Because, you see, once the potatoes are grated, you're going to wrap them in cheesecloth and squeeze all the liquid out of them.

(If you're in Canada you can order frozen blocks of already-grated-and-squeezed potatoes...but they won't ship to the U.S. Thanks, Obama.)

Keep track of exactly how much liquid you extract from the potatoes, because you're going to replace it. With chicken broth.  Oh, did I mention that while you're grating the potatoes, you should be simmering a fryer or stew hen in the pot?  (Honestly, for all the trouble it was, if I ever make this again I use store bought broth and a rotisserie chicken. And probably powdered potatoes.  All in the name of mid-century convenience cooking, you understand.)

Mix the grated potatoes well with hot broth, equal to the amount of liquid that was extracted, then spread half the mixture in a buttered casserole dish.  Layer in shredded chicken (from the aforementioned fryer), then top with the remaining potato mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 3 hours. Honest.

The chicken nearly liquefies, and the potato mixture becomes a gelatinous goo. It's really disgusting up close, now that I think of it. But hearty and warming and homey.  Traditionally served with molasses. Or pickles. Or tomatoes. Or cut into squares the next day and fried in butter.

Dr. Husband had his with cranberry sauce, and I drizzled honey on mine.  I think the "rules" are pretty lax, and of course Canadians are so polite no one would ever tell you if you did it wrong.

You'll notice I haven't left you an easy to follow recipe. Because there are literally no two alike. Half the fun was figuring out exactly what I was going to use, and how much of it. If you're really tempted to try, Google some recipes and have fun. Here, I'll even do the Googling for you.

Anyway, here's a video!

Vincent Price Treasury Cookalong!

Poularde Pavillon (Chicken in Champagne Sauce)
Pineapple Nut Loaf
contributed by Vincent Price

Our friends over at Silver Screen Suppers are hosting a Vincent Price Treasury Cookalong, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary release of Vincent and Mary Price's A Treasury of Great Recipes. There's even time for you to participate yourself if you want, so follow the links below for everything you could possibly need to know!

Vincent Price Treasury Cookalong with Silver Screen Suppers

Cooking With Vincent Website – for details of celebratory events in the USA 

Vincent Price Legacy Tour – for details of celebratory events in the UK

Amazon Page for the 50th Edition of A Treasury of Great Recipes

Treasury of Great Recipes Facebook page

Silver Screen Suppers Facebook page

I'll have to admit that for most of my childhood, I had no idea that Vincent Price was supposed to be scary, I just thought he was a kindly old man who came on Merv Griffin and shared recipes.

Here we have two gems right from the cookbook, and they're both keepers. Chicken in Champagne Sauce was adapted by the Prices from New York's Le Pavillon. It looks complicated on paper, but goes together pretty quickly. If you're serving for company, you'll have to coordinate your timing carefully since you have to wait til the end to do the sauce:

Preheat oven to 350

Season a 3 lb chicken with 1 teaspoon salt.  Truss it and place in a small casserole with 2 tablespoons butter and 2 cups dry French champagne.  

(I used thigh cutlets in lieu of a whole chicken)

Cook about 45 minutes.  Baste every 8 minutes and turn until the chicken is an even golden brown on all sides.  

Remove chicken, cut off string, and keep chicken warm on hot platter.

SAUCE

Add to juices in the casserole: 4 cups cream, 3 shallots, chopped fine, 4 mushrooms crushed by rolling with rolling pin, 1 sprig parsley, chopped, 2 bay leaves, and a pinch of thyme.

Simmer on top of stove until sauce has reduced to two-thirds of the original amount.  Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan.

Place over a medium heat and swirl in 2 tablespoons butter.  Add 6 ounces (a glass) dry champagne.

PRESENTATION

Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken, serve the rest separately. 

 Now, then, for dessert. Pineapple Nut Loaf. I don't bake much, as you might remember, because I hate measuring and usually the kitchen ends up looking something like this:

But I rallied, and here's the recipe if you find yourself interested:

1 ¾ cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons soft butter

¾ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup crushed pineapple, including juice

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

Butter a one-pound loaf pan

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the nuts.

In mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar then beat in egg and continue to beat until mixture is smooth.

Stir in half the flour-nut mixture.

Stir in pineapple, including juice.

Stir in the remaining flour-nut mixture and stir into well blended. Drop into the prepared pan.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over batter. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until bread tests done. Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn out on the cake rack to cool.

Easy squeezy, and delicious (though not very pineapple-y).  But what did Dr. Husband think?

Anniversary Chicken!

Today Dr. Husband and I celebrate 22 years of wedded bliss (well, not technically wedded all that time, because of some ugly business about not letting us get married...but that's all behind us now, isn't it Alabama?) If you're good at adding and subtracting in your head, you'll realize that it means we've been together since college high school middle school.

I thought I'd make something not at all disgusting to mark the occasion, but in keeping with the spirit of things, it's still a bunch of disparate ingredients glopped onto some raw meat and then smothered in cheese.  A one-dish meal that provides your entire week's worth of sodium!

The recipe is everywhere on the internets; just Google "anniversary recipes" and you're certain to stumble upon it. Or just keep reading.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup teriyaki basting sauce
1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 (3 ounce) can bacon bits
1 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.
4. Place browned chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush with teriyaki sauce, then spoon on salad dressing.
5. Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon bits.
6. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with parsley and serve.

It's a real man-pleaser, ladies, and easy to throw together if you're in a rush. I imagine you could even skip the browning if you're really pressed for time. And is it good? YOU BET!

 Our Rating:  Zero Screaming Husbands!

(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Special Edition: Bone Appetit!

Well, I've taken it into my head to create my own molded food recipes. Imagine, me, a molded food cook!

I wanted to start with something, though, that wasn't too difficult to make, and would be sure to be eaten without complaint.  So I decided to make something tempting for the Dogs.

Now, I'm not one to spoil my dogs, unless you count brushing their teeth every night, or buying a bigger bed so that they could sleep with husband and me, or planning entire vacations around the availability of favorite dog-sitters.

But, they do enjoy the occasional break from canned food (albeit the highest quality canned food) so, after ensuring that gelatin was indeed non-toxic to dogs, I set about creating the following recipe.

I used a basic aspic recipe as the template. I'm not entirely happy with the beef broth, because of the sodium, so maybe next time I'll just use the boiling water from the chicken.

So, here's the recipe:

1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
1 3/4 cups low-sodium beef broth, divided
1 chicken breast or thigh, boiled and diced
2 large carrots, cooked and diced
1 apple, peeled and diced

Sprinkle gelatin on 1/2 cup of the beef broth to soften. Place over low heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups of broth.

Pour 1/2 inch layer of broth mixture into a rectangular mold.  Chill until firm.

Meanwhile, boil chicken and carrots together in unsalted water. Simmer until chicken is cooked.  Dice chicken and carrots.

Artfully arrange diced chicken and carrots atop layer of firmed gelatin. Top with diced apple.  Pour remainder of gelatin into mold and chill until firm.

Unmold on serving plate and garnish with kibble, if desired.

The Dogs had already had their evening meal, so I just gave each of them a small sample to try.

What they thought:

They also each had a larger serving for breakfast next morning, with similar enthusiastic results. I'd say that the recipe makes about 8 meal-sized servings for a 20-40 pound dog, more if you're using for treat purposes only.

Our Rating: Zero Whining Dogs!

(Someone Else's) Aunt Sue's Chicken

Aunt Sue's Chicken

contributed by Sue Hansell, Columbus, Oh.

I wasn't going to post again so soon, but I'm bored, and hungry, and hydrated enough to prepare for the sudden ingestion of a week's worth of sodium.

I have dim childhood memories of eating what was always referred to as "Aunt Sue's Chicken", as well as a careworn, hand-written recipe in a lovely cursive script, titled "Aunt Sue's Chicken", and so I naturally assumed that the titular "Aunt Sue" was my own Aunt Sue, who was my grandmother's sister and lived with her for several years during my childhood.

BUT. Finally getting up the energy to read the recipe, I find it signed by "Sue Hansell", not my Aunt Sue and, in fact, not any Sue I ever heard of.

My crack Googling skills tell me not only that everyone apparently has an Aunt Sue that makes chicken, but also that this recipe, which combines chicken, dried beef, bacon, and mushroom soup, is not unique at all, but is apparently, as the kids would say, "a thing".

Nonetheless, here is the recipe, transcribed from the handwritten original:

Line bottom of 9x12x2 inch pan with dried beef.

Place skinned and boned chicken breast on top of dried beef.

Place 1/2 strip of bacon on top of each piece.

Mix together 1 cup of sour cream and one can of mushroom soup. Spread on top of chicken.

Bake uncovered at 225 degrees for 3 hours. I serve with minute rice and green peas and biscuits or rolls. I usually put light meat in one casserole and dark meat in the other. So use whichever kind of chicken.

Sue Hansel

Ingredients bought for this recipe: All of the above

With no measurement for the chicken or dried beef, I just used my best guesses. I bought a package of skinless, boneless chicken breasts (though Aunt Sue contradicts herself later in the recipe, I suppose I could've used "whichever kind of chicken") and 4 packages of Buddig pressed beef (I only used 2, so be thrifty!)  

In a nod to the modern healthy lifestyle, I bought fat-free sour cream and a can of mushroom soup with a "healthy request" sticker on the front, though I don't know that it's any different from the regular mushroom soup.

FYI, combining 1 cup of sour cream with 1 can of mushroom soup mysteriously results in about a gallon and a half of gelatinous goop, so you'll have plenty to go around.

I was skeptical about the low temp/3 hour cook time, but followed the instructions dutifully. Also following the instructions to the letter, I served the dish alongside rice and peas, and crescent rolls.

What we thought: I assumed that the low and slow cooking, along with the protective layers of beef and bacon, would result in a mouthwateringly moist piece of chicken, and indeed Husband proclaimed his piece to be so.  Mine, however, was as dry and chewy as chicken breast is wont to be.

I'm not sure of the purpose of the dried beef, other than to add salt.  It didn't add much flavor to the chicken, or if it did it was overpowered by the bacon. Which is not a bad thing.

The mushroom soup - well, I think we can all agree that you could glop a ladle full of mushroom soup onto a pile of horse manure and make it palatable.

But all those good things mixed into one dish? Meh.  Lots of textures, not enough individual flavors. I'd give this one a pass, ladies, unless you're trying to weasel out of ever having to host another bridge club luncheon.

Our Rating:

Three Screaming Husbands

(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)

Chicken and Coke

Chicken and Coke

Contributed by Mrs. Willard Williams, Courtland, Miss.
Favorite Recipes of America: Meats p. 241



This recipe, otherwise known as "I'm too fat and lazy to make you a real Sunday dinner", is the sole reason I rescued this set of cookbooks from the trash bin. I've been dying to try this recipe for about fifteen years but have never had a reason until now.

Plus, my small rural grocery apparently doesn't stock unflavored gelatin. So I promise more congealed salads next week when I get to the big city.

The recipe:

1 fryer, cut into pieces
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. catsup
1 lge. Coke

Place chicken in a deep skillet or casserole dish. Pour salt, catsup and Coke over chicken. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

I started out thinking that Mrs. Willard Williams must have secretly despised her family, or been severely handicapped and unable to cook. Then I realized she was from Mississippi, in which case she had probably been raised with any number of innovative uses for Coca-Cola, including using it as a poultry marinade.

Ingredients bought for this recipe:

1 fryer (already cut up, with giblets)
Against my own rules, husband knew about this recipe all day. And he scolded me for buying an already-cut fryer.

Ingredients already in the fridge:
Coke
Catsup (actually, Heinz ketchup. Hopefully it didn't make a difference)

I had no idea what "1 lge. Coke" might signify to a 1968 housewife, but I guessed at 12 ounces, which is a cup and a half.

Since the main dish was so easy to assemble, I decided to make a whole meal of dishes which would signify that the chef was too fat and lazy to make anything nice. Thus:

Green Salad
contributed by Dr. Bobb, Sharpsburg, Mary.

1 bag pre-washed Romaine Hearts
Dressing
Tear romaine hearts into bite-size pieces. Top with dressing.

Husband also wanted in on the action, and decided to make home-made macaroni and cheese, which I pooh-poohed as being too much love and attention for a fat and lazy person to lavish on his or her family. He refused to follow my suggestion to white-trash the recipe up a little by using Velveeta or, preferably, Cheez Whiz. But he did relent and top the casserole with crumbled Ritz crackers.

Macaroni and Cheese
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, p. 160

1 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Dash pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups shredded American cheese
1 cup Ritz crackers, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, for cheese sauce, cook onion in butter or margarine till tender but not brown. Stir in flour and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir till slightly thickened and bubbly. Add shredded cheese, stir till melted. Stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Transfer to a 1-quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till bubbly. During the last five minutes of baking, arrange crumbled Ritz crackers atop macaroni. Let stand 10 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Unbeknownst to me, Husband turned up the heat on the chicken halfway through, to accommodate the macaroni, and because he was worried that the Coca-Cola sauce wasn't bubbling. It seems to have worked out fine.

What we thought: The chicken was remarkably moist and tender, owing we assume to the Coca-Cola.  When preparing the recipe, I had thought that the ketchup-Coke combination was meant to approximate Barbecue sauce, but the Coke seems to have acted solely as a moistening agent, and not imparted much flavor to the dish at all. If I ever am lazy enough to make something like it again, I may just go ahead and use Barbecue sauce, and leave the Coke to do it's moistening work (though I'm wondering if any carbonated beverage would do. The Coke brought on a night full of troubled dreams involving me living in a flophouse with 1940's actress Teresa Wright. If it were my grandmother's house back in the day, there would have been no Coke in the house - "Uncle Doc always said it would rot your stomach!" - and we would have had to make do with 7-UP. Which might be awesome.)

The macaroni was the star of the evening, I highly recommend it, though it's certainly more effort than your average negligent housewife would be willing to expend.

Our Rating:

Zero Screaming Husbands!

(all dishes are rated from one to five Screaming Husbands. One Screaming Husband equals a happy home where all problems are solved during cocktail hour. Five Screaming Husbands signals the beginning of divorce proceedings.)