CHICKEN OSCARServes 4 Veal Oscar is served in some of the finest New York restaurants. You can make this chicken version yourself for a small fraction of the restaurant cost. 8 scaloppine (about 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves) or 1 thin sliced boneless roaster breast 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1 cup cooked crabmeat 16 cooked, fresh asparagus spears or 1 can (10 1/2 ounces), drained 1 cup chicken broth 1 cup Hollandaise Sauce (optional) Dip scaloppine in flour to coat lightly, shake off excess. In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add scaloppine and saute for about 1 1/2 minutes per side until lightly browned and just cooked through. Remove to serving platter. Top with crabmeat and asparagus spears. Cover and hold in 250 degree oven. Add broth to skillet and cook over high heat to reduce by half. Stir frequently. Remove scaloppine from oven. Top with sauce and Hollandaise, if desired.
PERDUE PARMIGIANOServes 4 This is a little like the Austrian treatment of veal, but with an Italian accent. Serve it with spaghetti. If you don't have commercial bread crumbs handy, dry a couple of slices of bread in a 250 degree oven, and then whirl in the blender or food processor. Presto! Your own bread crumbs. 8 scaloppine (about 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves) or 1 thin sliced boneless roaster breast 1/4 cup flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon Ground pepper 2 eggs 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs 6 tablespoons oil 1 cup homemade or prepared marinara sauce (available in supermarkets) 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Place seasoned flour on a sheet of wax paper. Break eggs into a shallow bowl and beat lightly. Place bread crumbs on a separate sheet of wax paper. Dip scaloppine in flour to coat lightly, shake off excess. Dip in beaten egg, then coat with bread crumbs. In large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add saute scaloppine and saute for about 1 minute per side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Arrange scaloppine in shallow baking dish or casserole. Cover with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. PERDUE WIENER SCHNITZELServes 4 I had the real thing in Austria, and I don't think it was any better than this. Serve it with buttered noodles. 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or 1 thin sliced boneless roaster breast 1/4 cup flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon Ground pepper 6 eggs 1 cup fine bread crumbs 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided 2 tablespoons chopped parsley Salt and pepper to taste 1 lemon, quartered Pound chicken between plastic wrap to flatten to 1/4 inch thickness. Skip the previous step if you are using thin sliced boneless roaster breasts. Break 2 eggs into a shallow bowl and beat lightly. Place bread crumbs on a separate sheet of wax paper. Dip cutlets in flour to coat, shake off excess. Dip in beaten eggs, then coat with bread crumbs. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt half of butter. Saute breaded cutlets until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove to heated serving platter. Add reserved butter to skillet and fry remaining eggs sunnyside up to desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 egg on top of each cutlet, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with lemon quarters. NOTE TO EDITOR: CAN WE HAVE THE SECTION ON "MENU FOR THREE BEAUTIFUL GUESTS" PUT ON ITS OWN PAGE, SEPARATE FROM THE OTHER RECIPES? I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT HIGHLIGHTED IN SOME MANNER. LET'S USE THE STORY BOARD FOR THREE BEAUTIFUL GUESTS HERE. MOST OF THE READERS WILL NEVER HAVE SEEN A STORY BOARD BEFORE AND WOULD FIND IT FASCINATING. PHOTO: POSSIBLE PHOTO OF THE FOUR CORNISH, IF WE CAN FIND IT IN COLOR. MENU FOR THREE BEAUTIFUL GUESTS One of Frank's most memorable commercials is "Dinner with Three Beautiful Guests." In the commercial, while Frank roasts four fresh Cornish game hens, he showers; shaves; puts on a tuxedo; chills some champagne; arranges flowers in a vase; turns on soft music; and then opens the door to greet three ravishing beauties. The commercial has been so successful that the advertising agency produced a sequel, dramatizing an actual letter that arrived at Perdue Farms' consumer relations department:
"Mr. Perdue, I have a complaint. I prepared four of your Cornish hens just as you did on T.V. I showered and shaved just as you did on T.V. I dressed as you did on T.V. I chilled the wine, and laid the birds on a bed of wild rice just as you did on T.V. Your advertising is misleading. No pretty girls have knocked on my door." People sometimes ask me if the original ad makes me jealous. Actually it's my favorite. QUICK, CRISP CORNISH HENSServes 4 Wild rice is a completely different crop from regular rice. It is chewier and has a more nut-like flavor. The people who grow it refer to it as "the caviar of grains." This is a good and quick method for roasting Cornish hens but it can smoke up your kitchen. If you don't have a good fan, preheat your oven to 500oF and then reduce it to 375oF when you put the hens in - and then roast them for 45 to 50 minutes instead of the half hour mentioned in this recipe. 4 fresh Cornish game hens Salt and ground pepper to taste 1 tablespoon minced, fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried 1 bunch fresh parsley 4 small bay leaves 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted 2 cups hot, cooked wild rice 1 lemon cut in wedges as garnish Bacon and Wild Mushroom Gravy (recipe follows) Place rack in lower half of oven; preheat to 5000F. If you have a ventilator fan on stove, turn it on. Reserving other giblets for gravy, discard necks and livers. Season hen cavities with salt, pepper and thyme. Trim stem ends from parsley and add 1 tablespoon to each cavity, along with a bay leaf. Tie legs together, fold back wings and place hens breast side up in a roasting pan. Roast hens for about 30 minutes, basting once with butter, until skin is brown and crisp and juices run clear with no hint of pink when thigh is pierced. Remove hens from pan and skim off all but 3 tablespoons drippings to be used in gravy. Serve on a bed of wild rice; garnish with parsley and lemon wedges and pass gravy separately. Bacon and Wild Mushroom Gravy 1 ounce dried wild mushrooms (cepes, morels or porcini) 1 cup boiling water 1/4 pound bacon, diced Giblets reserved from hens, chopped 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup dry sherry 1/4 cup flour 2-1/2 cups chicken broth or water To reconstitute mushrooms well, pour boiling water over them and allow to steep 10 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter and reserve liquid. Rinse mushrooms to remove any sand; chop finely. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, fry bacon until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels. Leaving 2 tablespoons bacon fat in pan, add giblets, mushrooms and onion and brown about 5 minutes. Add to Cornish drippings in roasting pan. Whisk in sherry and flour. Cook, whisking frequently for 3 to 4 minutes or until flour is browned. Add bacon, reserved mushroom liquid, and broth to flour mixture. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently, and cook gravy to thicken. Serve with hens. CIDER-GLAZED CARROTSServes 4 1 pound baby carrots, peeled 2 cups apple cider 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper 1 tablespoon minced, fresh parsley Cut larger carrots in half on a diagonal, if necessary, so that all carrots are approximately the same size. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring cider, butter, honey, salt and pepper to a boil and add carrots. Cook 5 minutes or until just beginning to soften; remove with slotted spoon. Bring cider mixture back to a boil and cook 5 minutes to thicken glaze. Remove from heat. Two minutes before serving, reheat carrots in sauce, tossing frequently. Serve garnished with parsley. PEAS IN CHIVE CREAMServes 4 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon salt and ground pepper to taste 1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh or frozen peas 1 tablespoon snipped fresh or frozen chives In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring cream and seasoning to a boil and cook until thick, about 5 minutes; whisk frequently. Five minutes before serving, stir in peas and bring back to a boil, stirring frequently. Add chives just before serving. STRAWBERRIES ROMANOFFServes 4 1 quart long-stemmed strawberries 1 cup sour cream 1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar, sifted Arrange strawberries attractively on four individual dessert plates. Garnish each plate with a big dollop of sour cream and a heaping tablespoonful of sugar. Dip strawberries first into sour cream, then into sugar. ZURELLI'S SPINACH CUTLETS Chuck Zurelli, a butcher for one of the large supermarket chains, makes this for his customers. It's not hard to do at home and it looks professional. You may want to substitute fresh minced onion and garlic for the onion powder and garlic powder that Mr. Zurelli uses. There is a trick to it though. We all know that having sharp knives is a Good Thing, but how often do you sharpen yours? Are you like me, that once a year would be average, and if you were to get up to once a month, you'd be feeling pretty virtuous? Chuck Zurelli does a little better than once a month. If you were to watch him at work, you'd see that in the process of butterflying chicken breasts, he'll almost automatically run his knife across his sharpening tool every 15 or 20 seconds. Since meeting Mr. Zurelli, I've asked other butchers how often they sharpen their knives. It turns out that Zurelli is typical. The professionals feel it's worth their while to keep their knives very, very sharp. Now that I've tried it, I think they're right. If you're doing some serious cutting, how about a few quick strokes on your sharpening tool? It does make a difference. For each serving: 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half or 1 slice of the thin sliced boneless roaster breast 4 spinach leaves 1 slice provolone cheese Onion powder Garlic powder Vegetable oil Salt and ground pepper to taste Take a half boneless chicken breast and butterfly it open. Or use a slice of the thin sliced roaster breast. Remove the membrane and sinews, since these can tighten unevenly and distort the look of the final product. Take four spinach leaves and layer these over the butterflied fillet. Top this with a slice of provolone cheese, cut about as thick as the pre-sliced cheeses used for sandwiches. Season with a few shakes each of onion powder and garlic powder. (Don't add salt until after it's finished cooking; salt will draw out the juices and toughen the meat.) Roll up the fillet tightly, jelly roll fashion. Fasten with a toothpick or tie with kitchen twine. Preheat oven to 350oF. Brush chicken with oil to seal in the moisture and then bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
CHAPTER TEN CHICKEN PLANNED-OVERS $ A GREAT FAST FOOD
Everyone is so busy nowadays, it's often tempting to pick up dinner at a fast food carry-out on the way home. The problem is, these foods not only dent the budget, they can short-change you nutritionally. Often they're high in the fat or sodium which many of us are trying to limit.
There are, however, ways to serve speedy meals that are also good for you. In fact, I like to think of leftover chicken as a fast food. It gives you a head start on so many recipes.
Michelle Evans, the eminent cookbook author and travel authority, likes to say that left over chicken is the "basic black dress" of the culinary world. It's true. You can dress it up in so many ways: you can use herbs and spices, sauces and dips, toppings and crusts. Just as a basic black dress is handy to have around, so leftover chicken is wonderful for a fast start on a number of delicious dishes.
By using leftovers, you can create fast food while maintaining control over the calories and nutrition. When you do cook, plan for leftovers by preparing extra quantities. Serve part of what you prepared immediately, and save the rest for a "planover". Then, on those days when you're short on time, use your microwave to create a meal from your store of "planovers."
There are a few points to keep in mind when using leftovers.
_Know how long the food has been held at room temperature. The Department of Agriculture recommends that you throw food out if it's of animal origin and if it's been left unrefrigerated for more than two hours. I've talked with some food scientists, however, who feel that the USDA two-hour rule is unnecessarily strict. They say that except for the at-risk groups, (infants, the elderly or those in poor health), that you can probably still use chicken that has been kept at room temperature for a little longer than two hours, maybe as long as four hours. Still, they agree that the longer chicken is kept at room temperature, the bigger the chance you're taking. Harmful organisms can multiply rapidly on food that's held in the danger zone between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. Personally, I'm in favor of being cautious, but I thought you might like to know that there's more than one view.