Grandma's Chicken Casserole

I made this last week. It was a winner, and it opened up a whole world of casseroles made with noodles and cream of chicken soup. So many tasty, fattening possibilities!

Chicken Casserole

1 8-oz package wide egg noodles
4 chicken breasts or equivalent amount of whole chicken
1 10-1/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon margarine, melted

Cook chicken until tender and debone and cut in bite-sized pieces. Cook the noodles in the chicken broth until tender and drain. Mix chicken soup, mayo, lemon juice and curry powder to blend. Grease 9x13" casserole and place one half of the noodles, chicken and the soup mixture; then another layer of each and cover with grated cheese and bread crumbs fried in the margarine, if you wish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

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I made this pretty much as written, except that I doubled the lemon juice and the curry powder and did not fry the breadcrumbs. Also, there was no chicken broth to work with (not sure what Grandma meant there), so I pan-fried some boneless chicken breasts. It was tasty, though Jeff thought it would have been better without the doubled curry. I know there are about a gazillion variations on this recipe, and I'd like to try creating a healthier, lower fat, spicier version. Maybe cut the mayo, add some garlic, roasted green chiles and chopped scallions? Also, roasted hicken would add a little flavor. All in all, an easy weeknight dinner and good jumping off spot for future improvisations.

Great Aunt Pearl's 24-Hour Salad

This "salad" of marshmallows, whipped cream and fruit (recipe below) inspired a lot of good Christmas party conversation. I brought it to two different parties, with full disclosure that it was my great aunt's recipe from the 1960s. (I think the 1960s part went without saying. It did look a little out of place). The photo to the left is from a Betty Crocker cookbook for a similar 24-hour salad, and looks pretty much like what I made.

Making the salad was a little more challenging than I expected. I did all my shopping for this at Whole Foods, which meant that I had to buy the organic, preservative-free but extremely sweet and oddly stiff eco-marshmallows that Whole Foods sells. Once I got home and gave a few of them to my daughter and her visiting friend, I dug down further in the bag and realized they were moldy. Yuck! I guess preservatives do serve a purpose. I would rather have ancient, rock-hard mini marshmallows than mildewy ones. This inevitably led to a confession to the playdate's mother that I had fed her daughter moldy marshmallows. Happily, she took in it in stride, and both little girls' immune systems (and mine) kicked in to save us from a night of puking. Jeff brought home a bag of traditional, preservative-enhanced marshmallows to fill the void.

Also, there aren't any white cherries to be had in December (and I'm not sure if I've seen them any other time of the year either), so I went with canned pie cherries.

Next came the strangest part of the recipe - the cooking of the egg-and-lemon substance that binds the salad together. I'm not used to making lemon curd (which is essentially what this is), and I wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like when it was fully cooked, so I cooked the hell out of it. I didn't want to give anyone salmonella. Maybe because of this - and maybe not - I thought the salad ended up with a strong eggy taste that I found kind of disgusting. I'm not used to the combination of fruit and eggs. (Is anyone?)

I wasn't sure if the eggy taste was "right" or not, but my first taste tester (our babysitter) said that it tasted exactly like the salad her grandmother used to make. And when I brought it to the first party, people really seemed to like it - to my surprise. The great thing about it was that it led to a lot of good conversations about recipes of the sixties, relatives, family recipe collections, etc. The reaction at the second party was just as good. People liked the crunch of the slivered almonds and the fact that this recipe really isn't too sweet, despite the marshmallows. Interestingly, our French acquaintance Sebastien ended up being its biggest fan; he ate four servings. French food isn't big on marshmallows, so maybe it was the novelty.

So the salad was a success, even though I didn't like it much myself, due to the eggs. If I make it again, which I might, I'll find a way to bind it together without them. I'll also add more almonds and maybe some apple to give it more crunch.

I did a search for 24-hour salad and found that this recipe is still alive and well on the internet. Apparently, it was very popular at one time; and most of the recipes do contain eggs. Another blogger who is exploring mid-century recipes wrote it about a slightly different version here. Most of the versions I found (like this one, which hilariously labels it as Italian) call for vinegar and egg yolks instead of entire eggs. Gotta love the (computer-generated?) text that goes along with this:

Its surprising to know that you have not tried my 24 Hour Fruit Salad recipe yet. This recipe is ideal for people on a Low Fat regimen. This compelling 24 Hour Fruit Salad is the Side Dish of choice for a winning meal... The Italian 24 Hour Fruit Salad is a delight to serve and enjoy. I will look forward to your feedback.

Right, because anything made with whipping cream, marshmallows and butter has got to be low fat, right?

[Recipe to follow; I have mislaid my cookbook!]

Great Aunt Lee's BBQ Ribs

Great Aunt Lee's BBQ ribs recipe came as a relief after the chicken 'n' chips fiasco. It was really good, and I can definitely imagine making it again. I'm not posting the recipe at the moment because I don't have it with me right now, but it involved vinegar, ketchup, "meat seasoning sauce" (I used BBQ sauce), molasses, and onion soup mix. It inspired me to make something I rarely make - not particularly healthy (did they even have healthy food in the sixties?) but definitely tasty. If I made it again I would add some liquid smoke. 8 out of 10.

Goodbye, annoying old chicken coop

Today I finally managed to dispose of my old chicken coop. A volunteer from the Portland Backyard Chicken group picked it up with her pickup and drove it down to a family in Salem who needs a chicken coop. I'm glad to be rid of it. After two raccoon attacks, it just had bad mojo. Plus, it was a lousy design. I hope the new owners manage to reinforce it (I did warn them) and tweak the design so that it works for them. Meanwhile, our occasional landscaper Jose is coming tomorrow to help dig out the ditch around the new coop so I can install the hardware cloth and bury it a foot deep. I also bought a beautiful double-glazed, six-paned window today at the Rebuilding Center that I am going to incorporate into the henhouse design.

Great Aunt Lee's Chicken and Chip Casserole: Never Again.

This isn't the kind of recipe I usually gravitate toward, but I was looking for something easy to make for one of Melina's swim class nights (for some reason they only offer her class at 6:15 p.m.) and this sounded tasty and filling, if not exactly healthy. I think this is the first time I've ever actually made anything with cream of (anything) soup. If I keep up with my goal of cooking everything in this cookbook, it certainly won't be the last.

Great Aunt Lee's Chicken and Chip Casserole

• 2 cups cooked chicken (I used Trader Joe's precooked chicken)
• 1 cup diced celery
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 2 Tbsp minced onion
  
• 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives
  
• 3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1/4 cup bottled French dressing (I used Thousand Island)
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 tsp pepper
  
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
  
• 2 cups crushed potato chips
  

Combine and bake for 20 minutes at 450.

Results

This was just... weird. With all due respect to Aunt Lee (who was really just doing her best with the recipes that that the 1960s provided, and who actually pushed the family's envelope a lot when it came to food), it is hard for me to imagine that this dish was ever considered appetizing. I was expecting all of the ingredients to come together to form a "more than the sum of its parts" whole, bound together the culinary glue of cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise and French dressing; but instead, it ended up being a random crunchy boiled stirfry with only a grayish brown gravy holding it in common. And let me say, hard boiled eggs and olives are just strange together. Honestly, it didn't taste that bad, and I had a few helpings, but after a few minute of looking at all the little chunks in the gray gravy, I just couldn't take it any more. The only good things about it were that a) it was pleasantly crunchy; b) it didn't taste too bad; c) it had a nice combination of vegetables and protein; and d) it gave us all a good laugh, and Jeff played a joke on Melina using it as a prop. Nuff said.

Score: For a blind person, 6; for a seeing person, 3.

Great Aunt Billie's Artichoke Bake - A Good Vegetarian, Gluten-Free Potluck Recipe

For my first recipe, I thought I'd start with something that was both easy to make and easy to eat - Aunt Billie's Artichoke Bake. I made this for my book club, which includes one vegetarian and one gluten avoider. (Billie was always the life of any party, and I know she would have loved our book club). We just read The Help, so we had a southern-themed potluck. Since California is south of Oregon, I figured this recipe qualified:

Great Aunt Billie's Artichoke Bake

4 jars marinated artichoke hearts (drain, save the juice from 2 jars) Simmer in juice for 5 minutes:

• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic

Beat 8 eggs lightly. Add:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 4 tbsp parsley

Chop up artichoke hearts. Add 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded. Fold everything into eggs. Pour in greased pan (7x11) and bake at 35o for 30 minutes until solid. Cut into squares. Note: "Great for parties."

I made this pretty much as written, although my dear husband bought the wrong kind of artichoke hearts (non-marinated ones in a can). I figure that Aunt Billie probably had to deal with similar upsets. I halved the recipe (making enough for seven adults) and added a bit more oregano and hot sauce. It felt wrong to simmer the onion and garlic in the artichoke juice instead of in olive oil, but I did it anyway.

The recipe resulted in a very tasty crustless quiche which disappeared pretty quickly. If I were going to make this again, I would sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil, add some canned Ortega-type green chilis, use the right kind of artichokes, and drain the liquid off before baking (30 minutes wasn't quite long enough to evaporate it all.) All in all, I would give this an 8 out of 10: easy and tasty. What's not to like?

Exploring the foods of my recent ancestors

For this Thanksgiving, my talented and thoughtful mother put together a collection of family recipes from her mother and her mother's three sisters. It's an amazing book with photos, stories, reminiscences, and scanned recipe cards - most definitely a keepsake. It contains 13 breads, 17 salads, 38 main dishes, 17 cakes, 11 cookies, 9 pies, 12 other sweets, and 22 other miscellaneous delights. Most are from the 1960s and 1970s, and most serve a crowd. I believe my mom is putting together a Facebook page for the book, and if she does, I will post it here.

I thought it would be an interesting idea to commit myself to make every recipe in the book. (I know I recently tried unsuccessfully to do that with an issue of Gourmet, but I think this is more likely to happen). Not only will this honor my recent ancestors Cecile, Billie, Pearl and Lee by replicating their culinary efforts, but it will also be an interesting look into the changing nature of food - both during their lives and in the years since. In other words, a lot of the recipes involve jello, and a lot involve marshmallows, and some involve jello and shrimp both at the same time. Being a Portlander in 2010, surrounded by other Portlanders with our collective concerns about gluten, levels of organicity, free-range everything, chemicals and food allergies, it is going to be a real challenge not only to make this stuff, but to get people to eat it. It will be an adventure in culinary anthropology as well as geneology, and I expect most of it will be delicious, too.

I am going to try stay true to the recipes, although I can make changes that will make it more likely for the recipe to actually get eaten. For example, I can divide a recipe in two, I can use organic ingredients, I can increase the amount of spices added (but not the type), and I can reduce the sugar in some recipes if I think it will entice people to eat them. (I'm thinking of the 3-bean salad with 3/4 cup sugar. That's just not going to happen.)

Chicken catch-up

Well, I haven't posted on here since September, which is pretty bad. Unfortunately, Raven & Sabrina are no more, thanks to a raccoon attack in September. Dolley is living at my coworker's house until I can build a nice new raccoon-proof coop. I am building the coop now, and I expect to have it done by spring. I'll try to post a few photos here as the coop comes along.

This is Sabrina. Or maybe Sabrino. For the last three days I have been awakened by the sound of a rooster - first, an early attempt at crowing, and as the days have gone on, more and more like the classic "cock-a-doodle-do." At least he (?) only crows once or twice (usually at 7 a.m.). I'm still hoping Sabrina might turn out to be a confused hen, but it's looking less and less likely every day.

A raccoon attack

Last week was really hard on our chickens. On Friday night at about 3:00 a.m., I was awakened by the most horrible bloodcurdling noise from the back yard. I feared the worst, so I ran around searching for my bathrobe and a flashlight, but I couldn't find them so I ended up running out in the rain in my PJs, with no glasses and just a wind-up flashlight.

I heard thumping in the coop, and when I threw upon the lid a raccoon rushed out, ran into the bushes, and started hissing at me. I hissed back. I was under the influence of massive amounts of adrenaline, and Jeff says I was screeching like a lion was eating my innards. It's amazing all of the neighbors' lights didn't go on. (I talked to one neighbor later who didn't hear a thing). To add the chaos, the cat was sitting outside growling and grumbling at the raccoon, and I was afraid they were going to fight.

When I opened the coop, Martha was sitting on her perch, unscathed. I grabbed her and ran inside and put her in a box, yelling for Jeff; Jeff came down and I told him I was sure Dolley was dead and to look for her. Jeff shooed the raccoon off and said he saw Dolley lying in the run. I told him (rather hysterical at this point) that he was going to have to kill her if she wasn't already dead. Jeff picked Dolley up and brought her in, and she was so ruffled and bloody that we couldn't even find her head - I thought she might have literally lost her head, like Mike the Headless Chicken. After a few moments her head became visible. She had been wounded terribly on the back of the neck, though we couldn't see it then. We put her in a box in the basement. Later I tried pouring hydrogen peroxide on her wounds, but it was too traumatic for both of us so I stopped.

The next morning I tried to find a vet that would take her and fortunately found a great emergency veterinary clinic in Tualatin that took her right away. They stitched her up (apparently they get a lot of chickens and pet turkeys). It cost $175, which I thought was reasonable given that she is a real pet now.

So now she is living in a big dog crate in the play room, and I have to feed her three or four times a day and give her antibiotics twice a day. She is improving; she has taken some small supervised outings into the yard, where she has pecked at bugs and flowers, but she tires easily. I am hoping that soon she will be able to feed herself, because I don't really have the time and patience to sit for hours trying to feed a chicken (although I have anyway. I signed up for it).

The whole thing leaves me with many conflicting feelings. It's a lot of work to put into a chicken; if it happens again I don't know if I would go to so much trouble, although I don't know if I could just let nature take its course. Sometimes I think it might be better just to give the girls numbers and take a more farmerly attitude. On the other hand, it is rewarding to see such a maimed animal recover, and it makes me respect chickens more. They are surprisingly resilient. But after putting so much effort into rehabilitating Dolley, I don't think I can eat chicken for a long while. It just doesn't make sense to me now - plus it kind of disgusts me. More tofu coming our way!

A chicken lost

A week or so ago, we lost our chicken Abigail to an unknown illness. She had been steadily getting more confused - she couldn't find her way out of the coop - and when I finally checked her out she had lost a lot of weight. She had an appetite, and her comb was red (usually a sign of health), but she had diarrhea. I gave her vitamins and electrolytes in her water, hoping that might help, but when we came back from riding Portland Sunday Parkways she had died. I was a bit sad, but Abigail had never really bonded with me and she was somewhat of a bully to her peers, so I wasn't heartbroken. Melina was completely unfazed and very excited about the possibility of getting chicks. Jeff buried Abigail under the Buddha statue in our yard, where she rests to this day. (By the way, I had the other two hens tested for worms just in case that's what felled Abigail, but they both got clean bills of health).

First lost tooth

Melina lost her first tooth just a few days after her fifth birthday. It came out when she was roughhousing with her dad, and the Tooth Fairy give her $5 for it. When she saw the $5 bill she said, slightly disappointed, "I already have one of these." She hasn't quite gotten the grasp of money yet.

Princess out, pirate in

Melina informed me the other day that she is done with princesses, and now wants to be a pirate. She also told me that a certain kid at preschool wanted to play princess and knight with her, but that she would only play that with Quin. She and Quin have a very special relationship.

Melina turns five

On May 1 we celebrated Melina's fifth birthday - a little late - with a potluck at the park. It was her second birthday party (the official one took place at a restaurant, with her parents and grandparents, on the actual Day Of). Unfortunately, the weather was cold and windy - not that the kids really minded. The highlight was the breaking of the giant kitty pinata, which turned out to be incredibly resilient and took at least three rounds of whacking by every kid present. The second highlight was the cake, a sheet cake from Fred Meyer, and which turned out to be surprisingly good.

Melina had been waiting to turn five for about half a year (in March she proudly told people she was four-and-eleven-twelfths, and then four-and-ninety-nine-one-hundredths). There was a lot of competition among her friends over who would turn five first. Several of her friends went before her, which was always a source of angst.

Now that she is five, she suddenly looks older and taller. She is almost a young lady now. That's about the only change so far. However, last Saturday she rode with us on the Portland Sunday Parkways loop, and actually rode six miles on her bike with training wheels. (Jeff pushed her up some hills). No way she could have done that when she was four!