First Day of Spring 2015

“If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” ― Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind

Today is the official First Day of Spring. And the United Nations declared this is official Happiness Day.

Humbug! We are expecting 3 to 5 inches of snow today. Drat. Happy Spring all the same. I am planning my garden. It must be Spring.

The cartoonist is Jeffery Koterba. You can see more of his work HERE.

Junk Food Chicken

This is down and dirty you-make-dinner-365-days-a-year cooking.

Ingredients:

Leftover Pretzels, Chips, Cheese Curls, Crackers, etc.
4 slices toasted Bread
1 1/2 pounds boneless breast of Chicken
Mayonnaise

Crush Bread, Pretzels, Chips, etc. in a paper bag with your rolling pin. Or a food processor. Wash and dry the Chicken. Dip into mayonnaise and then crumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Has great flavor kids love. Thank you, Mary Jean Clift

The image of the Armada Stove comes from the Old Design Shop.

Chinese Fried Chicken Neither Chinese Nor Fried

I quote the author of Country Flavor Cookbook, Haydn Pearson, verbatim.

"Here is a delicious and different way to use Chicken. The recipe is from Miss Ruth McKinlay, of the Old Crombie Gift Shop, Francestown, New Hampshire. No one seems to know how it gathered the name Chinese Fried Chicken."

Chinese Fried Chicken (neither Chinese nor Fried)

1 broiler cut in pieces

2 cups of cream in which dissolve:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce.

Roll pieces of chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Pack chicken in a baking dish with straight sides. Fill cracks with pieces of bread and the liver. Pour over all the sauce. Let stand in the refrigerator for several hours. Cook one hour at 400 degrees in a covered dish. Remove top and let brown. Serves 4 to 6." 

I make this chicken regularly. My children love it. It is very rich and totally suitable for company. And it is easy on the Cook because the ingredients are simple and so is the preparation.

Debutante's Cake

This easy cake comes from French Family Cooking by Audrey Ellis. This cake stays moist for a week. Most young cooks in France learn to make  this cake before attempting to make pastry.

The illustration is from Marjorie Torre Bevans. 

Debutante's Cake 

4 cups all-purpose Flour sifted with 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
5 Eggs
1 and 1/3 cups Sugar
1 large Lemon
pinch Salt
3/4 cup Corn Oil
1 and 1/4 cups Milk

Sieve the Flour into a mixing bowl. Make a hollow in the center.

In an other bowl, beat the Eggs with the Sugar, grated zest of Lemon and the Salt. Beat in the Oil and the Milk, adding a little of each alternately.

Pour the mixture into the flour, drawing it in gradually, then beat until smooth. Pour into two greased and line 9x5 loaf tins and bake in a moderate 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. If necessary, cover the top of the cakes with greaseproof paper or foil after 25 minutes to prevent over browning. Test with a fine skewer, cool for a few minutes in the tin and turn out.



A friend of mine makes this moist cake in a fluted tube pan. When he serves the cake, he fills the center with Raspberries and surrounds the cake with Whipped Cream all around it on the plate. Perfect.

The cake is so moist it needs no frosting. Might be nice with a tart Lemon Glaze. But there is really no reason to gild the cake as it is lovely all by its lonesome.