Divine Chicken a la King Casserole

When I was home visiting my family for Christmas, my dad passed on a family treasure to me. Was it an old piece of jewelry? A beautiful chest of drawers? An old trinket passed down? No - it was a ratty old cook book. Except - it's like Aladdin's lamp. You open it up and point to a recipe - you make it - it's delicious. You open it up and point to a recipe - you make it - it's delicious. Over and over! Apparently half of the food I grew up with came out of this cookbook. So I can't even tell you how excited I am to have it!

So what is this magical cookbook of wonder? It's called "Bayou Cuisine" and it's an old church cookbook from 1979. In fact, if you are totally interested in it, there are a few used copies on Amazon.com here. The inside cover tells me it's a "pot pourri of delta cookery, art, and history" -- perrrrrfect.

There's a lovely old watercolor and a poem on the inside cover.

I must go to my home in the swamps again,
Where the tall, tall cypress grow,
Where the bayous sleep,
And the brakes are deep,
Unused to ice and snow

I must go to my home in the swamps again,
To the simple things I know,
Where the willows weep,
and the love-vines creep
and tangle
South winds blow

Could anything be better? Well, yeah actually. The freaking recipes in this dang holy book.

Today Aj and I weren't sure what to have for dinner. So we opened it up, and the first thing I saw was Chicken Casserole (With Rice) -- Ok so I am a fan of 1) Casserole 2) Chicken and 3) Rice - a quick scan of the ingredients told me this was obviously a take on Chicken a La King. The cookbook classifies the recipe as French and puts it next to Coq au Vin. Done. Decided.

So, loving husband that he is (not to mention I cooked the last 3 nights...) Aj whipped this recipe up in a jiff. It was pretty much the BEST THING EVER. You 100% MUST try this recipe. Definitely getting made again. There was barely even enough for leftovers and there's only two of us!!! The book says Mrs. Jamie Whitten submitted this recipe, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart...err stomach.

Without further ado, the magical "French" recipe (right, because those French people put cornflakes on everything...):


Chicken Casserole (With Rice)

• 2 C. Diced chicken (uncooked, small cubes)
• 1/4 C. Mayonnaise (as always, I used Cains)
• 1 C. Cooked rice (White long grain)
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 4 Oz. Can of Mushrooms
• 1 C. Diced celery
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
• 1 Can cream of chicken soup
• Cornflakes (Kellogs)
• 2 Tbsp butter

1. Combine all ingredients except cornflakes and butter and mix together. Place them in a 9x9 casserole dish.
2. Mix 2 tbsp butter (melted) with 1 cup corn flake crumbs. Place on top of casserole.
3. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350°F.

Serves 8 (Aka 4)

A Recipe From Mom

UPDATE: Southerners use Hellmann's mayo, but cut back on the lemon juice in this recipe by at least half, since Hellmann's is a vinegary mayo and Cain's is a sweet mayo.

I've been WORKING WORKING WORKING. Last week was a 53 hour week for me. This week should be much more easy going and I'm more or less trapped inside because of the rain. So while Aj cooks his Shrimp With "The Best Shrimp Marinade Ever" I get a second to sit down and blog. The best part is that at the end I am rewarded with grilled shrimp. Sweet.

What I am really here for, though, is to give you a recipe that was my favorite childhood recipe: Chicken Devan. This was the recipe that I asked for when I got to choose dinner. For my birthday, or just a regular weeknight, almost any time I was asked this is what I wanted. And when I moved away to college I kept trying to make it. It just wasn't as good. I went back home and found the old cookbook my mom got the recipe from - it was one of those community cookbooks - a tatty old spiral thing. And I kept making it...but it was never as good as hers. When I moved to New England it started getting worse- almost inedible. I just could NOT figure it out. Finally I had to call my mom and confer with her. Why was it turning out so terrible?! The secret is the mayonnaise.

In the south there is a mayo that my mom uses that you can't get up here (or it is harder to find but I forget the name). Turns out, not all mayonnaise is equal. Miracle Whip is practically a sin against nature. And name brands don't compare. It took me AGES to find the comparable Northern mayo. Turns out it's Cain's mayonnaise. Mayo needs the perfect blind of tang and sweet, and of course it needs to be made with real eggs and oils. So after YEARS (literally) of trying to get this recipe JUST RIGHT....I finally did it. Now it's back on my favorites list and a recipe I would be happy to pass on to family and friends. It's creamy, delicious, easy to make, and just the smell of it makes me happy.

There's one more perk to this recipe: The leftovers are just about better than the dish out of the oven!

It is VITAL that NO ingredients are left out of this or it won't be anywhere near as good.



Chicken Devan

• 3 Chicken breasts - boiled and cubed in small bite-size pieces
• 1 Bag frozen broccoli - cooked/drained
• 1 Can cream of chicken soup (don't skimp, go Campbell's)
• 1 Tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 1/4 C. Cain's mayonnaise
• Dash cumin
  
• 1/4 C. Italian Breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
  
• 1/4 C. Shredded cheese (Cheddar or another melty/savory cheese)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Layer chicken and broccoli in a 9x9 baking dish
3. Cover with sauce, spreading it around as needed
4. Sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese
5. Mix butter and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl.
6. Sprinkle all breadcrumbs on top and then sprinkle with the remainder of cheese.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.