What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

Cold winter days beg for some kind of comforting potato dish. Right?  Right. Yesterday was cold, and I loved coming home from church to this dish! This is a twist on scalloped potatoes.  The ingredients may sound a little odd, but trust me, the combinations are fantastic together, turning a simple potato into a gourmet style side dish.  I don’t really like cabbage, but the way it’s flavored and pared with the apples, I’m hooked.  Any vegetable that has whipping cream in it has to be good!  It gives the dish a rich taste.

We had Delmonico Deviled Chicken as the main course; I shared this recipe a long time ago, but it never made it to the recipe index until now, so I’m going to re-post the recipe today.  How in the world the simple combination of ingredients turns a piece of chicken so delicious, is beyond me, but it does!  The Chicken  has a little mixture spread over it before baking, and it flavors it incredibly!  Read on for the recipe.

Here was the menu:

Homemade Biscuits

 Layered Potato Casserole

4 medium raw potatoes, pared and sliced
1/2 head cabbage, sliced
1 1/2 cups apple, diced
1 medium onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 pint whipping cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup bread crumbs

Butter a 3 quart long, flat casserole dish.  Begin with potatoes as the bottom layer, and layer the cabbage, apple, and onion.  Place butter dabs on top; pour whipping cream evenly over casserole.  Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees, covered.  Uncover and top with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, brown additional 10-15 minutes.

Delmonico Deviled Chicken
2-1/2 to 3 lbs chicken, in quarters – you could also use thighs and breasts
4 T butter, softened
1 T prepared mustard
1 T vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cayenne, or to taste (I use about 1/8)
1 C bread crumbs (I like to use Panko bread crumbs, found with the Japanese food)

Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken in shallow roasting pan.  Mix all ingredients, except bread crumbs – will be like a thick paste.  Rub mixture on topside of chicken.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Bake 45-60 minutes, or until juices run clear.

To prepare this on Sunday, I use bone-in chicken and baked it at 300 degrees, covered.

Did you come home to dinner yesterday?  What was cooking in your part of the country?

With love from my country kitchen,