Fried Chicken Castañeda -- the recipe

Yesterday turned into a "Meals by Fred Harvey" day! Flannel pancakes for breakfast and Fried Chicken Castañeda for dinner, followed by Hot Strawberry Sundaes for dessert. Neither one disappointed, but I will warn you that the chicken is labor intensive. You'll need to plan on about 2 hours from start to finish. 

Original recipe : 

Fry an onion, chopped very fine, in butter, add flour, mix and pour in one quart chicken broth and one-half pint cream. Stir and let come to a boil. Let it cook about ten minutes. Add two egg yolks and parsley, and remove from the fire. This sauce must be quite thick. Dip thin slices of one three-pound hen in the sauce so that it adheres to both sides. Lay them in a pan sprinkled with bread crumbs and also sprinkle the chicken with bread crumbs. When cold, dip them in beaten egg and crumbs and fry in deep hot grease. Serve with tomato sauce and French peas as garnish. If handled properly, one three-pound hen will make ten to twelve fair-sized orders. (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/56650/appetite-for-america-by-stephen-fried/?fbclid=IwAR1QKi0poC7QYWnNM2o9nOoiBtl8R_j_jgu503qsWs9WSI84KdMrxf8xUhk)

For home cooks :

Serves 4-8

Cream sauce 

1 large onion, minced

3/4 cup unsalted butter (or olive oil)

 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 quart chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream (do not substitute lower fat dairy)

2 eggs, separated, yolks lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Chicken

2 pounds chicken breast or tenderloins, pounded to an even thickness

1 cup plain breadcrumbs or panko 

2 whole eggs plus the 2 separated whites, beaten in a shallow dish for coating

Neutral oil, such as canola, sunflower, or vegetable, for frying

Marinara sauce or other tomato sauce

Buttered green peas

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Add onion and saute until soft. Add flour and stir for 1-2 minutes until well incorporated into the butter. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Add heavy cream. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat. Temper beaten egg yolks by mixing a few tablespoons of the hot mixture into them, then add all to the pan and mix well. Add parsley. 

Spread a layer of breadcrumbs over the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet. Dip each chicken piece into the white sauce and lay in over breadcrumbs in the pan. Turn to coat. Press lightly to adhere. Repeat with each piece. Add breadcrumbs as needed. Let set until cool (this took no time at all).

Heat several inches of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Spread additional breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Dip each piece of chicken in the beaten eggs, turning to coat, then dredge both sides in breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown on both sides. 

Serve with marinara sauce and green peas. 

A couple of notes -- while waiting for the first two pieces to cook, I went ahead and prepped the remaining pieces, setting them back on the baking sheet. As you might guess, there is a LOT of cream sauce left over -- as in, most of it. I absolutely cannot throw it away -- yes, I know that I dipped raw chicken in it, but it was boiling hot. I will be using it to make Chicken Maciel, a chicken and rice casserole, in a couple of days. In the meantime, it's in a covered bowl in the fridge. 

Now, for the Hot Strawberry Sundae. It's a simple enough recipe that doesn't need much updating. The syrup should be made immediately before you plan to serve the sundaes. It calls for vanilla ice cream, but you might use a good-quality strawberry. 

Marinate one pint of strawberries, cut in half, in four tablespoons Jamaican rum for one hour. Bring three-quarters of a cup of strained honey, four tablespoons of lemon juice and the rind of one orange, cut into strips to boil; remove orange rind and combine flavored honey with strawberries. Serve over vanilla ice cream immediately. (Inspired by a sundae that a Harvey restaurant manager had at the Chicago world’s fair—which combined hot maple syrup and strawberries—this became the favorite dessert at Kansas City Union Station.) (https://erenow.net/biographies/appetite-for-america/48.php)

1 pint (2 cups) strawberries, halved

1/4 cup Jamaican (dark/golden) rum (you can use white rum; it won't be as flavorful)

3/4 cup honey

4 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of two medium lemons)

Rind of one orange, cut into strips

Vanilla ice cream for serving

Combine strawberries and rum and let marinate one hour, covered.

Combine remaining ingredients (except ice cream) in a small saucepan. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Remove orange rind and combine honey with strawberries and rum. Serve over vanilla ice cream immediately.