Improv — In The Kitchen, At The Piano

Chicken Divan

For all the weeks I've said my kitchen was closed, (really, it was more like it was in low gear) I made up for it this weekend. We had Jessica, Todd and Little Lady here for a long weekend. We had not seen them in a couple of months, so I wanted to make sure they enjoyed some of their favorite foods while they were home.

The biggest meal was a traditional southern Sunday dinner. I haven't cooked like this in ages. I baked the ham and used the brown sugar-mustard glaze we like. I also made macaroni and cheese, roasted okra (the okra was from our garden) and sour cream muffins. Baby limas, deviled eggs and pickled peaches completed the plate. 

Saturday was an easy meal. A slow cooker supper I could get ready in the morning and then have the day to play with the baby. She is one busy little girl. This roast is a favorite we've made many times. You can make it a true one dish meal if you add some fresh baby spinach on top of the hot grits. Then spoon the roast over that. All that heat will wilt the spinach. And you can feel righteous because you've served a green vegetable.

SWISS-STYLE ROAST with CHEESE GRITS

1 beef chuck roast (or any other roast--brisket works great)
salt, pepper, & garlic powder 
1 jar marinara sauce with Cabernet, red wine or portabella mushrooms
1 onion, sliced thin 

1 can sliced mushrooms, drained

Place beef, rubbed with salt, pepper and garlic powder, into crockpot. Cover with sliced onion. Pour spaghetti sauce over. Cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours. When fork tender, slice meat and place back into sauce while preparing grits.

Cheese Grits:
quick-cooking grits (the 5-minute kind—not instant)
1 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Cook grits for 4 servings, according to package. Stir in garlic powder and shredded cheese. Stir until cheese melts. You can adjust the garlic powder and cheese amount to suit you.

Why I'm telling you this all backwards, I don't know. But I'm too far in to change all of this now.

Friday night supper was a delicious new-to-the-blog recipe. For years, I've heard my cousin Audrey talk about her chicken divan. Everyone in her family loves it and requests it for special meals. I made chicken divan years ago from directions that my secretary gave me. No actual recipe. I remember that it called for toast triangles on the bottom instead of bread crumbs on the top. I asked Audrey to send me her recipe and in a few minutes, she texted this photo. Remember community cookbooks? I had so many of these cookbooks from civic clubs, churches and professional organizations. They were a guaranteed money maker back in the day. I got rid of many of my collection. But I still have one shelf devoted to the favorites I kept. I don't know what group put this particular cookbook together.

And here is where we get to the kitchen improv. This recipe has been tweaked again and again. Changing it up while maintaining the essence of the dish. That's exactly how jazz improv works. Change the lines around, tinker with the rhythms, but the essence of the tune is still there. My current hobby is learning jazz piano. I've played piano for decades, but the jazz is new. It's been so much fun.

I changed this recipe to suit me. We like fresh broccoli better. I always use sharp cheddar. And EIGHT slices of bread??? That would make a half-gallon of bread crumbs with the bread slices I had. I used Pepperidge Farm sour dough. Those are large slices. I tore each slice up into smaller pieces and processed them, one at the time in my mini food processor. Each slice makes about 1 cup of crumbs. I also cut way back on the butter. I probably used less than half a stick, just enough to moist the crumbs. Oleo? Nope. I only use butter nowadays. And I'm sure I used more than two cups of chicken. I just covered the broccoli.

Jessica said it was the crunchy crumbs that made the dish! She's right. I did like this better than the toast on the bottom. And Audrey's recipe is better seasoned that the old version I used to make. Mine was plain, plain, plain. No curry. No lemon juice. 

And my last kitchen improv was to use one can of cream of chicken soup and one can of cream of mushroom. That is because when I read the recipe, I only got as far as "cream of..." That so often means cream of mushroom, that is what I bought. But I did have one can of cream of chicken in the pantry, so I used one can of each. A trip back to the store for me is a 15 mile round trip. I've learned to improvise.

CHICKEN DIVAN

2 large broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size pieces & steamed until tender 

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up

2 cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I used one chicken & one mushroom)

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2-3 slices bread, toasted & made into bread crumbs (about 2 cups)

1/3 to 1/2 stick butter, melted

Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with PAM. Arrange broccoli in bottom. Put chicken evenly over broccoli. Mix soup, mayonnaise, curry powder, lemon juice and spread over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over the soup mixture.

Mix melted butter and bread crumbs and sprinkle over cheese.

Bake at 350º for 30-35 minute, until hot and bubbly.

I am delighted to have finally made this recipe I've heard about for so long. I forgot to ask Audrey what she served with hers. So we had pasta cooked brown rice and fresh fruit for the side dishes. We had the leftovers for lunch the next day and both Daddy-O and Jessica said they thought it was even better the second day. 

The next time it's my turn to take supper to book club, I think I have my menu!

If the jazz piano thing interests you at all, you will enjoy this video. I am currently signed up with his program. Can I play like this? Of course not. But I'm learning. There are many, many free video tutorials from him on YouTube. Just google "Piano with Jonny YouTube." I played around with those for quite some time. Then maybe you'll be like me and decide to jump in and try the full program. Let me know if you do and we can cheer each other on.

NOTE:  For reasons I don't understand the video is not showing up on the mobile view. At least on my phone. Use this link if you are interested:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CA0-HpKYZg