Weekend Cookbook Challenge and Introducing Mystery

What more 70's than "Chicken a la King!" -aka as Creamed Chicken, a more mundane title but describing the dish exactly. It graced family style tables, PTA lunch meetings, and was presented to guests for dinner. It seems to have gone out of fashion big time; however, it's a tasty dish and easy to make.

The book I have chosen is a 70's recipe book published by "The Star" newspaper in Johannesburg, S. Africa. The cover page is lost so no publication date, but it was in use in the 70's and is a collection of recipes by Angela Day who was the home expert of "The Star." Here goes:

CHICKEN A LA KING

1 large chicken
salt and pepper
pinch of thyme
one small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon flour (potato starch)
1/2 cup stock from the chicken
1 tin mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk (half-and-half)
1 red or green pepper, seeded and chopped

Season the chicken and steam in very little water, to which a pinch of thyme has been added, until tender. Remove all the flesh and cut into small pieces. Place in a casserole.

Fry the onion and garlic in the butter until the onion is golden brown. Add the mushrooms and fry for a minute, then blend in the flour and pour on the chicken stock. Add the mushroom soup and milk and stir until the sauce thickens. Finally add the red or green pepper. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the casserole. Cover and place in a 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes to heat through.

Serve with white rice.

I used potato starch instead of flour after I learned about it for my Marshmallows baking effort for Tuesdays with Dorie; it's such a nice thickener and it blends easily. Also used half-and-half as it adds a touch of luxury. I made this dish recently for a Church Potluck and it got "Yums" all around.

Thanks so much to Carla of Chocolate Moosey for selecting the Vintage Cookbook theme. I think there are going to be lots of interesting recipes in this challenge - my oldest vintage cookbooks are a 1943 American cookie book and a 1948 Australian's Women's Weekly cookbook, both of which I picked up on e-bay recently. (AWW has a great website and fantastic current books as well.)

Well, here's to the Seventies!.

Goodness, my recent blog entries look as if I'm filling up on pale pies - I must obviously rectify this situation - my next blog will be (to be announced). To add something bright and beautiful to my blog, here's a formal introduction to Mystery, my darling big boy, who ate a lot of the chicken before it reached the casserole!