Blue Plate Bachelor

Here’s another one from my college days…

Back in college, we were jealous of the girls from the Gamma Phi Beta house. Our jealousy didn’t have anything to do with who won the Homecoming carnival or who was pinned to which dreamy Sig Ep — it had everything to do with Oprah Winfrey.

See, everything prepared by the Gamma Phi’s in-house chef came from Oprah’s cookbook: pasta, french fries, paella…

…and, most importantly, fried chicken.

Back at the Chi Omega house, our chef, Joe, was a plump, friendly guy, with a plump, friendly wife and six (or so) plump, friendly kids. He’d been a pastry chef in a previous career, and worried sincerely about the fact that we girls were “too skinny.” The only solution for this, seemingly, was generous helpings of meat, potatoes and butter. This isn’t to say Joe was a bad chef. He was a pretty good chef, right down to the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that came out of the oven at 2 o’clock sharp, just in time for everyone to wander in after class.

But what we really wanted was food that tasted good, without having to worry about fat and calories.

We wanted Oprah’s fried chicken.

This week I asked my Recess Bootcamp alumni “sisters” what restaurant comfort foods they’d like to see made healthier. When Kelly requested fried chicken, I immediately thought back to the Chi-O house kitchenette and my first-ever subscription to Cooking Light. Back then, I decided to cook for myself occasionally, especially on the weekends when Joe went home to his house full of kids and the food prep was left to a hungover Pi Kappa Alpha houseboy with a deep fryer and a bag of tater tots.

This “fried” chicken is as good now as it was back then. (No houseboys included.)

Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken with Celery Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
(This originally appeared in Cooking Light’s July 1997 issue.)

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinned chicken breast halves
8 (4-ounce) chicken drumsticks, skinned
1/4 cup honey
2 T. Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/4 c. finely crushed cornflakes (about 4 cups uncrushed cereal)
1/2 c. finely chopped pecans
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º.

2. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken; set aside. Combine honey, mustard, paprika, and garlic powder in a small bowl; stir well. Combine cornflakes and pecans in a shallow dish; stir well. Brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture.

3. Place chicken pieces on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray, and bake at 400º for 40 minutes or until done.

Makes 8 servings

Calories 333, Fat 13 g., Cholesterol 101 mg., Sodium 368 mg., Carbs 22 g., Fiber 1 g., Protein 32 g., Calcium 24 mg., Iron 6 mg.

Celery Mashed Potatoes and Chicken Gravy

Ingredients:

Potatoes
7 medium red potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 3 1/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons reduced-calorie stick margarine
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup minced fresh or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Chicken Gravy
2 tablespoons reduced-calorie stick margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 cup low-salt chicken broth

Preparation
Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain and return to pan.
Melt margarine in a small skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté celery and onion 8 minutes or until tender.

Add celery mixture, milk, parsley, salt, and poultry seasoning to potatoes; beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth.

Melt margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat; add flour, poultry seasoning, salt, and paprika, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add broth, stirring until blended. Cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 cup potatoes and 2 1/2 tablespoons gravy)

CALORIES 208(24% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 1g,mono 1.9g,poly 2.2g); PROTEIN 5.5g; CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 53mg; SODIUM 361mg; FIBER 4g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 36g

This entry was posted Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 1:43 pm and is filed under Crying out for a makeover, Food, Healthy Stuff. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.