1970's Comfort Food Classic - Chicken Divan

Comfort food is really at the heart of my cooking.  I know we shouldn't show love with food, but I'm a Kansas girl at heart and that is just how we do it.  The time and effort put into making a casserole or a pie or cookies just shows folks that you were thinking of them, and that they are loved. 

This casserole is an absolute 1970's classic, and I'm sure variations have been star of many church socials and family get-togethers.  I love this for the flavor of the curry which just lifts what is basically a creamy casserole into something nicer.  I make my own breadcrumbs (just toast leftover bread and then blitz in a food processor), and find they are much nicer than the powdery commercially available ones. 

I'm sure you could do this with cream of mushroom soup if you wanted to, but...not in my kitchen.  Blech.

Chicken Divan

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli, chopped into small florets
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size "stir fry" style slices
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Get out a good sized casserole dish (11" x 7" or thereabouts), no greasing required.

Put a small drizzle of oil in a fry pan, and cook the chicken pieces until just cooked.  Don't overcook the chicken at this step, it will spend quite a while in the oven at a later step. 

Meanwhile, place the broccoli florets in boiling water for 4 minutes, and then drain it and put into a casserole dish. Top with the cooked chicken.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper (to taste - I don't think this dish requires any salt) and wine. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken. Mix it all together in the casserole dish. Pat down evenly and eyeball an even distribution of chicken and broccoli.

Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle evenly over the top.

Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes.

I serve this with a serve of steamed rice. 

It heats up beautifully in the microwave for a "leftovers lunch" at work the next day. 

Blueberry Shortbread Slice

I adore blueberries...always have.  One of my very first recipes was for blueberry muffins.  I've shared my perfected version of that here in a prior post.  I have recently been working on a blueberry slice, and have found one that is just lovely for afternoon tea.  It isn't too sweet, and the tartness of the blueberries matches well with the buttery shortbread. 

Ingredients:

Shortbread Dough

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups plain flour
1 cup butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
Berry Filling
4 cups blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Grease a 13x9 inch pan.

2.Combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, butter, and egg. Dough will be crumbly. I usually do this step in my Kitchen Aid. 

3. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.

3.Combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and blueberries. Place mixture over dough in pan. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the blueberries.

4.Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

5. Enjoy!