Cecilia Chicken Recipes

CECILIA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken in baking dish.
• Spread mayonnaise evenly over chicken.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Bake uncovered at 400°F for 50 minutes.

SICILIAN ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.
• Arrange chicken pieces in the baking pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano over both sides.
• Roast in the preheated oven until chicken is browned and the juices run clear, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

MISS CECILIA'S CHICKEN POT PIE

Steps:

• Dress and cut chickens into serving pieces.
• Place in a stewpan and barely cover with boiling water; simmer until tender.
• Prepare pastry, using a little less shortening than called for in recipe. Divide dough into two parts.
• Roll out one piece very thin and line sides of 2 quart baking dish with part of it and cut remainder into strips.
• Arrange a layer of chicken in dish; season with salt and pepper. Cover with pastry strips and continue until all the chicken and strips are used.
• Add milk and about 1/4 cup of stock in which the chickenwas cooked.
• Roll out the second piece of dough; dot with butter, fold and roll again until butter is blended into dough.
• Roll out thinly; make small gashes in it to allow steam to escape and cover top of pie.
• Press edges together and bake in a preheated 400F oven until crust is well browned.
• Variation: Omit pastry and butter. Arrange chicken in baking dish; add seasoning, milk and stock. Place drop biscuits on top and bake as directed.

BEGGAR'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rub the chicken inside and out with salt, half of the soy sauce and half of the wine. Set aside for at least one hour.
• Meanwhile, put the mushrooms in a small mixing bowl and add warm water to cover. Let stand half an hour or until the caps are softened. Drain and squeeze to extract and discard excess moisture. Cut off and discard the tough stems. Cut the caps into thin slivers and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut the preserved vegetable into thin slivers. If it has been packed in a shredded state, shred it further. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wok or skillet and add the pork. Cook, stirring rapidly, until it loses its raw look. Add the mushrooms, preserved vegetable and bamboo shoots. Add the remaining soy sauce, remaining wine, salt and sugar. Cook, stirring, one minute. Set aside to cool.
• Stuff the mixture inside the chicken.
• Fold the wing tips under the chicken. Truss the chicken as neatly as possible with string.
• Lay out a large rectangle of aluminum foil on a flat surface. Place the chicken in the center. Wrap the chicken as compactly as possible inside the foil.
• Gather together a large handful of the clay. Flatten this handful to a thickness of about one inch and apply it to one outside section of the foil-wrapped chicken. Place another flattened handful of clay slightly overlapping and press to seal the two pieces together. Continue applying handfuls of clay, pressing as you work, until the chicken is completely and compactly covered with clay. Smooth the clay over as you work. You may bake the chicken at this point or you may ''sculpt'' the product with additional pieces of clay, shaping it to resemble a whole bird with beak, feet, eyes, tail feathers and so on.
• Place in the oven and bake 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. As the clay bakes, it may develop cracks. As these are noticed, seal the cracks by smearing on a little more clay.
• Continue baking the chicken for 30 minutes. If desired, you may then paint the clay with poster paint or watercolors.
• To serve, crack the clay, remove the chicken and peel away and discard the foil. Carve the chicken and serve with the preserved-vegetable stuffing.