When Debbie Roberts submitted her savory baked chicken to the Montgomery Advertiser in 1983, it was more than just a recipe. It was a Montgomery couple’s healthy eating choice summed up in a single dish.
“When we first started, people thought it was ghastly, but now they think it is just grand,” the Montgomery resident told the Advertiser in 1983, reflecting on the choice to be “health nuts” that she and her husband made. As part of that, they believed chicken and fish were healthier options — better than red meat or pork. That didn’t mean she didn’t crave something else occasionally.
“Sometimes, I’d just die for a pork chop,” she said.
Her sacrifice paid off. In 1983, Roberts’ chicken dish captured first place in the poultry division of the Montgomery Advertiser and Alabama Journal Cookbook Recipe Contest.
Apparently, Roberts’ cooking skills are what sealed the deal with her husband. She said he married her because of it. When it came to the kitchen, she brought the skills and he brought the inspiration to eat healthy. Her husband had strict eating habits long before they got together. Some of the rules they followed include:
- Roberts only used unbleached white flour when she made her delicious sounding sourdough rolls.
- The only other flour she cooked with was whole wheat, which she’d get from a health food store.
- She had a strict limit on salt use, and often substituted it with garlic salt.
- They ate a lot of salad, and liked a lot of Southern veggies like black-eyed peas and turnip greens.
Roberts’ cooking skills were forged out of necessity. When she was just 12, her mother became very sick. As the oldest child, the task of cooking all their family meals fell on her shoulders.
“It was a case of ‘have-to,’ ” she said.
Fortunately, her mother eventually recovered, and became another source of inspiration for Roberts. These days, people can find recipe ideas instantly on their phones. Not so in 1983. Back then, her mom filled that role.
“Every year, she makes an annual visit to my aunt’s (house) in New Orleans and brings back recipes,” Roberts said. “That’s where I got the recipe I used in the contest.”
Which leads us to the award-winning recipe, which Roberts said she changed a little from the original version to fit their tastes. She doubled the sauce and added garlic salt.
Check it out, and keep reading because we’re sharing the contest’s second and third place winning poultry recipes.
Baked Chicken in Savory Sauce
The steps to Roberts’ first-place recipe come in three waves. Here’s what you need to get started:
- Large chicken, about 4 pounds dressed, cut into quarters
- Half cup self-rising flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- One-eighth teaspoon garlic powder
- One-third teaspoon paprika
- Quarter teaspoon black pepper
- Quarter teaspoon curry powder
- Stick butter or margarine
Melt a stick of butter or margarine in a shallow casserole dish, 2 quart size. Put flour and seasonings in a bag (original recipe used a paper bag, but I’d go with a gallon sized plastic storage bag). Take the skin off the chicken. Shake each piece of chicken in the flour mix until it is well coated. Let the chicken rest for about 30 minutes, and then and lay the pieces in melted butter in the casseole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown on the underside, or until tender.
Up next, make the sauce:
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 3 cups boiling water
Melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in flour. Cook until bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the dissolved chicken bouillon cubes. Return to the heat and cook until smooth.
Final prep items:
- 2 tomatoes, sliced thin
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- Half cup green onion, chopped
Remove the chicken from the oven. Turn the pieces over. Lay sliced tomatoes, sliced green pepper, and chopped green onions over the chicken. Add the sauce over that, then bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees, or until tender. Serves 4 to 6.
Chicken piquant
Second place went to Jeanie McLain of Montgomery with her Chicken Piquant. For those unfamiliar, “piquant” means having a pleasantly sharp taste or appetizing flavor. You’ll need:
- 4 pounds chicken breasts, boned and skinned
- Flour
- Vegetable oil
- Half cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 can artichoke hearts, sliced
- Half pound mushrooms, sliced
- Cup dry white wine
- Half cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons parsley
- Sait and pepper
Cut the chicken into strips and dredge in flour. Saute in the oil until chicken is golden brown. Remove the chicken to a warm platter and pour off the excess oil. Add the butter, garlic, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Simmer a few minutes. Add the wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper and parsley. Mix it, then simmer until the liquid is almost gone. Serve the sauce over the chicken. Serves 6 to 8.
Sour Cream Oven Chicken
Pat Canterbury of Montgomery captured third place with Sour Cream Oven Chicken, which is a recipe you’ll need to prep one day and cook the next.
- 3 pounds of chicken
- 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash of black pepper
- 1 package herbed seasoned stuffing mix
Combine the sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Let the chicken marinate in mixture overnight in the refrigerator. Take the chicken out and roll in stuffing mix. Place on a well-greased cookie sheet. Drizzle the melted butter on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serves 6 people.
IF YOU TRY IT
If you decide to try one of these lost recipes please send us a photo and a note on how it went. Send it in an email titled “Lost Recipes” to Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com. To support his work please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
