So, thanks to ya’ll, I made it through the first round of the competition. Along with 400 others, I have been challenged to make a classic dish that is from an ethnic culture including ingredients or techniques that I am not familiar with.
I had a tough time choosing a dish.
Should I go with a baked good from another culture? Like Strudel? Yeah, I could totally see my 5 year old in the middle of that one: “Let me help you pull it MOMMY!”
Or maybe I should do something that is completely off the wall…Sushi? Yeah, me and the other 399 contestants.
I decided that since my maiden name (Sherwood – like the forest) indicates that my heritage is somehow traced back to that place where the rich were robbed and their monies and such given to the poor, it would be totally awesome to do a classic dish from Mother England.
And what’s more classic to Mother England than…
No, not Yorkshire Pudding.
No, not Spotted Dick.
No, not Beef Wellington.
I chose Coronation Chicken.
Coronation chicken is a dish that was created for the banquet celebrating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
I chose Coronation Chicken because it includes some ingredients that I have never thrown in a pot:
1. Curry Powder (a spice that I have never touched in my life). Research indicates that the chefs would have used a ready-made curry powder since this was so soon after WWII and spices to make a curry blend would have been difficult to find in England due to food rations. This dish seems like a good one for a curry-novice.
2. Red wine (I’ve never COOKED with red wine, I’ve certainly ingested plenty, though). We’ll see if I can keep from dumping the whole bottle in the pot.
According to the All Mighty Wikipedia:
Coronation chicken is a combination of precooked cold chicken meat, herbs and spices, and a creamy mayonnaise-based sauce which can be eaten as a salad or used to fill sandwiches. Florist Constance Spry and chef Rosemary Hume are credited with the invention of coronation chicken.
All hail, the Mighty Wikipedia!
Apparently, Rosemary Hume (the chef) was the brains behind the operation, and Constance Spry (the Martha Stewart of Post-World W.ar II England), snatched up the credit. Or so the story goes.
I have located the original recipe for Coronation Chicken…we’ll follow it as written.
It’s even in the metric system, ya’ll!
Rosemary Hume’s original coronation chicken
Serves 6-8
From The Constance Spry Cookery Book by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume, (Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1994 – out of print).
Found by Amy at www.independent.co.uk
Poach 2 chickens until just tender and allow to cool in the liquid.
Joint and bone the birds. (I translated this as “pick off the meat and discard the bones and skin”)
Heat 1tbsp oil, add 55g finely chopped onion, cook gently 3-4 minutes (According to my measuring cups, 55g is about 1/4 cup of onion) 
add 1tbsp curry powder. Cook again 1-2 minutes. 
(This. Smells. Amazing.)
Add 1 good tsp tomato purée, 1 wine glass red wine, 3/4 wine glass water (My wine glasses are big, I used about a cup of wine and 3/4 cup of water)…
and a bay leaf. 
Bring to the boil, add salt,
sugar to taste, (I taste a lot of sugar.)
a touch of pepper, a slice or two of lemon (I love the way this looks)
and a squeeze of lemon juice. (I can already start to smell the lemon)
Simmer with the pan uncovered 5-10 minutes. 
Strain…
and cool. (Okay, gorgeous color alert!)
Add by degrees to 425ml mayonnaise (About 1 3/4 cups)
with 1-2tbsp apricot purée* to taste. ( I went for it and did 2 tbsp, and this is an apricot spread…All Fruit)
Finish with 2-3tbsp lightly whipped cream. 
Take a small amount of sauce (enough to coat the chicken) and mix with a little extra whipped cream and seasoning. Serve with a rice salad of carefully cooked peas, diced raw cucumber, finely chopped mixed herbs, all dressed in a well-seasoned French dressing. (I don’t think I did the french dressing right…I just did rice cooked in chicken stock).
Put it on a glass plate and it’s fit for a Queen.
My husband looked at this and said, “Wow, I wish they would have served the Queen some hamburgers and milkshakes for her coronation.”
Okay, I get the hint, darlin’. Apparently I’ll be eating this all week. By myself.
Which is completely okay with me! The chicken is creamy and light, and the flavors are complex…this tastes like nothing I’ve ever made before. No wonder it’s a classic dish: It’s amazing!
It’s fun to try something new every once in a while, right?
So this is my entry! If you wanna vote for me, voting starts Monday, September 27 and runs through Thursday, September 30.
Thanks for the votes and kind words, I really appreciate this!
