Betty Lives!

Family Circle Creative Chicken Cookbook

1978

This book attracted me because the font, which I can’t name, is so emblematic of the 70’s and the photos have this great 70’s style to them.  Also, who doesn’t need extra chicken recipes?

check out those teak serving pieces!

The Potato Flake chicken was like the high school delinquent boy for me, I was drawn to it even though I knew in my heart it would be a mistake.  I just couldn’t stop myself, the intrigue was too much. On the surface it seems like a perfectly good idea: oven-roasted chicken coated with dehydrated mashed potato mix.  It’s got chicken, it’s got potatoes, all good.  But this is probably the first unqualified disaster (worse than the Klops) of the Betty Lives project. I stand before you humbled for  I could not repair this mess.

The chicken is dipped first in evaporated milk which has been mixed with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs, and 1/8 tsp pepper. Then it is dipped in the potato flakes and baked for one hour at 350 degrees.  Problem number one: evaporated milk does not have enough viscosity to be used solo as coating, it needs an egg.  Without a nice sticky egg, you dip the chicken in and then all the milk drips right off.  Problem two: the potato flakes (I bought basic Pilsbury) have no flavor and require seasoning or at least salt.  Problem three: when fat is not part of the chicken coating it will not brown in a dry oven.  Halfway through the cooking time I took the chicken out of the oven and sprayed it with olive oil.  But nothing could save this dish, it was dreadful.  The coating was flavorless and the underside of the chicken pieces which had been pan-side down just developed into instant potato mush.  The kids ate it without complaining, although I had to provide both ketchup and mustard, and Doug feigned interest until he couldn’t take it anymore and said,  “this is gross.  Do we have anything else in the fridge?”  Poor guy.