1/6/12

Blast from the Past: Peach-Glazed Chicken



Back when I was a pup (during the 14th Century), I hadn't yet learned to cook much beyond burning some eggs for breakfast.  I could handle boiling water pretty well . . . and toast, I suppose, since the toaster did all the hard stuff.  Otherwise, anything I cooked needed to be smothered in sauce to hide the residue of the cooking process.  There was, however, one recipe that I could make without fail, and bonus!  It made its own gravy.  Back then gravy was almost as intimidating as pie crust (which I wouldn't attempt at all).

So, by way of explaining how I happen to be making this relic of a recipe, I keep my tested recipes in a database on my computer.  I have two different software packages.  The original one is now so old that it isn't supported by my Windows software any more.  The engineer of the family actually had to load a virtual Windows XP program so that I could open it.  (He's very smart that way.)  The other day when I tried to open it, the computer started acting all weird, nervous, and thirsty.  I decided the day had come that I needed to print off any recipes I wanted to keep, and in the process, I came across this chicken recipe that I hadn't made in years.

Enter last night's dinner.  Sometimes when I try these old recipes, they just don't taste as delicious as I remember them.  I was kind of excited about this one, however, because the gravy is so tasty.  It's made from canned peaches and it has a really nice flavor.  I made it with mashed potatoes because it would be a shame not to have something to douse with a big ladle of gravy.  It would be equally good with rice or, my favorite, Chicken Rice-A-Roni.  (We are big on Rice-A-Roni in our family.)

So without further delay, here is a delicious chicken recipe easy enough for a beginner cook, yet yummy enough to serve to guests.  You can put this together in about five minutes, and then let it bake for an hour.  Nothing could be easier unless someone else cooked it for you. 

This recipe is from the Make Ahead Cookbook published way back in 1971, when I was still in high school.  (You thought I was kidding about the 14th Century didn't you?)


Peach-Glazed Chicken
Serves 4

2 1/2 to 3 pounds skin-on chicken (I like to use thighs)
Salt
Paprika
1 can (16 oz.) peach halves (packed in heavy syrup)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Arrange chicken in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.  Sprinkle with paprika and salt.

Drain peaches, reserving 1/2 cup syrup.  Combine reserved syrup, juice, and soy sauce.  Set aside 4 peach halves; mash remaining.  Add mashed peaches to soy mixture; drizzle over chicken.  Dot with butter.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, basting often with sauce.  Place reserved peaches in pan; bake 15 minutes more, continuing to baste often with sauce.

Remove chicken and peaches to platter.  Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water; stir into pan juices.  Cook and stir until thick.  Serve with chicken.

6 comments:

sunny said...

I don't go back nearly that far, only to the 15th century. (I was in Junior High in 1971) This recipe looks yummo, and we'll be trying it soon. Thanks for sharing.

rubyslipperz1052 said...

Kay...Sunny, I gotcha beat. =P
I grad high school in 1970. Do any of you remember or still have recipes from Home Ec classes in Jr and Sr high? I need to go digging! =P

I don't hardley cook at all anymore. Just me and DH and we eat so diff that it's hard to cook something that we will both eat =(

hugZ,
annie
anniesrubyslipperz.com

Diane Wild said...

I'm going to try this. I need to jump-start my chicken dishes and we always have canned peaches on the shelf; however, they're not in heavy syrup. I hope that's not an issue.

Sarah said...

You reminded me of a similar recipe I have at home. I already have a can of peaches but will need to see if I have some chicken parts in the freezer. Could be a nice homey dinner this weekend :)

Diane Wild said...

I ran right out to the store and bought a chicken and we had this for supper tonight. It was fabulous. Even Mr.-I-Don't-Like-Anything-Different thought it was excellent and suggested that we should have this again. Thanks Barb.

quiltzyx said...

Oh fine, now I need to go to the market from some peaches...this sounds really yummy.
Now that I'm home, and my 2 personal chefs are 500 miles away, this could be a good way to start cooking for myself again!