Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Chicken and Mushrooms

ChickenandMushroomsHeader This week we decided we would take a break from desserts (I’m sure we’ll make more soon) and leftover casseroles to make an actual meal. This chicken and mushrooms recipe is healthier than some and has a relatively short ingredient list. The instructions were interesting and included things I had not encountered before, which was fun!

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Chicken and mushrooms recipe

First thing, this recipe threw me a curve ball. I had never browned the outside of a chicken breast and then removed it from heat to cook other parts of the meal. I found this incredibly interesting and I still don’t know why this recipe called for that, but it ended up working out just fine! I have really grown to like mushrooms since I was little. Mushrooms were on that long list of foods I didn’t like because I had never tried them before . . . Anyway . . . the smell of the mushrooms and garlic cooking made us excited to try this.

Chicken and Mushrooms

The next step was to add the wine. In looking up types of wines used in cooking, I found that the best choice for a chicken dish like this was a dry, oaky white. I ended up choosing a Chardonnay. After adding the chicken stock and stirring everything together, it was time to put the chicken breasts back in.

Chicken Mushrooms

While Marguerite didn’t suggest this, we decided that after eight or nine minutes of cooking we should flip the chicken breasts over to finish them. We even ended up cooking the chicken longer than Marguerite suggested (something I never thought I would do!) We decided to pair it with rice, although mashed potatoes would have been a delicious addition to this chicken and mushrooms recipe as well.

Mushrooms and Chicken

The chicken stock, wine, garlic, and parsley really soaked in to both the chicken and mushrooms. Cooking the chicken in the amount of liquid present at a lower temperature helped the meat soak up the liquid and not dry out. The chicken was tasty, but for me the real star of this dish was the mushrooms. Shannon is more a fan of mushrooms in creamy dishes, so she wasn’t as crazy about this.  In the end, this chicken and mushrooms recipe was a success but was still rather simple. If you like mushrooms or do chicken a lot and need another recipe to mix it up, this is definitely one to keep in mind.

Mushrooms Chicken

Chicken and Mushrooms
Print Recipe
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Chicken and Mushrooms
Print Recipe
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings
2 chicken breasts
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: chicken breasts
Instructions
  1. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to skillet on high heat. Brown each side of the chicken breasts and then remove chicken from heat.
  2. Add another tbsp of olive oil, then the mushrooms and garlic. Cover and cook three minutes. Then uncover and cook mushrooms until brown over medium heat.
  3. Add the wine and increase heat to high. Cook until about half the wine has cooked off.
  4. Add the chicken stock and parsley and reduce heat to half.
  5. Add chicken. Cook 6-8 minutes per side, or until done.
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Inside-Out Chicken Kiev

chickenkievheader

There’s no question that the most numerous type of recipe in Marguerite’s cookbook is desserts, and we’ll get back to another one of those next week! But first, a recipe that is most likely the second popular in the book—a chicken recipe. This inside-out chicken kiev was a delicious twist on a classic!

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

Chicken Kiev Recipe

You may notice a few differences between Marguerite’s recipe and our version below. The main difference is the title. We knew that a typical chicken kiev usually has the butter and spices stuffed and cooked on the inside, which was not a part of Marguerite’s recipe. So we decided to rename this recipe ‘inside-out chicken kiev.’ Aaron was almost as excited about the catchy new name as he was about the dish itself!

insideoutchickenkiev

Some other changes we made included minimizing the cook time from Marguerite’s and substituting dried ingredients for fresh ones. We make some type of chicken recipe about once a week and usually only cook it for up to 30 minutes. So when we read how long Marguerite wanted us to cook this recipe, we thought: That’s crazy! And so Aaron’s mother fielded yet another recipe-related phone call from us. We seriously call her 3-4 times while making these. Seriously. She agreed with Marguerite on the cooking time, but the thought of overly dry chicken still made us cringe. We’re glad we went with our guts and cut the cook time. Sorry Marguerite and Mercedes!

inside out chicken kiev

This inside-out chicken kiev smelled great while it was cooking, which made waiting for dinner time to eat it torture! I really liked this chicken recipe. I’ve liked almost all of the things we’ve been making lately, actually. The combination of the spices on the chicken made it incredibly flavorful. A whole bunch of butter slathered on it doesn’t hurt either. As Marguerite’s mother always said “If it calls for one stick of butter, then two will make it twice as good!” Okay, Paula Deen. Aaron also liked this inside-out chicken kiev. But, as I’ve mentioned before, he likes everything.

inside out chickenkiev

We hope you try this simple recipe with your family. We think you’ll enjoy this inside-out chicken kiev as much as we did!

Inside-Out Chicken Kiev
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Inside-Out Chicken Kiev
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt butter in shallow dish.
  3. Mix bread crumbs, cheese, and spices (salt, garlic salt, oregano, and basil.)
  4. Dip chicken in butter, then crumb mixture.
  5. Place in casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
  6. Mix apple juice, onion, and parsley.
  7. Add to leftover butter.
  8. When 30 minute cook time has passed, pour apple juice mixture over chicken and bake 2 to 3 minutes more.
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Homemade Meatballs

Homemade Meatballs

As you may recall, my Italian heritage requires me to love all things pasta related, that includes spaghetti and meatballs. These homemade meatballs were very easy and I liked how plain they were (a real “shock” to those of you that know me personally.) But honestly, the nice plain flavor is not too overpowering, making these a great candidate for being added to any pasta dish, sauce, and the like.

Homemade Meatballs

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Homemade Meatballs Recipe

You may have noticed, Marguerite’s original recipe called for a quarter pound of veal. We decided we did not want to go through the hassle of finding or paying for veal. As you may recall, we had issues with this earlier. Also, while some may think veal has a discernibly better flavor, both Aaron and I felt it was not necessary to include in this recipe. Veal-Schmeal! We just edited the amounts of each remaining meat to keep a decent ratio of beef to pork, as well as making sure to keep the total amount of ground meat to one pound. Make sense? If not just read the recipe below.

Homemade Meatballs

Marguerite’s recipe says that this amount of ingredients will make 16 meatballs. Our cooking of this recipe did not yield that many, however, we made some of ours way too large! Most of the ones in these photographs are an average size, but we (Aaron) did make a few monster meatballs that ended up larger than desired.

Homemade Meatballs

As mentioned above, they were a little plain. Not something I would serve on their own as an appetizer, but something to add to some pasta and sauce. Perhaps with her meatless spaghetti sauce, which we previously made? We will have to try them together sometime and get back to you.

The meatballs also reminded me of my mother’s meatloaf, and some insight into this recipe from Aaron’s mom proved that to be a valid thought. She told us that her dad, and Marguerite’s husband, Jim, liked meatloaf. The ingredients in this recipe were incredibly similar to the meatloaf that Marguerite would make for Jim, particularly the three different kinds of meat.

Homemade Meatballs

Aaron liked making these meatballs because they reminded him of making homemade meatballs with his mom. She had a different meatball recipe of her own, and if you want to hear about that recipe in the future, you should subscribe to our monthly newsletter! In contrast to these homemade meatballs, it’s very much an “eat on their own as an appetizer” recipe. Aaron thought these meatballs were yummy, but he is getting increasingly tired of all the finely chopped onion in these recipes, particularly because the Marguerite he remembered couldn’t stomach onions anymore and didn’t but them in anything she was planning on eating! I also make him do all the onion chopping…

 

Homemade Meatballs
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
16 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
16 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Homemade Meatballs
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
16 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
16 Meatballs 30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: Meatballs
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form into balls.
  2. TIP: If meatballs tend to stick to hands as they are formed, add more breadcrumbs.
  3. Place in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.
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