In the 1960s, it wasn't enough to just cook chicken, damn it. One had to cook it gloriously. At least, that's what the manufacturers of "lighter, clearer" Wesson pure vegetable cooking oil wanted their customers to do. That's why Wesson published this free 15-page booklet (consumers had to order it by writing to "The Wesson People" in New Orleans) filled with recipes for cooking up some glorious chicken. There are several recipes for pan-fried chicken, of course, as well as oven-fried, oven-baked, broiled and grilled out on the barbecue.
I found this treasure at an estate sale in midtown -- in one of those 1920s cottages that look so adorable from the exterior and then you walk in and it's practically a scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The kitchen was a wreck, but filled with cookbook pamphlets that the former owner had dutifully sent off for back in a happier, more domestic era.
There's a recipe for chicken croquettes called "Chicken Logs" and for something completely different, one for "Chicken Pancakes" served with a dill-yogurt sauce. But nothing beats the creativity of "Fruited Chicken," which isn't just darn tasty, but fights constipation too!
The recipe's after the jump.
FRUITED CHICKEN
Coat fryer with 1/4 cup of Wesson oil and brown. Add one cup each:
cubed pineapple and chopped onion, 12 pitted prunes, 1/4 cup minced
celery leaves, 1 clove garlic -- minced, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1/2
teaspoon marjoram. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. As one cup sliced
celery and 1/2 cup dried apricots. Cook ten minutes. 4-6 servings.
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