Help reconstructing old recipe with unclear directions

[HeatherFeather]

I am planning to test out another of my vintage recipes from old community cookbooks I have been going through. I found a recipe for a baked chicken with rice that sounds good, but the directions are confusing. Before I waste money, I am hoping I can get some guidance/suggestions on the cooking instructions.

The ingredients are 3 chicken breasts (may be boned or with bones - although the directions say 1 hour either way), rice, seasonings, broth, garlic, onion, celery, water, toasted almonds, and parsley.

The instructions exactly from the cookbook:

Toast rice x25' until golden brown, stirring frequently. Flour, salt and pepper chicken and brown (may bone the chicken). Add onion and garlic, saute until tender. Add rest of ingredients. 11x7 pan lay chicken on top. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 350 F for 1 hour. Sprinkle with parsley and slivered toasted almonds.

I have no idea what x25' means - surely they can't mean toast the rice dry in the pan for 25 minutes? What else would x25' mean?

So toast the rice, then brown the chicken - I assume in another pan. Then it says to add onions, garlic and saute (why not the celery too?) - but is this in the pan with the rice or the chicken or yet another pan?

The "rest of the ingredients" would be the unsauteed celery, the liquids, and the seasonings. Since I am not sure if the rice, the chicken, and the onion mixture are all in different pans or together, I am lost at this step. It seems to me that I should not be mixing the chicken in with the "rest of the ingredients" since it needs to get placed on top - but then the chicken won't get seasoned, other than salt, pepper, and flour. Do I mix the chicken in with everything, then pluck it out and lay it on top of the watery/brothy "rest of ingredients?"

Step one: Toast Rice (dry? how long? set aside or add more ingredients?)
Step two: brown seasoned floured chicken (in another pan?)
Step three: add onions & garlic (to which pan?) then add "rest of ingredients"
Step four: place chicken on top of rice, sprinkle with nuts & parsley and bake

I have measurements, it is just the steps I am a bit lost on. Any ideas? Most chicken and rice recipes I have found to compare with call for cooking rice first or canned cream soups, so I haven't had much luck. I am also thinking about using wild rice not white.

[Gerry]

Hi Heather, saw this earlier today, being a long time collector of community cookbooks I am thinking the x 25 is a misprint which got missed. I am very fond of chicken and rice casseroles, this one does sound good.

Have noted in many of the older cookbooks the instructions are very simple, in these small communities most assumed everyone knew the basics and often didn't make mention of the amount of shortening or butter needed to brown the ingredients. Back then most were too busy to have extra pots and pans needing to be washed - I suspect they likely put the rice in a serving bowl and wiped the pan and browned the chicken in the pan they used for the rice.

1 I would toast the uncooked rice until golden brown and set it aside in a serving bowl (you will need to see just how much shortening or butter is needed for browning)

2 Brown chicken. You could keep the rice in one pan and go with a second pan for browning the chicken - safe to say I am sure back then they wiped the pan added shortening and browned in the same pan.

2 Add onions,celery and garlic saute until soft and translucent. (I would sugest adding the celery along with the onions and garlic) Add in rest of ingredient which I suspect includes the browned rice.

3 Thinking back to old recipes - place mixture in the 11x 7 in pan and nestle the chicken pieces on top - sprinkle with nuts and parsley.

Sounds good - when I think to chicken and rice tomatoes always come to mind - I just may have to give this recipe a try! Good luck - will be watching for your posting.

[Mary]

Gerry's advice seems reasonable to me, but I wonder if the rice is not browned in the oven (at 325* or ' for degrees). You are really just browning the rice in some kind of fat (but I would use unsalted butter). This partially cooks it. After it is mixed with the liquids, it will simmer in the covered oven pan.

Either way, I would brown the chicken in a skillet, set it aside, and brown all of the vegetables in the same skillet. Stirring the liquids and seasonings into the vegetables in the skillet will allow you to scrape up the goodies on the bottom of the skillet before you stir it all into the browned rice in the oven pan.

Top the rice and vegetables with browned chicken, cover, and cook it the rest of the way in the oven. Uncover and garnish with parsley and toasted almonds when you serve it. If you cook the almonds and parsley with the chicken, you'll lose the crisp crunch of the almonds and the bright green freshness of the parsley sprinkled on top.

It's also really worth thinking about what rice you will use. Wild rice cooks so differently from white and brown rice that I wouldn't use it in this dish or would cook it separately (which totally defeats the purpose of browning and then basting the rice with the chicken juices). I'm guessing that the cook originally used plain old white rice since brown rice would have been less commonly used and takes longer to cook.

As for the chicken, bone-in will give you more flavor for your rice and should cook in about an hour as the recipe suggests. If you want to season it more than just with the salt and pepper, add seasonings that will compliment the rice seasonings to the flour before browning.

Good luck with it. We'll be watching for a report on the results. =-)

[HeatherFeather]

Thank you both for the great suggestions! I think I have a plan now for my first test. I will go with white rice, since I agree that in older books, I should assume more basic ingredients. I never thought about toasting it in the oven - that does seem to make sense. I think I will definitely brown the chicken, then remove it and brown the veggies in the same pan, using some of the chicken drippings - that makes sense to me.

I will be using boneless chicken breasts this time around, as that is what I already have in the house. I suspect bone-in might have been the better choice, but at least the recipe does mention I can remove the bones. I may need to check it early using boneless though.

If it works out right, I will share the recipe as I prepared it. I am really trying to get a lot of my older recipes tested and posted here. I have tons of old family recipes and community cookbooks with things you just don't see online already. It is fun trying to decipher these older forgotten recipes!

[Mary]

Hi Heather. I just looked for this thread in Zazz chat and couldn't find our responses, so I stumbled along until I found this one.

I wanted to mention that "browning" the rice is a step in pilaf, although the rice is usually cooked until it is translucent, not browned. It also occurred to me that the liquids can do their job more quickly if they are heated before adding them to the rice/veg mixture. Since you are cooking boneless breasts, you might heat the liquids to ensure the rice is done when the chicken is.

[HeatherFeather]

Good point - I think I will try that as well. I hope this recipe works out - it sounds promising.

[Sue]

I am thinking that the rice would be browned in 2 tbsp butter, the way one makes Rice a Roni. It doesn't often brown but does get that opaque look.