Chicken: the Real Midwestern Cuisine

When you think of Midwestern food, meat and potatoes probably come to mind, or perhaps fresh bread, the bounty of the Wheat Belt. It was creamed chicken, though, that traditionally fueled the Midwest. Look in any old recipe collection from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas or Wisconsin and note the prevalence of chicken in sauce.

One of my favorite collections, “The Legendary Illinois Cookbook” (Donning Co., 1982) by Agnes M. Feeney and John Leckel, has baked chicken paprika and baked chicken breasts in sour cream. The more upscale “Kansas Cookbook” (University Press of Kansas, 1989) by Frank Carey and Jayni Naas, features creme frai^che chicken, chicken and morel mushrooms in brandy cream, chicken with tarragon cream and creamed capon on corn bread. Creamed Chicken and Asparagus on Cornmeal Biscuits was inspired by that last dish.

CREAMED CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS ON CORNMEAL BISCUITS

CORNMEAL BISCUITS

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into thin slices

1/3 cup half and half

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Blend flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar in mixing bowl or food processor fitted with steel blade. Cut in butter with knife or, if using processor, add butter and pulse to cut in. When mixture is crumbly, stir in half and half and mix quickly by machine or with fork to form dough.

Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead five times. Flatten or roll out 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 4 (2-inch) circles, rerolling, if necessary. Bake on ungreased baking sheet, at 425 degrees until golden brown and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

CREAMED CHICKEN

2 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

1 bay leaf

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup 1-inch-long pieces asparagus tips and stalks

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, white part only, trimmed and chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup half and half

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried tarragon

Salt, pepper

If you have 1 to 1 1/2 cups leftover cooked chicken, use it in place of the chicken breasts. Start the creamed chicken recipe at the asparagus step and use canned broth.

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Simmer chicken, bay leaf and chicken broth in small pan and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken, cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.

Pour broth into measuring cup. Remove bay leaf. Add water if necessary to make 1 cup. Set aside.

Cook asparagus in small pan with water to cover until tender-crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Melt butter in small pan. Add leek and saute 5 minutes. Stir in flour to make paste. Stir in reserved chicken broth. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and thick. Add chicken to sauce along with asparagus, half and half, and tarragon. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, place 2 biscuits on each of 2 plates. Split each open and spoon half of chicken and sauce over each serving. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Each serving contains about:

902 calories; 1,458 mg sodium; 191 mg cholesterol; 51 grams fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 42 grams protein; 1.39 grams fiber.