Golden Jubilee Chicken
Tired Mom. She always worked SO HARD! The painting behind her is one of my grandmother’s, Phyllis Volberg.
Mom looking chic as hell at her wedding breakfast in Kingsport, TN. 1964. My Grandma Reed is to the left of her and my Granddaddy Volberg and Grandpa Reed are to the right.
Unironic Emily Post on Mom’s desk.
Easter in Kingsport, TN. We always had matching dresses. These were made by my Great Grandmother, Dee Dee, I think. We’re pictured here with my Reed Grandparents at Ridgefields Country Club.
Mom always made sure “her girls” (her granddaughters) were set up! Here they are looking amazing on the QM2.
My daughter with Dad and Mom at her baptism in Georgetown, TX. Love that silver dress from Grandmomma!
Part of the crazy quilt that Mom made for my sister. (She made 3 crazy quilts in her life!). This one features a digital photo of our Mallette St. house printed on fabric and then decorated with festive holiday embroidery. Mom’s attention to detail was second to none.
Mom in her happy place, the cabin window on the QM2.
I don’t know what this photo is from. Dad and Mom looking cute!
Mom was funny. This was a sign that tickled her in England. She photoshopped out the background and hung this framed in her kitchen.
We’re back from England and this has been A WEEK. We’ve survived jetlag, my daughter’s first really late night finishing school work, the negotiation of a contract on our business, a 4 day golf tournament (my husband, not me - that would be more like a 4 day goth tournament!), I moved into a new art studio, and we had a super packed social schedule. Needless to say that daily 6:40am alarm is NOT welcome. I’m not a morning person and my daughter is a teenager so let’s just say that our mornings are, well, tense. I was thinking about it this week and I have to say that my mother was always pleasant in the mornings. I seriously can’t remember a time when she was cranky! I keep reminding my daughter that she needs to be nice to me because - literally - the only reason I am up is for her. While the case was the same with my mom, she never laid that guilt trip upon me. She was nicer, I guess. Anyway, we are wrapping up my daughter’s high school junior year so I only have to deal with this a little bit longer and, you know, savor it and all of that. ha ha
I’m in a group in Austin that studies the enneagram. If you don’t know about it, the best way to describe the enneagram is as a system that defines personality types which can be useful in understanding and getting along with other people. It’s super helpful when dealing with your family. You identify as a number between 1 and 9, there’s a quiz that figures that out for you. While it’s easy to speculate about what number a person might be, only they truly can know. So, my sister and I can only guess that our mom was a 1. 1s are defined by their perfectionism, which certainly holds true for old Dale. She did everything correctly and to the best of her ability. When I mentioned to my group that my mom was most likely a 1, it was met with a lot of “oofs" and “I’m sorrys”. The general consensus seems to be that it would be difficult to be raised by a perfectionist. But, Mom was really very compassionate and encouraging to me. She only held herself to that intense standard. If you are a regular reader of this blog, this should come as no surprise: everything Dale Reed pursued was intentional, thoughtful, well researched, labored, and executed to perfection. Everything.
When we would see Mom at Christmas she would make gingerbread cookies with her granddaughters. These were no standard cookie cutter jobs. Nope, Mom would push dough through the garlic press to make hair for the cookies. Mom kept a copy of Emily Post on her desk and had different stationery for different occasions. When I went off to college, Mom sent me with a Fiestaware teapot and four Harlequin teacups and saucers. I was definitely the only kid in the dorm ready for a tea party! We’ve started looking at colleges with my daughter and I find myself fondly remembering the college tour I took with my mother. We rode the train all over the East Coast, stopping in different cities for the night or a few days. Mom made it fun and she also made sure I looked my best, setting me up with a cool Modern Times coat, bowler hat, and a new portfolio case.
Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee is coming up in May. I got tickled reading about a typo on some souvenirs for the event. Instead of “The Platinum Jubilee” some unfortunate vendor wrote “The Platinum Jubbly” on some commemorative dishes. (I think you can get them for cheap if you are interested!). This error would never have escaped the watchful eye of Enneagram #1 and former copyeditor, Dale Reed! I found a recipe for Golden Jubilee Chicken in Mom’s files, which caused me to google Jubilee Chicken. It seems that that the first version was created for the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935. After that, Coronation Chicken took the stage (I’ve actually had that - we may have a recipe, I’ll check). And, then, Golden Jubilee Chicken was created in 2002 for Elizabeth II. I’m curious if there will be a Platinum Jubilee Chicken? Stay tuned.
GOLDEN JUBILEE CHICKEN
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 2-3 hours marinating
Cooking time: 25 minutes, plus cooling
Ingredients
4 chicken breast fillets (a little over 1 pound in total)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 lime, quartered
Marinade
½ lime, juiced and zest grated
1/2 tsp (rounded) fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Dressing
1/2 cup crème fraîche
6 tbsp mayonnaise
½ lime, juiced and zest grated
1 tsp piece fresh root ginger
Instructions
Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish. Add the chicken and turn in the marinade to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375. To make the dressing, place the crème fraîche, mayonnaise, lime juice and zest in a bowl. Peel and grate the ginger then twist in a piece of muslin, or press through a sieve, to extract the juice.
Add 2 tsp of the juice to the dressing. Stir, cover and chill to allow the flavours to develop.
Scrape the marinade from the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and nutmeg and place in a roasting tin. Drizzle over the olive oil. Roast in the oven, basting occasionally, for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Leave the chicken to cool completely then cut into bite-sized pieces. Combine the chicken and dressing, adjust the seasoning, and refrigerate until needed. Serve with a pasta salad, lime quarters and chopped flat leaf parsley.
BONUS RECIPE:
JUBILEE PASTA SALAD
The perfect accompaniment to Lionel Mann’s Golden Jubilee Chicken.
Serves: 4, as a side dish
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 red pepper
8 oz penne pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup fine green beans, trimmed
1 cup snow peas
2 spring onions, sliced
2 tbsp French dressing (Sarah’s note: A quick google shows that “French Dressing” in England is not that gross orange stuff we have in America, but instead, a vinaigrette. Click here for recipe.)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the grill to high, then grill the red pepper, turning as needed, until blackened all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to packet instructions. Drain and toss in the olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, bring another large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the green beans, cook for 2 minutes, then add the snow peas to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes. Drain, and then plunge the vegetables into a bowl of iced water. Drain.
When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and seeds from the pepper and cut the flesh into strips.
In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the pepper, beans, mangetout, spring onions and French dressing and season well. Serve cold, alongside Golden Jubilee Chicken.
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