Third Sunday

Third Sunday: The Original Menu
Chicken pie
Tea rolls
Mashed potatoes
Mashed turnips
Cucumber pickles
Fruit salad with strawberry jell
Cherry pie
Coffee


Brian and I LOVE chicken pie! It's such a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken. But this chicken pie recipe is different: "Boil a fat fowl until tender…" No leftover chicken. "… strain off the gravy, chill and use the fat for making the crust of the pie." There are no instructions on how to make the pie crust, only that the fat should be used in it. "Put chicken, which should be cut in pieces for serving, in baking pan… " Bone and all?

Although I enjoy learning new recipes, this one, with boned chicken in a pie crust made from scratch, is a bit much for two people and a cook who can't bake. Since I already have an excellent chicken pie recipe, I'll make that instead.

Karly's chicken pie for two:
Make mushroom sauce (1 cup medium white sauce with sautéed mushrooms and onions)
Add one or two heaping tablespoon of Alouette garlic & herb cheese spread
Add leftover peas and cubed or shredded leftover cooked chicken
Pour into a glass pie pan
Cover with pre-made pie crust*

*Or if you are a good baker, you can make your own

Tea rolls – See my poor baking skills mentioned earlier. We'll skip this one.

Mashed potatoes – The sauce in the pie would go well with mashed potatoes.

Mashed turnips – Since I added a vegetable to my pie, I'll skip this one.

Cucumber pickles – Although I'll be substituting my favorite baby Kosher dills, the original recipe calls for homemade pickles. The instructions begin, "This is a good recipe. Try it when cucumbers are here again." I can't imagine cucumbers being in season in January, certainly not where I live in Michigan, nor in Chicago, where the publishers resided. Obviously the cook would need to consult the recipe book in advance in order to have pickles on hand for the Third Sunday.

I've never made homemade pickles, but Brian's mother and aunt have (their pickles are tasty!). He asked to look at the recipe and noticed it calls for two tablespoons alum. "My mom uses that – she has a heck of a time finding it," he said.

The fruit salad is another molded dish. Pineapple, bananas, oranges and walnuts in a strawberry gelatin topped with whipped cream. Those fruits are so tasty! They would be terrific without the gelatin.

Cherry pie – I find it odd that chicken pie should be eaten with rolls and followed by cherry pie. It seems so starch-filled. I wonder if it was the norm to typically eat two pies in one meal? I don't need the extra sugar – we'll skip the pie all together.


Third Sunday: The Modern Menu
Chicken pie
Mashed potatoes
Pickles
Fruit salad
Coffee and Gold

The only dish that is new to me is the fruit salad, which is just cut fruit topped with homemade whipped cream. Next time I make this I'll switch out the orange with a Clementine, which has no seeds and is easier to peel.

Overall, the meal was easy and tasty.