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10/15/1999 Archived Entry: "Sara Moulton's Blasted Chicken & Parmesan Baked Chicken"

Sara Moulton of the Food Network – and for many years now the chef to the executive dining room of Gourmet magazine – was on Food Talk a couple of months ago, but people are still asking for the favorite family chicken recipes that she discussed. One she called Blasted Chicken. The other is a baked chicken recipe that Sara says she got from Jean Anderson, the prolific (and wonderful ) cookbook writer.

The Blasted Chicken is nothing more than roasting a 3 1/2 pound chicken for 45 minutes at 450 degrees. Season as you wish. That's it.

The baked chicken recipe, as Sara makes it, is actually not Jean Anderson’s recipe, but once you read the original, which follows, you’ll see how Sara simplified it. Both are baked with a crumb crust flavored with garlic butter, but that’s the extent of their similarity. In Sara’s version, for every two cups of fresh breadcrumbs, mix in 1 cup of grated Parmesan. Then make garlic butter with a couple of sticks of butter and lots of crushed garlic. Now Sara dips the chicken pieces in garlic butter, then coats them with crumbs, then drizzles on any remaining garlic butter. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Here’s Jean Anderson’s original, which comes from her 1982 book, “Jean Anderson Cooks” (Morrow). The book is out of print now, but if you ever see a copy in a used book store or at a garage or tag sale, buy it. It’s an excellent general cookbook, great for beginners, but also for experienced cooks looking for some new ideas for mainly simple family fare.


Jean Anderson's Pecan-Crumbed Chicken Breasts with Parsley and Parmesan
Serves 6

3 large (about 1 pound each) whole chicken breasts, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 cups soft fine bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
2 teaspoons rubbed sage (measure loosely packed)
1/4 teaspoon crumbled leaf thyme

Sprinkle each chicken breast lightly on both sides with the salt and pepper; set aside.

Combine the butter and garlic in a pie pan.

In a second pie pan, mix the crumbs, pecans, Parmesan, parsley, sage and thyme well.

Dip each breast first in butter until evenly coated all over, then in crumbs. You want a thick coating of crumbs, so pat the mixture onto each breast to help it stick. Arrange the crumbed breasts, skin sides up, in one layer, in a large shallow roasting pan. (The pan should be just large enough to accommodate the pieces of chicken without crowding the them but not so large that the bottom of the pan is exposed at any point.)

Drizzle any remaining garlic butter (there won’t be much) over the chicken.

Set uncovered in a moderate oven (350 degrees) and bake 1 1/4 hours or until the chicken is sizzling and richly browned. Two or three times during baking, baste the pieces of chicken evenly with the pan drippings.

Serve hot or at room temperature.