Recipe from Christmas Past

Thank you so much for stopping in today. I am going to share a special memory and recipe. I am linking to Foodie Friday so make certain you check in with the others and the incredible recipes that will be shared.

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  As Doug and I get older, our festive activities seem to get more streamlined. It seems like just last year we would have an annual open house. We would decorate every room in a theme. Back then I had a tree in each room. And the same menu every year. If I tried to change it there would be outrage.
  The Menu always consisted of :
  Country Captain
  Steamed White Rice
  Fruit Salad
  Green Bean Almondine
  Homemade parker house rolls
  Assorted Pies, cakes and cookies
  Today I am going to share a recipe that is tried and true but have not prepared in a while.
  
  I love the history behind Country Captain.

This delicious dish, known throughout Georgia, dates to the early 1800s. It is thought that this dish was brought to Georgia by a British sea captain who had been stationed in Bengali, India and shared the recipe with some friends in the port city of Savannah, Georgia. Savannah was then a major shipping port for the spice trade. The dish was named for the officers in India called “Country Captains.”

In the 1940s, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the United States and General George S. Patton (1885-1945), U.S. Army General, were served this dish in Warm Springs, Georgia, by Mrs. W. L. Bullard. Their praise and love of this dish helped to rekindle its Southern classic status. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who first gave national recognition to Warm Springs when, in 1924, he visited the town's naturally heated mineral springs as treatment for his polio related paralysis. Roosevelt was so enchanted with Warm Springs that he built the only home he ever owned here - a modest, six room cottage called the Little White House which served as a relaxing, comfortable haven for him.
© copyright 2004 by Linda Stradley - United States Copyright TX 5-900-517- All rights reserved to Linda Stradley, and to the web site What's Cooking America.

The internet is wonderful. We all know it. I researched this before posting today, found the above information and it appears to be factual. For many years I shared a fanciful story about this dish that I believed. Being a Georgia girl, and having very strong opinions about the War of Northern Aggression (known to some as the Civil War); I completely believed the tale I was told so many years ago. Today my bubble was burst. Not one word of truth to the story I shared years ago. Bummer but I am certain the recipe is still wonderful.

Country Captain

(Emeril's version)

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (3-pound) chicken fryer, cut into serving pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon dried ground thyme
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
3 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes, crushed, and their juices
1/2 cup chicken stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 cup currants
Steamed long-grain white rice, as accompaniment
3 ounces toasted slivered almonds, for garnish
Directions
In a large shallow dish, combine the flour, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper and stir to blend. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat on all sides, shaking to remove any excess.
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in batches until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, bay leaf, curry powder, thyme, and red pepper. Cook stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the chicken broth, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to blend and reduce the heat to medium. Add the cooked chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender but not falling from the bones, about 50 minutes. Add the currants and cook for 10 minutes longer.
Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve hot over the steamed white rice. Garnish with the almonds and serve.

Thank you so much for stopping in. Don't forget to check back in with Foodie Friday for some more great ideas. I would love it if you would leave comments and questions.