Chicken With Parsley Sauce And Lemon Butter Broccoli. New Music From Chirping.

It’s cookbook month over here in my kitchen.

I have almost 200 cookbooks that I adore. They have stiff competition now from the 14 cooking magazines I subscribe to and the enormous internet packed with recipes.

So, what I do is divide the calendar into cookbook month, magazine month, clip-out month, and computer bookmarked recipe month, repeated 3 times.

Sounds pretty Type A, no? Well, yes, but it does make sure I dig into those beloved cookbooks. And it ensures that now and again in the midst of all the Tex-Mex, Buffalo this and that, and Kale, Quinoa and other trendy ingredients, I go back to some classic, simple recipes.

Take today’s recipes which date back to a cookbook from 1979. Chicken cooked in butter then topped with a persillade (a brightly flavored parsley sauce) couldn’t be easier, but is oh, so tasty. An easy side of broccoli with lemon butter rounds things out.

Chicken With Parsley Sauce

Ingredients:

1 (2 1/2 lb) whole chickens, cut up
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1⁄4 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400℉.

2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook about 5 minutes until lightly browned on one side. Turn and cook 5 minutes on the other side. Place chicken and buttery juices in a baking dish.

3. Combine bread crumbs, shallots, garlic, and parsley. Sprinkle over chicken pieces and baste to coat well with the butter.

4. Bake for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

5. Cook under broiler briefly to brown the top of the chicken.

Serves 4

Lemon Butter Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 bunch broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons butter
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pan. Add the broccoli and cook briefly until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter and add the lemon juice. Pour over the broccoli and serve.

Serves 4

Recipes from The New York Times 60 Minute Gourmet by Pierre Franey

I could go retro with the music today, but this new song from Chirping is so darn cheerful and catchy that it was an easy choice. And if you wondering, I am not so Type A with my music listening. Imagine: New Music Month, Vinyl Month, CD Month….that would be waaaaay insane.