Dinner Party, Wine, and Elegant Wild Rice Stuffing

When I was younger, I imagined that I would have this big, fabulous life where I would have a fancy house and throw dinner parties where everyone would dress up in their best black dresses and pearls.  I imagined myself knowing everything about wine and being able to speak intelligently on the subject.  Dinner would be some elegant food served on gleaming white china platters with my best silver.  We’d drink out of nothing but the finest crystal.  The vision was so clear, but for some reason, my life didn’t turn out quite like that.

My actual dinner parties tend to be sort of haphazard affairs.  Friends come over with their children.  We have grown to the point that we can’t fit everyone around a single table.  No one is dressed beautifully unless the kids have been playing dress up.  The plates are sometimes paper.  The silverware is mismatched.  I never feel like I know enough about wine to serve it with confidence.  And my fine crystal is a random assortment of wine glasses collected from Midwestern wineries in an attempt to interject some more adult activities into our road trips.  (Or perhaps that has something to do with me needing a little bolstering after the joy of being in the car for multiple hours with children.)

I have a feeling that my reality is far closer to who I am than the vision was.  I own black dresses and pearls, but tend to prefer black t-shirts and purling when I knit.  When I attempt to serve wine instead of beer,  I have to refer to wine guides like these to tell me what I should buy: Chardonnay and Semillon. At least I have the food thing handled.

Dinner with friends always depends on who is coming over.  With a bit of warning, it’s easy enough to whip up Chicken and these dumplings or Chicken New Boston.  However, sometimes you just want something a little bit more.  You want to be able to sit back with a glass of wine and imagine all the kids are eccentric millionaires with art collections that talk about about plays they’ve seen, not cartoons.  As you sip, you pretend their witty comments did not start with the words “Knock, knock” or end with the word “poop”.  This Elegant Wild Rice Stuffing aids in the dream.  

Elegant Wild Rice Stuffing is almost as simple as stuffing gets.  I think we all have heard by now that you shouldn’t actually stick the stuffing in the bird because the bird and stuffing both need to get to proper temperatures to be safe.  So when you make this, ignore that part of the directions.  It bakes up nicely in a 2 quart casserole dish.  If you like that extra meat juice flavor, simply pour some of the meat drippings onto the stuffing and mix thoroughly.   Of course this is better with fresh oysters and fresh mushrooms, but if all you have access to is canned, make sure to use good bacon.  

My kids ate this without complaining.  They even decided they liked oysters.  They may have been trying to impress Nana and Papa.  Your mileage my vary on this one.  I thought it was delicious and will absolutely make it again.  I even know the right wine to serve with it now.

 

Chicken New Boston

I Googled Chicken Old Boston just to see if there was a reason that this recipe was called Chicken New Boston.  Even searching for Chicken New Boston yielded nothing on the first search page.  So this recipe may be new information for everyone.

So what do we think of when we think of Boston? Some people think of sports (we try not to acknowledge those teams).  Some people have the experience of Matt Damon’s Boston or the Boston of the New Kids on the Block.  There is the Boston of baked bean fame and the Boston of the Tea Party.  Boston clam chowder.  Ivy League Colleges covered in actual ivy.  Then there is the Boston in Cheers.  Let’s talk about that Boston because we’ve been watching that on Netflix sometimes and it helps make my metaphor better.DSCN2715You know how on Cheers there are the people like Norm and Cliff?  They are that gritty side of Boston.  The working class people from working class neighborhoods.  Old Boston, if you will.  If you were to imagine dinner at their houses, you’d imagine a roast that has been simmering all day.  Maybe a nice plate of spaghetti.  Food that is practical more than pretty.  Food that will keep you going in cold weather.

And then there is Diane.  There is no way she would sully her insides with that sort of food.  She’s lofty and above it all.  She represents that other part of Boston.  The part of Boston that embraces new food and new culture.  Chicken New Boston is something that Diane may whip up in her kitchen while wearing a ruffled apron.  DSCN2716I did not wear a ruffled apron while making this dish.  I think I was barefoot…

 

Chicken New Boston is a breaded chicken in a creamy sauce with mushrooms, artichokes and sherry.  Conceptually, it’s delicious.  Realistically, I had a hard time keeping the cornflakes on the chicken.  It might just be a me thing.  The sauce was amazing (even with the cream o’soup). It’s the sort of sauce that you’d want to mop up with bread or eat on top of noodles.  It’s sophisticated enough to make me feel like I should’ve put on my pearls.  Chicken New Boston