on May 8th, 2007Lucia and Georgie chicken
It used to amaze me that people other than chefs could cook without recipes, even simple things, but somehow I progressed to that point. I’m still amazed by those who can concoct elaborate dishes but I am able to create ways of using things up. That’s how this recipe came about and I’ve made it for years now. Without the recipe.
I had some chicken, bread and plain yogurt which were perilously close to going bad. I remembered my mother used to soak chicken in buttermilk and how good that slight tang was. It fell into place quickly after that and was actually a good dish, which I can’t say about all my creations, so I wrote it down and named it.
Who are Lucia and Georgie? They are two of the three main characters in EF Benson’s wonderful Lucia novels; the third, introduced later, is Miss Mapp. The books are comedies of manners set in England between the wars, and I adore them. I read them almost every summer. Lucia and Georgie love to spout a smattering of Italian. They know just enough to make it seem as if they can speak the language but of course, they can’t. This recipe has a few Mediterranean ingredients and might seem Italian but, of course, it’s not.
By the way, the first novel, Queen Lucia, is so old (1920) it is now Public Domain in the US. The book is downloadable at Project Gutenberg and the audio book is at LibriVox.
Lucia and Georgie Chicken
4 skinless, boneless breast halves
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (panko is also good)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese *
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 - 1 cup plain yogurt
* salt can be reduced by half and if using Romano cheese instead of Parmesan, definitely use only 1/2 tsp of salt.
Preheat oven to 350F /180C / Gas 4.
Combine ingredients except yogurt in a pie plate or shallow dish.
In another dish, dip chicken in yogurt (I just use my fingers to slather it on) then coat with crumb mixture.
Arrange chicken so pieces don’t touch in a baking dish that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake uncovered, until chicken is tender, about 30-40 minutes.
The coating will crisp up - this can be covered with foil for all or some of the time if you prefer a softer coating.
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Thanks for the book suggestions! and I CANNOT cook without a recipe. Very few things, anyway. My darling says that means I’m not a real cook~what does he know? LOL! (((((HUGS))))) sandi
It’ll happen without trying! {{{Back at ya}}}
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