Chicken Croquettes

Honestly, I think I am as much in love with the story behind this recipe as the recipe itself. Submitted by Phoebe Schilla, she writes of fond memories of her "Memere and Pepere." Her grandparents would take her to eat at local diners and restaurants here in Maine, and she enjoyed a wide variety of food. The restaurant where she loved to order chicken croquettes? Mary's Restaurant in South China.

I don't remember ever attempting to make croquettes, probably because I have deep respect for hot oil, which is another way of saying I'm a bit terrified of having an accident with hot oil.  I do remember eating apple croquettes at the college cafeteria. I know, it sounds odd, but it tasted great. I think the cafeteria ladies were puzzled as to how to feed these strange students who demanded vegetarian food in the early '80's, so they just gave us lots of fruits and veggies disguised in what would normally have been a meat-based recipe.  

I confess that I added a secret ingredient to the croquettes. Which is not going to be real secret, I guess, since I'm going to divulge it here. I have discovered Herbes de Provence, which is just a classic blend of herbs. It is fabulous in just about anything, so I gave it a try in the croquettes, and it is simply exquisite. The taste may not transport you to the southeast of France, but then again, perhaps it will!

Being new to the whole dipping in flour then egg then panko, I made a lovely mess, and the croquettes were not particularly uniform in size. And we have a glass stovetop (ugh, no uniform heat, much prefer a gas stove...) so it was a trick to get the oil to maintain a steady heat. But the end result was delicious, with just a stripe of Dijon mustard over the croquettes to complete the flavor medley.

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