Somerset Avenue Chicken (Odessa Chicken)

"I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food. "

-W.C. Fields

I am being a very good girl by continuing to keep my word about creating new recipes. My grandmother actually created the base recipe for this dish, and passed it down to us. My grandma Katarina was a really neat lady, she was really young when she married my grandfather, but from what I have been able to learn about her, she was already pretty accomplished at cooking. She was born in Austria, and at an early age she and her parents moved to Germany. She met my grandfather in Bonn, and they were married when she was about 16. I think they were together for about five years, when grandpa decided to move to Odessa Russia, to be with one of his brothers who needed some extra help after an illness. They stayed there for about a year, before deciding to move to the United States. As my grandmother moved from town to town across eastern Europe, she collected many regional recipes and added her own touches to them to make them her own. I think she might like the little changes I have made to her "Odessa Chicken" recipe. :)

"Somerset Avenue Chicken" (Odessa Chicken)

2 lbs. Chicken pieces
18 oz. Jar Apricot Preserves
1/2 pkg dried Apricots (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1 8 oz. bottle Russian Salad Dressing
1 pkg 1/2 oz. Green Onion dip mix
1 tbs. Spicy Brown Mustard
1/4 cup fresh Parsley chopped

Sprinkle in a gallon size ziplock bag, 1/2 pkg. Green Onion dip mix and then add the chicken pieces. Toss to coat well. Place the chicken pieces and dried apricots in a 3-4 qt slow cooker. In a medium size bowl add the Apricot Preserves, Russian Salad Dressing, the remaining Green Onion dip mix and the Spicy Brown Mustard. Mix well. Pour 1/2 the mixture over chicken, and turn temperature to high. Cook for approximately 4-6 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, cook remaining sauce mixture in a heavy sauce pan with 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken. Remove from heat when it reaches desired consistency for glaze sauce. Remove the chicken and apricots to a serving platter, top with glaze and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy!

Next week I have a Super Bowl Appetizer! :) And don't forget the real half-time event...Cheese Racing! :)

-OndineMonet
"Somerset Avenue Chicken"
Berkeley, California
January 25th, 2006
Evening