The Party of the Century

November 28, 1966

(New York Times article, 2005)

Everyone who was anyone received an invitation to Truman Capote's Black and White Ball. Black and white attire, black and white masks. 

 (Candice Bergen's famous mask, Christies)

New York's Plaza Hotel. 500 friends, 15000 enemies

  (Tallulah Bankhead and the Glitterati, from Hubpages article)

Supper was served at midnight and included chicken hash. YJDKIY had no idea the history of this dish when selecting the recipe, and frankly I found it a little too stuffy. So, as per usual, I made up my own!

5 large red potatoes diced (side note: YJDKIY has been perplexed of late as to the best way to put things in a boiling pot of water. I always seem to splash said boiling water onto my hands and yelp. Even sliding them off a cutting board causes this to some extent. Today I tried cutting them on the plastic produce bag, which is flexy and could be eased directly into the water for a second allowing the potatoes to be dumbed UNDERwater! ok, so that was a side tangent).

Diced green and red pepper (from Correll Farms...these were SO yummy and crunchy and watery. PS That is a great article on CF farmer David), diced CF and YJDKIY tomatoes, and green onions. (For once I didn't put garlic in it!?)

Organic chicken tenderloins, pulled and sauted with garlic powder (seriously, you thought I could have no garlic?) and fresh dried basil!  

Side tangent: It is getting increasingly hard to find acceptable meats (which was a good reminder tofu would probably sub fantastically in this recipe). I was ok with the Smart Chicken Organic, but I'm not sure I trust their claims. The website says organic diet, no pesticides/herbicides, free range, and certified humane, the package doesn't and I'm a little weary of the way that is worded and the vague guidelines anyway (i.e. "access to" natural environment doesn't necessarily mean totally free range). I'd like to see their farms. I guess it is better than other options, so I'll go with that. I digress...

Once the chicken has cooked, add 3T of tomato paste and water. Continue cooking 5-7 more minutes, then combine cooked potato and chicken. Saute veggies just until tender and combine everything in a large pyrex casserole.

Bake 30-40 minutes on 400, topping with a tiny bit of cheddar cheese for the last 10 minutes. Finish by broiling on 500 for 5 minutes.

Plated with lemon-butter steamed asparagus, and there you have the party of the century. Or at least the dinner of the day.

(PPS, this was by no means a quick recipe! Granted I was multitasking, but it took nearly 2 hours from start to finish!)