Chicken Lizzy

One thing that I have learned throughout the years is that when your good girlfriends come over for a casual dinner party, everyone is just so happy to be together that no one truly cares what they eat. I usually can put something together that is pretty good, but if not then people end up bringing things, foraging in the pantry, or taking advantage of the fact that I know the Pizza Movers number by heart (333-9199...not awesome at 3.30am post Smith Point when you are trying not to get fat). Anyway, the point is that I usually try to make an assortment of things that people will enjoy, but there are certainly times when a wonderfully successful dinner party hasn't been about the food at all, but about the company (and the wine).

Last summer, a good friend of mine from college had recently finished business school, took a job here and moved to DC. Trying to live up to the ever present Chi Omega standards of sisterhood, I offered to host a dinner party at my house so that she could meet some of my good girlfriends. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately I was not working last summer and therefore had no actual source of income, which I neglected to take into account when sending out the email invitations. As the day of the party (scheduled party) approached, I realized that I had absolutely nothing to make. I also had no car at the time (thank God that has since been resolved) so couldn't really go to the grocery store, and even if I could there wasn't much I could get with the $14 I had in my wallet. I thought about cancelling the entire thing, but alas, my determination got the best of me. Each of the girls was bringing a bottle of wine, one an appetizer, so that was covered, but I had to figure out some sort of respectable meal to serve.

After I finished cursing/crying/slamming cabinet doors, I got creative and marched myself the three blocks to my parents' house (luckily/unluckily gone for the summer) to raid their freezer. My mom is a great cook and keeps all sorts of meat, etc in there so my fingers were crossed for a flank steak or something like that (Mom, if you are reading this, I would NEVER raid your pantry/freezer...must have been George). Upon arrival, I almost cried when all I saw in there was ONE rack of ribs, a half a pound of ground beef, shortribs (can't steal those, it would be too obvious), and 2 bone in, skin on chicken breasts (usually used to make chicken salad...that recipe another time). I remembered that I had some boneless, skinless ones in my freezer so I grabbed the chicken breasts and a bag of frozen peas. On the way out I grabbed a 12 pack of Coronas from the beer fridge (which I later replaced, Dad) and some lemons. On the way back to my house, I stopped in the corner market and talked the owner into selling me the lettuce they had (they don't actually sell lettuce, it is for their deli sandwiches).

Once home, I defrosted 3 pounds of chicken and came up with something that turned out to be quite delicious! Everyone had a blast, Lizzy is one of my best friends here in Washington, and I have yet to make this again but it is named after her. If you want to make this, you can do it with whatever kind of chicken you like. I also served the peas, and I had a sweet potato in the pantry that I sliced and baked. The lettuce was cut up for a salad and I used vinaigrette that I had made that was in the fridge. Since most normal people (and now I) have jobs and can therefore get these ingredients from a grocery store, that would be my suggestion (I am now a normal person).

When you go to the store, purchase 2 packages of chicken breasts, a couple of onions and some garlic (I usually have those on hand bc I use them so much and they last forever), a lemon, two sweet potatoes, a bag of frozen peas, a head of romaine lettuce, and olive oil and butter if you don't have them at home.


For the Chicken Lizzy:
-Oven on, 350
-Slice the two onions and spread them all over the bottom of a roasting pan.
-Peel and put a few (however many you like) garlic cloves into the pan with the onions.
-Slice half of a lemon, add that in there as well. S and P over that stuff.
-Lay chicken breasts on top on the layer of onions/lemons/garlic.
-Drizzle olive oil and then salt and pepper all over the chicken breasts.
-Cover with tin foil, bake for 30 minutes or until you cut into the chicken and it's cooked.
-Slice the chicken breasts so that they are displayed on top of the onions (which will be soft and really tasty) and your guests can serve themselves 3 or 4 pieces with the onions. This also stretches the chicken on so you don't have to use as much per person.


Peas
-Place frozen peas in microwavable bowl.
-Add 1/4 cup of water.
-Sprinkle S and P onto peas. After they're cooked add more if you need to. If they're too salty, put them in a strainer, wash them off, and then try again.
-Add a slice of butter to the top.
-Cover with saran wrap, microwave for 5 or 6 minutes and then check to see if they are finished. Don't overcook them, they get shrivelly and gross looking.
-Stir them around, strain out the water, put them in a serving dish.


Roasted Sweet Potatoes
-Over should still be at 350.
-Slice the ends off of the sweet potatoes.
-Slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices (you can make them thicker/thinner depending on how many you want the potato to make) and lay them flat, not overlapping, on a cookie sheet.
-Drizzle or brush with olive oil (if you done have a brush, you can use a clean paper towel).
-Sprinkle S and P on them.
-Bake in the oven for around 20 mins or until you slice one of the potatoes and they are soft in the middle. Depending on thickness, it could take more or less time. Usually, people would put these under the broiler for 10 minutes, but every time I have done that I have forgotten about them and burned them into little hockey pucks. I think 350 is just much more forgiving, and they taste the same.
-Put on a platter and serve. Guests usually take between 1 and 3, so just count how many you have and plan accordingly. This is a great way to make a vegetable (starch?) go far, and sweet potatoes are really healthy anyway.


Salad
-Wash and cut up the lettuce into bite sized pieces. No one should have to cut a piece after it is served, so make sure that the pieces are all bite sized. If you have a cucumber, pepper, tomato, or anything you want you can throw it in there but sometimes I just prefer a plain lettuce salad. It's up to you.
-Place lettuce in a serving or salad bowl, add salad dressing by the tablespoonful, tossing after each time, so that you don't overdress it.
-Toss the salad, put some serving utensils in it (2 spoons work just fine in lieu of salad tossers), and wipe down the insides of the bowl so it look crisp and clean.


After you have everything ready to go, line it all up on your counter or table and let your guests serve themselves. None of my guests have ever taken too much food, and I have never encountered (yet) an issue where there hasn't been enough food. This is a moderately low maintenance meal to make and serve, and it is just as good as one that you could spend hundreds of dollars on. However, if you are having important people over for a "fancy" dinner party, this should not be your go-to.

As for this particular dinner party, my friends all loved the meal, and I think I kept my cool despite how stressed out I had been beforehand. The chicken turned out just fine, and although peas are not usually something I would serve, no one seemed to mind! We had a wonderful time- I know that everyone really enjoyed being there because they didn't leave until 2am. At the end of the day, everyone was just so happy to be together and having fun, which is the most important part.

Love and Happy Hostessing!