Well let me preface this with some (ugh) personal facts.
I live with this fellow burgersub. He is allergic to chicken.
That is weird, right?
But I made this recipe as a family meal so I got some fake chicken patties and went for it, ‘his and hers.’
So anyway, Maryland is all like ‘crabs oysters blah blah blah’…
But in truth, as of the last century, Maryland has distinguished itself with a robust poultry industry.
(It may be that same poultry industry had an effect on our once-famous seafood industry…)
Up until this year, the big public event of the MAryland (and DELaware, and VirginiA) poultry industry was the annual Delmarva Chicken festival.
According to the source:
“The National Chicken Cooking Contest was the first of the big national food contests having been started in 1949. Delmarva poultry industry people originated it as a highlight for the Delmarva Chicken Festival that year. It was devised as a replacement for a then ensuing national contest to develop a better breed of chicken.
In the early years, participants were just from the tri-state area. Later, the entire northeast.. became involved. Now, interest in the Contest has expanded until it has become an important chicken promotion for all broiler producing areas throughout the United States.”
“Pizza Chicken” represented Maryland in the 1971 cooking contest, whose winners by state were published in the annual booklet of recipes (also containing prize-winning recipes from previous contests.)
According to the bio of contestant Mrs. William R. Strieber aka Shirley, she “cooks to please her family” and combined their loves of pizza and chicken. Shirley is not a Maryland native; she was from Iowa, her husband a vet with the USDA. “Hobbies include cooking, reading, bicycling, gardening and bird-watching.” I wrote a letter to Shirley in AZ but she passed away on March 21, 2015. She was 88 years old.
This is 1971 but the booklet still has a pretty strong mid-century vibe. For the most part the cooks are self-described home-makers, although there are a few men and teens as well.
The pizza craze is reflected in a handful of other recipes, as is a lot of pineapple for “exotic appeal,” and a lot of smothering chicken in some special sauce and baking it.
Shirley did not take home the first prize – that honor went to Norma Young of Arkansas.
Norma Young, Baltimore Sun Photo. I am sorry I can’t buy these but YOU can!
Still, the all-expenses-paid trip to Ocean City and the thrill of competition in an era before the bevy of miserable competitive cooking shows had to be a memorable experience.
Shirley Strieber, Baltimore Sun Photo
Somewhere between 1950 and 1971, the requirement to use some Mazola Corn Oil was added. I used some other kind of oil.. I also used chicken breasts because a broiler-fryer seemed like a messy hassle to eat.
Recipe:
- 1 chicken, broiler-fryer
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- .125 Teaspoon black pepper
- .25 Cup Mazola corn oil
- 10.5 oz pizza sauce
- 1/3 Cup water
- 2 Tablespoon grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 green pepper, cut into rings
- 4 thin slices Mozzarella cheese
Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet; add chicken and cook until brown on all sides. Place browned chicken in a medium shallow baking pan (about 13 x 9 x 2 inches). Combine pizza sauce, water and Parmesan cheese; pour over chicken. Add onion and green pepper rings. Cover and bake in 350°F (moderate) oven 45 minutes. Remove cover and place cheese slices on top. Return to oven for 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.
2014 was the last ever Delmarva Chicken Festival, but we will soon revisit the festival, their super-large gigantic frying pan, the booklets of chicken recipes, and other winners including a beloved Baltimore character.
Until then let us gaze upon fellow 1971 contestant Beverly Chiles, who represented her home state in cooking as well as in hairdo.
