Did your mother make Chicken Divan, growing up? Ours did, and it is one of those flavors that takes me back to my childhood! It’s made me think how great it might be to do up a cookbook of those classic American dishes!
Reading up on it now, Chicken Divan was invented at the Hotel Chatham in New York City at the turn of the 20th Century, by the hotel’s chef, Anthony Lagasi. Lagasi was apparently also the past president of the Escoffier Society and the Chefs de Cuisine Association — but, while he was apparently Italian, he was not related to Emeril Lagasse, despite their similarity of surnames! (I love that the inventor of Chicken Divan was Italian!)
Lagasi’s Divan was apparently a baked chicken in a Mornay sauce with breadcrumbs on top. In the casserole craze of the 1970s, much simpler versions emerged which were every bit as decadent and delicious — and it was from a Betty Crocker cookbook that I think my mother found her recipe. It’s very easy to make, with Campbell’s condensed cream of chicken soup, and/or condensed cream of broccoli, mixed with mayonaise and spiced up with some salt, pepper and curry powder, with steamed broccoli and chunks of cooked chicken. Once you put cheddar cheese on top, with the buttered breadcrumbs over that and bake it, well, it’s nothing short of fantastic!
This recipe by Emily Bites is very close to what my mother made, although we mixed butter with the breadcrumbs and used more curry powder – more like about a tablespoon, and sometimes we used a Madras curry powder.
What meals make you reminisce?