Charleston Receipts + Curry Chicken Recipe

A few years ago I picked up a Charleston Receipts cookbook at a local antique shop. This cookbook was first published in 1950, and is the oldest Junior League cookbook still in print.  Since it's original print date in 1950, over 650,000 copies have now been sold.

There are some very dated (and odd) recipes in this book.  Like the Roasted Calf's Head for example, we probably won't be making that one any time soon. Doubt I'll be serving the Rabbit Pie or a Roast Opossum either. The cookbook does however have some really good classic recipes in it, and I just love thinking that women were making these very recipes in the 1950's. 

I've had this book for almost three years now, and as of last weekend had yet to make a recipe from it.  This week I challenged myself to thumb through the book and find at least one thing to make.  I actually found quite a few, but decided on Mrs. Norman Scott's Curry to try first.

I chose this recipe because it called for simple ingredients that I already had at home. And I'm always down to try a new curry dish.  It doesn't really fall into the typical recipes that come to mind when you think of low country cuisine, I'm sure this was quite an exotic recipe back in the day.

The chicken turned out beautifully.  So full of flavor, and the sauce was so tasty you could eat it with a spoon.  We served our chicken over rice with a side of roasted broccoli, which I thought was a great accompaniment. 

I halved the recipe, which ended up being enough for T and I for two meals. Instead of using a whole boiled or baked chicken, I substituted 4 skinless thighs and threw them on the grill pan to cook before adding them to the sauce.  I also added a dash of cayenne to give the chicken a little kick.  We'll be repeating this one soon!

Next on my list of recipes to try from this book are the Spinach Souffle, the Shrimp Pie (only because the cookbook's previous owner marked this one with a star), and the Hugenot Torte.

If you're interested in picking up a copy of Charleston Receipts for yourself, you can find one here.