Most Brits have at least heard of Coronation Chicken and have probably eaten it at least once. For those who haven’t, it’s kind of a curry-based cold chicken-with-sauce that was invented in 1953 for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation luncheon. It was created by garden writer Constance Spry and Cordon Bleu London instructor Rosemary Hume, and was officially known as Poulet Reine Elizabeth.
This year marks the queen’s 70th year on the throne. A Platinum Jubilee is being planned.
As far as I can tell this is the first regal celebration (since 1953, when Coronation Chicken was invented) when a bespoke recipe is being developed: Earlier this year, the famed Fortnum & Mason announced thatit’s having a Platinum Pudding Competition, which is in mid-bake right now.
On Feb. 21, the panel of eight judges selected five finalist recipes. From March 14 to 21, the baker/chefs will meet up in London at Fortnum & Mason to make their creation, just like on the Great British Baking Show.
Adding to the TV Cookoff Ambience: One of the judges for the Platinum Pudding Competition is GBBS judge Dame Mary Berry.
If you want to follow along with the excitement, you can go to www.fortnumandmason.com/platinum-pudding.
An essential question the website answers is one that perplexes many non-Brits: What exactly is a pudding?
So many kinds of pudding
In America, when we talk about pudding it usually means some type of custard.
The Fortnum & Mason pudding page explains that, “Although the term ‘pudding’ has become synonymous with dessert in Britain, not all puddings are desserts, while all desserts are puddings in the modern sense of the word.”
The page then goes on to explain the history of puddings and the differences between puddings: boiled and steamed; baked; bread; batter; milk; and “jellies” (which in the U.S. we would call gelatin or Jell-O).
For the Platinum Pudding, entries are expected to be sweet, not savory; easy enough that the average person can make them at home; attractive and delicious; and they should have a story or history that makes them more than a bunch of ingredients.
How to make Coronation Chicken
Returning to Coronation Chicken, a history of the recipe can be found at www.cordonbleu.edu/london/coronation-chicken/en. It doesn’t specify that curry was used in honor of the link between India and England, probably because India had earned independence six years earlier, in 1947. But despite any official link between the two countries, it does seem that curries make up a large part of the diet of many Brits, if BBC television programs can be believed.
I test cooked some Coronation Chicken this week and found it extremely scrumptious and hard to stop eating.
I ended up using a recipe from a cookbook by a famous South African restaurant (“A Week in the Kitchen”), which uses the curry sauce as a dressing on the side of sliced chicken breasts. Most recipes mix it all together in a kind of chicken salad.
I’ll warn that this recipe is hot and spicy; if you want it milder, leave out or decrease the chile powder. If you don’t have cumin, cardamom and turmeric in your spice collection, ignore them and/or increase the curry powder to compensate.
This dish is extremely fragrant, and will leave your entire home smelling like curry for about 18 hours.
The recipe calls for eight chicken breasts; you can make as much chicken as you want with no problem. I haven’t tried to do the math to decrease the sauce quantity.
Adapted from “A Week in the Kitchen” by Karen Dudley
Serves eight
Eight boneless, skinless chicken breasts; salt and pepper to taste; olive oil; lemon juice
Two yellow onions, peeled and chopped; 2 tbsp. cooking oil; 4 tbsp. mild curry powder; 1 tsp. ground cumin; 1 tsp. turmeric; 1/2 tsp. chile powder; 1 cinnamon stick; 5 crushed cardamom pods (about a half teaspoon of powder); 1 bay leaf
4 tsp. tomato paste; 1/2 cup chicken stock; 2 tsp. sugar; salt and pepper to taste; 2/3 cup mayonnaise; 2/3 cup (150 grams) thick Greek yogurt; the juice of one fat lemon; 2 tbsp. chutney (you can use a winter compote of dried fruit or some marmalade instead)
Optional garnishes: toasted almond slivers; fresh coriander/cilantro
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Season the chicken breasts with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about a half hour, until they’re done. You can also poach the chicken in a bit of water, and then use the broth in your sauce.
Sauté the onions in the oil until they’re translucent, about 10 minutes on low to medium heat.
Add all the spices and cook at medium heat for a few minutes; then add the tomato paste, chicken stock, sugar and salt and pepper. Cook for about five minutes, until the flavors blend and the spices are no longer powdery.
Let the sauce cool. Let the chicken breasts cool (you don’t want to slice them while they’re hot or they’ll fall apart).
When the sauce is cool, add the mayonnaise and yogurt, lemon juice and chutney/compote/marmalade.
Arrange the chicken slices on each plate and add the finished sauce over half the meat. Garnish if you like.
I personally think roasted carrots and potatoes make a nice side, to help absorb the heat. Rice would work, too. Traditionally, Coronation Chicken is served with some kind of cold salad.
NORTH CANAAN — Dr.f Donald Terance “Doc” Martin, 86, of North Canaan, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at his home in North Canaan, which was his last wish. Dr. Martin was a dentist in Canaan, retiring in 2014. He served the community and their needs whether they could pay or not, and at all hours of the day and night. They do not make men like Don “Doc” Martin anymore.
Born on Aug. 27, 1938 in Walla Walla, Washington, he was the youngest of George T. and Anna Mae (McGrath) Martin’s eight children. Don proudly served in the US Navy with the Seabees during the Vietnam War. He adopted the Seabee’s “Can Do” attitude that served him for the rest of his life. Don married Lynne Horner in 1964.
Don was a 50-year friend of Bill W. He sponsored numerous others through his devotion to Alcoholics Anonymous. When people asked how he managed to stay sober for five decades, he said, “Don’t drink. Go to meetings. And don’t die.” And, “If you’re going to get old, you should do it in the program.”
Don fiercely loved his family, and he embraced his community. Wherever he went, people shouted, “Hi, Doc!” He enthusiastically supported local causes. In the early 1980s, he founded Friends of Football, a booster club for the Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s football team. He was a regular at Housy athletic events during his children’s years as students there, and continued to support the teams even after his youngest child graduated.
In addition to his loving wife of 60 years, Don is survived by a son, Rick Martin of Canaan, and two daughters, Kelley Marshall and her husband, Bill, of Hyde Park, New York, and Laura McCarthy and her husband, Neil, of Berlin, Connecticut. He is also survived by four grandchildren; William Marshall, V, Meagan Marshall and her fiancé, Cameron Jones, Maxim Martin and Meave McCarthy; a special friend, Jeff King, cousins Ann Kaufman, Jay Martin, Kathy Horner, Dan Horner, John Horner, Katherine Edlund, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, at the North Canaan Congregational Church, 172 Lower Rd, East Canaan, with Pastor Mark Brady officiating. The repass follows from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the VFW Post #6851, 104 S. Canaan Rd., Canaan, CT. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Doc Martin should be made to the Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry, P.O. Box 306, North Canaan, CT 06018 or VFW Post #6851, P.O. Box 913, Canaan, CT 06018. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home, 118 Main Street, Canaan, CT.
The Paul Winter Consort will perform at St. James Cathedral in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Saturday, Dec. 21.
Seven-time Grammy winning saxophonist Paul Winter, with the Paul Winter Consort, will return to celebrate the Winter Solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21, with sold out shows at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Saint James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
A uniquely intimate solstice celebration, in contrast to the large-scale productions done for many years in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York, it promises to deliver everything audiences have come to love and expect.
“While we will not have all the dancers and theatrical effects that were possible in the world’s largest Cathedral, we will have all the essence of our solstice music, and we will feature, as always, the beloved voice of Theresa Thomason, who has been the ‘star’ of our solstice celebrations for over 25 years,” Winter said.
The concert will feature vocalist Theresa Thomason, Eugene Friesen on cello, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann, Brazilian drummer Rogério Boccat and Paul Winter on soprano sax.
“I was captivated by Saint James Place," Winter said. "The acoustics are heavenly, and the architecture is stunning. With seating for [250], it is possibly the most exquisite small concert hall I’ve ever seen."
Winter’s work chronicles his wide-ranging experiences in the musical traditions and natural environments of the Earth. The saxophonist, composer and bandleader founded Living Music as the recording context for his ensemble, the Paul Winter Consort, and his community of colleagues, which includes some of the world’s finest jazz, world and classical musicians, along with notable voices from the great symphony of wildlife.
He is also highly regarded for mentoring young musicians over the years, including the late Collin Walcott, a resident of Norfolk, Connecticut who was a member of the group Oregon and a member of the Paul Winter Consort in the late 1970s.
With compositions and improvisations that connect with the natural world, Winter’s music rewards exploration and opens ears to new ways of hearing. Winter has also supported Wellspring Commons, a non-profit, focusing on environmental issues, bioregionalism, and building local community.
The Paul Winter Consort, will bring their legendary Winter Solstice Celebration across New England this December, with performances in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.
The Winter Solstice Celebration is a contemporary take on ancient solstice rituals, when people felt a calling to come together on the longest night of the year, to welcome the return of the Sun and birth of the new year.
“Central to all the traditions of solstice is the renewal of spirit symbolized by the rebirth of the sun,” Winter said. “Winter solstice is a time for healing and hope; it is a time to celebrate community and relatedness; and a time to honor the diversity and the unity of the great cornucopia of life on Earth. Remembering the solstice, we resonate once again with the rhythm of the cosmos and allow our hearts to embrace the optimism of our ancient knowledge that the light will overcome the darkness.”
Wake Robin Inn is located on Sharon Road in Lakeville.
LAKEVILLE — Aradev LLC has withdrawn its application to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a special permit to redevelop the Wake Robin Inn.
In a letter submitted to P&Z Chair Michael Klemens on the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 17, law outfit Mackey, Butts & Whalen LLP announced its client’s withdrawal.
P&Z was expected to vote on the application before the new year, but the developers withdrew before a vote took place. The decision comes after six public hearings in which Lakeville residents — particularly neighbors of the Inn on Wells Hill Rd. — aired grievances with the project.
The public cited concerns regarding environmental impacts, sewer capacity, increased traffic, noise pollution, and general incongruity with the village’s character as reasons to halt the proposed expansion.
“It feels like we’re trying to fit a square peg in a round hole,” said Sharon Road resident John Franchini at the Tuesday, Dec. 10 session of the public hearing.
The public hearing was finally closed at the Dec. 10 meeting, after which P&Z began their deliberation process on the evening of Dec. 12.
Klemens surveyed each member of the commission whether they would accept or deny the application at a vote that was scheduled for Wednesday, Dec 18. Four of the five members present said that would likely deny the application, including Klemens.
“There comes a time when you can only condition so many things before it becomes unreasonable,” said Klemens at the Dec. 12 meeting.
The commission thanked the applicant for its cooperation throughout the process, which included many revisions of its site plans as it responded to criticism from the commission and members of the public.
“They put a great effort, and they were very understanding and cordial,” said commissioner Robert Riva.
P&Z Vice Chair Cathy Shyer agreed: “Their communication with the neighbors was obviously terrific,” she said. “They were aiming for a quality product.”
During the meeting, both Klemens and commissioner Allen Cockerline suggested that it would be wise for the applicant to withdraw before any vote occurs so that they have the opportunity to reapply.
Representatives of Aradev have not yet replied for comment or announced any plans for the group moving forward.
The 403 Group is located at 403 Ashley Falls Road, where the old This N’ That for Habitat used to be.
NORTH CANAAN — The 403 Group Antique Market is “A hidden secret, a little off the beaten path, but worth the drive,” said Carey Field, who has a booth called “Wild Turkey” there.
“It’s a really fun group of dealers,” Field said. “A really eclectic group of antiques and the prices are reasonable.”
The 403 Group has over forty vendors on two floors. The booths are filled with anything from cement penguins to vintage jewelry, paintings, rugs, glassware, lamps, antiques, furniture of all kinds, clothing, small garden sheds and much more. It is located at 403 Ashley Falls Road in North Canaan, across from Decker and Beebe where This N’ That for Habitat used to be. It fills a void left by the Habitat shop which was a favorite place for many locals to browse. The 403 opened last spring in the building on the left side of the property.
“There is something for everybody,” Field said. She likes that there are “more one-of-a-kind gifts. You are buying something nobody else has” and “It is fun to search.”
Cement penguins greet customers entering The 403 Group Antique Market.Photo by Robin Roraback
Scott Price, who has been in the antique business for over thirty years, chimed in, “The hunt is a big part of the fun.” Price also has a booth and sometimes sits at the front desk of 403. He had his own shops in Torrington, Burlington and Harwinton and ran Stewart’s Treasures in Canaan before moving on to the 403. He said of 403, “It’s a nice place to go to. Interesting things inside and out. People just love it.”
“You never know what you will find,” Field said. “The vendors are always bringing in new merchandise.” She said the vendors “love to go out and find things and bring them to the shop.”
In warm weather, vendors can rent a space outside in front of 403. This past summer there were booths with furniture, tied dyed t-shirts, fruit and vegetables, and antiques. To the side and back of the building there are garden furnishings and sculptures.
Sonja Zinke of Canaan said she visits the 403 often. “I think it is fantastic,” she said. “I love coming.” She said that when she finishes a photography job, she gives herself the treat of coming to browse at 403.
Sarah Dreyer, of Norfolk, has had a booth at 403 since September. She says “A love of vintage items and a love of thrifting” were her inspirations for becoming a vendor. She shares the booth with a friend. Dreyer owns Wildwood 1880, an inn in Norfolk.
The 403 Group Antiques Market is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They can be found on Facebook at The 403 North Canaan.
