Chicken a la King

This recipe was invented by a chef in New York in the 1930s.  He named it for the owner of the hotel where he worked. It was served on toast points and that is still the correct way to serve it. However, we like it in puff pastry shells so that is the way I serve it.  Another suggestion is to serve it over waffles. 

The egg yolks help thicken it. If you want to serve it over mashed potatoes or rice, you might want to add a little more cream or some chicken broth for a more gravy like consistency. Either way, this makes a good meal and is not much work. 

Takes a small amount of time to fix and you could have the peppers and mushrooms already cut up to save even more time. 

I used canned chicken but left over chicken works very well. I did not have onion juice, so added some finely grated onion instead.

Chicken a la King

1 cup sliced mushrooms

¼ cup chopped green pepper

6 tablespoons butter softened

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cups light cream

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

3 egg yolks

½ teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon onion juice

2 tablespoons chopped canned pimiento

Toast Points

In saucepan cook mushrooms and green pepper in 2 tablespoons of the butter till tender but not brown; push vegetables to one side. Blend flour and ¾ teaspoon salt into butter in saucepan. Stir in cream; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Add chicken; heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in small bowl blend remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, egg yolks and paprika; set aside. To chicken mixture add sherry, lemon juice and onion juice; bring to boiling. Add yolk mixture stirring till blended. Remove from heat. Stir in pimiento. Serve over toast points. Serves 6 to 8
* Use frozen pastry shells, baked as package directs.

Better Homes and Gardens Golden Treasury of Cooking.