In the mid-nineties, I lived in the Silicon Valley in Northern California. I had two roommates. We all attended the same ward (church congregation) exclusively for older singles. Lynne liked to invite people over and entertain. She barbequed her special chicken for some of these parties, impressing people (hopefully the guys.) After one of the parties, I asked for the chicken marinade recipe. She said no.
Who exactly doesn’t share recipes? Grannies with county fair award-winning cakes, maybe. But young professional women? It was beyond belief. I was shocked. I was hurt. I was annoyed. I was determined. So, I simply opened our kitchen cabinets and found her recipe box and copied the top secret ingredients down.
Not being accustomed to thievery, I also felt guilty. Very much so, apparently, since I didn’t make the chicken dish until well after I was married. Perhaps I’m seeking a measure of forgiveness by coming clean in this blog and giving her all the credit. By the way, my research yesterday showed that this same recipe is on the internet in various forms and also found in at least two Mormon ward cookbooks that I own. So, I’ve learned that the crime wasn’t necessary, as crime never is, because secret recipes today can be obtained with a click of a mouse. And in my religious culture, recipes are shared as easily as viruses in the church nursery.
served with spinach and cheesy rice
Lynne’s Top Secret Chicken Marinade
2 cups of 7-up
1 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp horseradish
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Marinate chicken for at least 8 hours. Discard marinade.
Notes: Lynne’s recipe called for 1 full cup of unspecified oil, but comparing with the internet versions, I adjusted. Also, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being please make it again soon), Curt gave the recipe “around a 4” and Jack gave it a “100 times” which I am interpreting as off the charts.
Also, thanks Brooke and Amanda for the technical help.
3 comments:
i use this marinade with turkey tenderloins and it is one of my favorites. love this story =)! does this also mean that this was posted using live writer? hope it works out well for you {if it is}. also, recipe for cheesy rice? sounds good.
See, this recipe is definitely NOT secret! I'll have to try it with the turkey. Yum.
Yes, I finally used live writer, after your help and extra help from Curt. The cheesy rice, I'll admit, was rice a roni, the natural one, parmesano/romano flavor. Full disclosure!
Glad to see you're coming clean, Lisa. I have a stolen recipe for rice pudding, though I wasn't the thief. Darrel's cousin's grandmother wouldn't give any of her recipes out (and they didn't even win any ribbons at a county fair), so Elise spent some time cooking with her (and spying) and wrote all the recipes down afterward. Funny how some people are with their recipes. The chicken looks delicious, by the way. I need to look back at Brooke's technical advice and see if I can figure it out.
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