This past weekend the hubby and I escaped to Charlottesville, VA for some rest and relaxation. Sometimes it is nice to get away from the city and go to the country. We also like to stop by our Alma Mater to see the exciting things going on. This visit we actually stayed at The Silver Thatch Inn. You may recall my mentioning the inn when discussing my grandmother’s recipes. This was my first time staying at the inn. When I was in college we would sometimes eat at the restaurant whenever my parents came to town but I never had a need to stay there. Now that we are alums we can stay in places like this when we come to town.
Our visit was wonderful. We got to spend some time with Jim and Terri who are the owners and they are both great people. If you find yourself planning a trip to Charlottesville you should definitely consider staying at The Silver Thatch.
Since we went to the inn I thought it might be good to feature another one of Grandma’s recipe. For this occasion I chose to recreate the dish that carries the same name of the inn, well the name my grandparents gave the inn. Hollymead Chicken is one of those dishes that has a 1950’s feel. The main ingredient is a can of condensed soup, doesn’t that sound like vintage Americana?
This is a very simple recipe, I made some changes but I wanted to stay true to the recipe. I am sure you can find some version of this dish on soup labels or soup cookbooks. After making this dish I thought of lots of way to add to it or even switch it up so maybe this will reappear sometime in the future. One of the additions I made was to saute celery and onion in butter. This addition provided some texture and made for a richer flavor.
The recipe called for cooking this low and slow but I didn’t take that route. It still turned out as it should (I believe anyway) so if you feel like upping the temp feel free.
Samantha, This is wonderful, I love the photo’s,your grandmother would be so proud.
Thanks Mom! I am enjoying making the dishes, I just hope everyone enjoys eating them.