Duck à l’Orange has been around since medieval times, but enjoyed a surge of popularity when Julia Child included it in her famous book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking After that, restaurants and so-called “cooks” everywhere decimated the dish by making personal changes rendering it inedible, it fell out of favor. However, I was perusing Julia Child’s (my favorite cook) cookbook, and saw the recipe, thinking it might make something memorable for my annual Halloween BOO-ffet. Repulsive Rodents à l’Orange is the delicious and scary result, not the classic, of course, but a dish worthy of edibility.

To my knowledge, no one has thought to substitute rodents for the duck – duck breast isn’t widely available – but when planning a proper Halloween BOO-ffet, rodents may just be the perfect touch. Since my three adorable cats keep our property rodent-free, I have taken the liberty of substituting chicken breasts, and hope my guests will understand. Rodents have hairy skins, so I coat my “rodents” with French fried onions to make them look real.

8 Servings

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed of any fat, veins, etc., cut into 8 serving pieces
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup French fried onions

Sauce:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups chicken broth
4 oranges
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9" by 13" shallow glass baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Dip each of the chicken breast pieces in the egg mixture and press into the onions. Place the coated breasts in the baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes or until just cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce: Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan; boil until it thickens and begins to turn brown. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer.
4. Using a vegetable peeler, shave thick slices of peel from one of the oranges. Finely zest one of the oranges; place the peel and zest in with the chicken broth as it's simmering.
5. Juice two of the oranges and mix with the cornstarch (I use a bullet blender to make sure it's smooth).
6. Peel the other two oranges and cut the segments from them; add the segments to the simmering mixture. Whisk in the orange juice/ cornstarch mixture and let cook until thickened; whisk in the butter. Pour the sauce with the peel and segments over the chicken breasts and serve.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 337 Calories from Fat 143
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 42% Protein 34% Carb. 22%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 16 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Cholesterol 115 mg
Sodium 542 mg
Total Carbohydrate 18 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 29 g

Vitamin A 9% Vitamin C 58% Calcium 0% Iron 7%