Both a century ago and now, cooks have asked the question, “What should I do with the leftovers?”
I recently found a hundred-year-old recipe for Chicken and Ham Turnovers that is a wonderful way to use leftovers. The turnovers were yummy and easy to make, and the accompanying sauce added just the right amount of zing.
Here’s the original recipe:
Since the recipe indicates that a “”buttercup biscuit” or a “rich biscuit dough in which the yolk of an egg is used,” I searched for a hundred-year-old buttercup biscuit recipe. I failed to find one, so I went with a biscuit recipe I found and added an egg yolk (and reduced the milk a little to compensate). Here’s the old biscuit recipe:
When I made this dish, it seemed a tad salty so when I updated the recipe for modern cooks, I reduced the salt. Here’s the updated recipe:
Chicken and Ham Turnovers
Filling
1 cup cooked chicken, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/3 cup cooked ham, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
Biscuit Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons shortening or lard
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 – 2/3 cup milk
Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chicken broth
Preheat oven to 400° F. Combine diced chicken and ham in a bowl. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Cut in the shortening and butter using a pastry blender or two knives going in opposite directions. Stir in egg yolk and 1/2 cup milk. The dough should cling together and be of a consistency that it can be rolled. If needed, add additional milk. On a prepared surface, roll the dough out and cut into rounds approximately 5 inches in diameter. (I used an inverted cereal bowl to cut the rounds.) Place a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture on one side of each round, brush water on the edge of round, fold over and press edges together. Put on rounds on a baking sheet, and brush with milk. Put in oven and bake until the top is lightly browned (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and serve with sauce.
While the turnovers are baking, make the sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan; stir in the flour and pepper. Add the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, then slowly add the chicken broth while stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
