The Perdue Chicken Cookbook | Page 4

the Microwave Tips for Using the Microwave, plus:
Quick Microwave Recipes, and Classic Recipes Adapted for the
Microwave


Chapter 3
. Chicken for Dieters Tips for Dieters, plus: Low Calorie, Low
Cholesterol Recipes


Chapter 4
. Chicken for Children Tips on Cooking for Kids, plus: Recipes for
Kids to Eat and Recipes for Kids to Cook


Chapter 5
. Chicken for Barbecuing Tips for Cooking Outdoors, plus Recipes for
Barbecuing


Chapter 6
. Chicken for Crowds Tips on Quantity Cooking, plus Recipes for
Crowds

Chapter 7
. Chicken for Tomorrow$or Next Week Tips on Storing and Freezing,
plus Cook Ahead Recipes


Chapter 8
. Chicken for Holidays Chicken and Holiday Cooking, plus: Menus and
Recipes for the Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day,
Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas


Chapter 9
. Chicken for Important Occasions Chicken for When You Want
Something Different and Exciting, plus Show Stopper Recipes


Chapter 10
. Chicken for Planovers Tips on Food Safety, plus Recipes for the Rest
of the Bird
Conclusion: A Rare Bird What Frank Is Really Like

Acknowledgements
I've often thought that inspiration is one of the greatest gifts one person
can give another, and there are several people who were an inspiration
in writing this book. First is a woman whom I would term the
Godmother of this book, Connie Littleton, the Director of Advertising
and Marketing Services at Perdue. She is a woman totally committed to
excellence, and if that commitment to excellence meant she had to read
and edit until the wee hours of the morning, she always did it as if it
were a matter of course. With each passing day, I gained increasing

respect for her professionalism, judgment and knowledge. Bev Cox, a
home economist and food stylist, was an inspiration for her meticulous
attention to detail, her enthusiasm, and her unfailing good humor no
matter what. Beth Fusaro, who typed most of the recipes in this book, is
a Renaissance Woman, who knows not only about food and typing, but
also about everything from making pottery to preserving the
environment. It's been a privilege to work with Beth. Gretchen Barnes,
who assisted Bev Cox in editing, learned a whole new computer
program, Word Perfect, in order to get the job done quickly. Sharon
Sakemiller, who is already a Word Perfect expert, also helped with
typing and retyping recipes. She impressed everyone with how rapidly
she could get things done.
My sincere thanks to the members of American Agri-Women who over
the years have shared their food tips with me. Also, deepest thanks to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension. One of
Cooperative Extension's major activities is helping to educate
consumers, and I owe Cooperative Extension a deep debt of gratitude
for the education I've received through their many publications,
broadcasts, classes, seminars, meetings, and personal contacts. The
following Cooperative Extension members$many of whom are good
friends as well as professional colleagues$have been invaluable
resources for food tips and food knowledge: Dorothy Thurber, Kathryn
Boor, Christine Bruhn, Ellen Pusey, Sally Foulke, Bonnie Tanner,
Bettie Collins, Sue Snyder, Chuck Waybeck, and George York. Also
thanks to Dot Tringali of the National Broiler Council, to Connie Parvis
of the Delmarva Poultry Industry, to Joy Schrage from the Whirlpool
Corporation, and Lisa Readie from the Barbecue Industry Association.

PREFACE WHY I CHICKENED OUT Want to know a high stress
situation? Try being a food writer and cookbook author, and then marry
Frank Perdue. You come home from the honeymoon, everything has
been wonderful and then...it's time to Cook the First Meal! Frank wants
to eat chicken and you're supposed to be a good cook. I remember that
afternoon so vividly. I knew he'd be coming home around six and that
he'd be hungry. Now up until that day, I had always felt fairly confident
in the kitchen. After all, I love cooking and trying new recipes is my
favorite pastime. But cooking chicken for Frank Perdue? I began to get

stage fright. As I was trying to find where the pots and pans were in his
kitchen, I started calculating that there were probably few people in the
world who've eaten chicken more times than my husband. "He's been
eating chicken almost daily for his entire life" I thought, "he likes it, he
cares about it, and my cooking is about to be judged by a world class
expert." As I rummaged around looking for the right herbs and
spices$and couldn't find the ones I liked $ my stage fright grew worse.
"This man must be one of the world's greatest experts on cooked
chicken," I thought to myself. "He's attended dozens and dozens of
chicken cooking contests, he's been part of hundreds