Ramona Quimby Yogurt Chicken Inspired by Beverly Cleary
When I was little I read a lot and spent every summer in the library checking out book after book. Ramona Quimby age 8 by Beverly Cleary was one of my favorites, and I checked it out repeatedly. Thinking back, I think I reread it because of one scene that always stuck with me — where Ramona and her sister Beezus cooked a chicken dinner using yogurt. It was chaotic, they didn’t know how to cook, and they were forced to use unfamiliar ingredients.
“In her mother’s recipe file, Ramona found the card for cornbread written in Mr. Quimby’s grandmother’s shaky handwriting, which Ramona found difficult to read. “I can’t find a recipe for chicken thighs,” said Beezus, “just whole chicken. All I know is that Mother bakes thighs in the flat glass dish with some kind of sauce.”
Reading that chapter, I always wondered if I’d be able to cook when I grew up. It all seemed daunting and I think that reading all those books with cooking scenes ended up greatly influencing me.
“Can’t you remember what little specks Mother uses?” asked Beezus. Ramona could not. The girls studied the spice shelf, unscrewed jar lids and sniffed. Nutmeg? No. Cloves? Terrible. Cinnamon? Uhuh. Chili powder? Well.. . .Yes, that must be it. Ramona remembered that the specks were red. Beezus stirred half a teaspoon of the dark red powder into the yoghurt, which she poured over the chicken.”
It turned out the red specks were paprika, but to pay homage to the girls’ original creation, I came up with a flavorful way of staying true to their weird and creative recipe and used chili powder. I didn’t know much about spices when I was 8 either, and now as an adult with a full, fragrant spice cabinet I finally understand what to do with all those little bottles.
Now that my kids are reading these books, it’s all coming back to me. I still try and be as creative and Beezus and Ramona in the kitchen but I definitely do a better job of cleaning up after myself. Here is my homage to Ramona’s yogurt chicken and to all my favorite books, new and old!
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Ramona Quimby Yogurt Chicken Inspired by Beverly Cleary
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
16 ounces plain yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper
2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prep a baking pan with non-stick spray.
Step 2: In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and onion powder.
Step 3: Dip the chicken into the yogurt mixture, then into the panko. Place into the prepped baking pan.
Step 4: Pour the melted butter evenly over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Bake for 25-30 minutes until the juices run clear, and an internal temperature thermometer reaches 165 degrees.
Step 6: Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice to serve.
Oh, what a fond memory you reminded me of! I loved the Ramona books as a girl.
I was just wondering if plain Greek yogurt could be used in place of regular plain yogurt. I’m worried that Greek yogurt might affect the flavor too much.
Thank you for this 🙂