“Oh!” LeeLee said after coming into the kitchen tonight for a glass of wine, just in time to see me pull a lasagna pan out of the oven. “We haven’t had chik’n divan in a LONG time!”
He’s right about that – for some reason, I always think of divan as more of a cold-weather meal, even though it’s no more seasonal than most of the dinners I make around here. But regardless, here we are, having gone divan-less for the better part of spring and summer! And that all changed tonight.
Though for some reason it hasn’t graced the pages of the blog all that often, chik’n divan is a longtime favorite of mine. I grew up eating it – when I was little, I called it the “sand dish” because of the layer of bread crumbs on top! – and once I moved out onto my own, it wasn’t long before Mama sent me her recipe for the divan (which will at this point remain top-secret, thank you very much!).
While I won’t divulge Mama’s secrets at present, I will say that this dish has some major comfort ingredients going for it: cream of mushroom soup, mayo, broccoli, chik’n, cheddar cheese. (I’ve yet to attempt a vegan version, but anything is possible, so I will vow to do that sometime soon!) But suffice it to say, while this isn’t necessarily a dieter’s special, when enjoyed in moderation it makes a lovely meal for two (plus lots of leftovers). We serve it over rice, which is how my mother always served it, and I can’t imagine enjoying it any other way!
Despite our best efforts, there’s plenty of divan left for lunch tomorrow – a wonderful feat indeed, since I know we’ll both want some and I wasn’t looking forward to figuring out who would get a single serving. No worries about that – we’ve got more than half a pan left! That’s sure to perk up a slow Tuesday afternoon!
:)