Betty Noel Hopes Gold Coin Chicken Will Shine At National Cooking Contest

In two days, Betty Noel of Spokane will find out whether her Gold Coin Chicken can live up to its name.

Noel’s spicy-sweet recipe, rich with the flavors of orange, molasses and ginger, was the winning Washington state entry in the National Chicken Cooking Contest.

Noel now travels to Atlanta for a cook-off against other state champions on Friday (which happens to be her 71st birthday). Prizes range from $25,000 for first place down to $1,000 for fifth.

“There’s no accounting for the taste of the judges,” says Noel, who’s been entering recipe contests ever since her daughter, Roberta, won a trip to the Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1966.

“You’ve got to know how to get the judges’ attention. The recipe (alone) doesn’t always do it.”

Along with its eye-pleasing appearance - chicken pieces ringed with carrot “coins” - Noel’s recipe is tasty, even if you cut corners like I did and use already-mixed orange juice instead of concentrate (which affects the flavor) and dark molasses instead of golden (which doesn’t make much difference).

“It’s a good combination of ingredients, especially with the fresh ginger,” she says.

So let’s do this: On Friday night, let’s all make Gold Coin Chicken. With that amount of culinary karma emanating from the Inland Northwest, Noel is bound to finish first.

And if she doesn’t, well, at least we get a decent dinner out of the deal.

Gold Coin Chicken

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see note)

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup golden molasses

1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root

2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into -inch rounds

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Parsley sprigs for garnish

In large frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken, sprinkle with salt, garlic powder and pepper and cook about 8 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove chicken to a 7- by 10-inch baking pan in a single layer.

To frying pan, add molasses, orange juice, onion and ginger root. Stir until heated through and wellblended. Brush chicken with a generous amount of the glaze, cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Keep remaining glaze warm over low heat.

In a medium saucepan, place carrots with a small amount of water. Cover, bring to a boil, lower heat and steam about 5 minutes, or until crispy-tender. Drain.

After chicken has baked 30 minutes, baste with more molassesorange glaze, return to oven uncovered and bake about 10 more minutes, until a fork can be inserted in chicken with ease. Add drained carrots to frying pan and stir gently, until carrots are well-coated with glaze.

To serve, arrange chicken on serving platter and place carrot “coins” as a border around chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and garnish with parsley sprigs.

Yield: 4 servings.

Note: While Noel prefers thighs, you can use any chicken pieces, with or without bones. You may need to adjust cooking times accordingly.