Devon Delaney does it again, with flair

"I added roasted red peppers for taste and color, and scallions for a bite of onion"

By: Pat Tanner

"image"

Staff photo by Mark Czajkowski
Cooking contest entrant Devon Delaney of Princeton prepares to serve what she hopes will be her grand-prize chicken dish to faculty colleagues at Princeton Junior School.


   When Devon Delaney of Princeton represents New Jersey at the 46th National Chicken Cooking Contest in Charlotte, N.C., in May, only one thing will worry this veteran recipe contest winner.
   To whit: Will she time it right so that the croutons for her Roasted Chicken & Sweet Potato Panzanella with Chutney Dressing remain crisp? If she does time it right, and if the judges deem her salad the winning entry from among the 51 contestants, Ms. Delaney would walk away with a cool $100,000.
   Devon Delaney, 46, has participated in — and come away a winner of — so many recipe contests and cook-offs over the last decade that, she says, she is now able to relax, have a good time and enjoy any given cook-off’s locale.
   In 1998, for the Pillsbury Bake-Off, the setting was Orlando, Fla., which she enjoyed with her husband, Chris, and their three children: Chris, now 18 and a senior at the Lawrenceville School, Patrick, 16, a sophomore there, and Jessica, 13, who attends the John Witherspoon Middle School. For the upcoming chicken contest, Ms. Delaney and her husband will enjoy what she terms "a lovely first-class type of trip.
   In addition to the Pillsbury Bake-Off, Ms. Delaney has been a finalist or winner in contests for McCormick spices, the Peanut Institute, "Better Homes & Gardens" magazine, Francesco Rinaldi, and Mrs. Dash. Her entry of Chicken Legs Mole with Corn Salad Pancakes earned her a spot in the last National Chicken Cooking Contest, which is held every two years.
   "I think I have a shot this time," she says. "I learned that this particular contest is a lot about presentation. And you need a really descriptive recipe title." Pillsbury, on the other hand, prefers titles that are short and whimsical, like the Chewy Cinnamon Trail Bars that earned her a spot seven years ago.
   Ms. Delaney says she isn’t "a big tweaker" when it comes to developing recipes, including the chicken panzanella.
   "I eat salads all the time, and since I’ve done this particular contest before, I tried to figure out what hasn’t been done already," she explains. The secret ingredient in her panzanella recipe is, she says, the presentation. "The salad is presented in a lovely round bread bowl. I thought I’d found the perfect bread at Witherspoon Bread — their country boule — but it turned out to be too small. So I will be trying a Wegmans’ country bread that I’ve found," Ms. Delaney shares.
   She also pays attention to complementary flavors and balance.
   "First I asked myself what herbs and spices go with chicken," she explains. "Rosemary, cumin and ginger, right? Then I added smoked mozzarella for a smoky element. I added roasted red peppers for taste and color, and scallions for a bite of onion."
   The combination of poultry and sweet potatoes put her in mind of Thanksgiving, which led to the pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries. The dressing, with chutney and balsamic vinegar, adds sweet and tart components.
   Devon Delaney practices her recipes on her family, of course. "My sons make fun of me whenever I say, ‘Could you just give this a try?’" she says with a chuckle. "Until I win — at which point they inform me that I owe them a certain percentage of the winnings!"
   But Ms. Delaney, who teaches computer skills at the Princeton Junior School and as part of the after-school and summer programs at Princeton Day School, also uses her colleagues as test subjects. Hence, a recent lunchtime in the faculty room at the Junior School featured Roasted Chicken & Sweet Potato Panzanella with Chutney Dressing.
   Although her sons may scoff at their mother’s avocation at times, 13-year-old Jessica Delaney is following in her mother’s footsteps.
   When she was just 11, she won $1,000 and a trip to New York City in a Jell-O contest, and last year was the grand prize winner in JIF peanut butter’s recipe contest for kids, for which her Peanutty Wrapple Rolls with Maple Dipping Sauce netted her a cool $5,000 savings bond. Just last month, her Pretty in Pink Strawberry Muffins won first prize in a Hershey’s Chocolates contest.
   "Jessie’s getting really good," this proud mother says, "and she came up with the muffin recipe herself." (In fact, Ms. Delaney indicates, her daughter disregarded the few "helpful hints" her mother tendered.)
   Besides the travel opportunities and prizes (cash or products, such as the KitchenAid mixer Devon Delaney won at the Pillsbury Bake-Off), Ms. Delaney says she really enjoys meeting other contestants. "It’s a totally unique scene," she says of recipe cook-offs. "I encounter many of the same, nice people each time. Where else would I run into someone from Hawaii? All the spouses have a good time, too."
   For the chicken contest on May 13, Ms. Delaney acknowledges that her only worry is those pesky croutons.
   "I’ll have to pay close attention to the timing," she says. "When I present the panzanella to the judges, it can’t have mushy croutons."
   Stay tuned to this space for a crouton report.
ROASTED CHICKEN
& SWEET POTATO PANZANELLA
WITH CHUTNEY DRESSING
Devon Delaney of Princeton
   1 large, round country-style bread
   1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 1-1/2-inch cubes
   2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
   3 tablespoons olive oil
   2 tablespoons crushed rosemary
   1 tablespoon ground cumin
   1 teaspoon ground ginger
   1 teaspoon coarse salt
   1 teaspoon pepper
   1 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
   1 cup chopped smoked mozzarella cheese
   ½ cup dried cranberries
   1 cup chopped scallions
   1 cup julienned roasted red peppers
For the chutney dressing:
   1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
   ¼ cup mango chutney
   1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
   2 minced garlic cloves
   1/3 cup olive oil

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Make a 1/2-inch deep cut horizontally across the top of the bread and hollow out the bread to form a large bowl, being careful not to break through the sides or bottom crust. Cut the hollowed out bread into crouton-size cubes. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake in oven until golden. Set aside.
  3. Coat chicken and potatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle with rosemary, cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper and roast in a roasting pan for 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are fork tender.
  4. Meanwhile, heat a skillet to medium-hot and cook the pumpkin seeds until puffed and golden, about 3 minutes. Remove seeds to cool on a plate.
  5. In a small bowl combine the mozzarella, cranberries, scallions and red peppers.
  6. Prepare the dressing by placing the vinegar, chutney, mustard and garlic in a small saucepan and heat to very warm. Remove from heat and whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil.
  7. Assemble dish by gently tossing the chicken, potatoes, red pepper mix and croutons in a large bowl with enough chutney dressing to coat. Transfer salad to hollowed out bread, top with pepitas, and serve with extra dressing on the side.

   Serves 6.
Pat Tanner can be heard each Saturday morning on "Dining Today with Pat Tanner" on MoneyTalk AM 1350 and over www.moneytalk1350.com from 9 to 10 a.m.