Okay, so last week I wrote about curried chicken. That contains apples and raisins, making it a savory AND sweet dish. Who doesn't like that combo? Not me, that's for sure. (It could also be considered relatively healthful, thanks to the fruit.)

In keeping with the sweet/savory chicken theme I'm going to tell you about another chicken dish that incorporates fruit. It's called chicken Cynthia, and it contains oranges and grapes. I can't take credit for it because I've never made it. Until last night :-)

Relax.

My good friend, Nancy, has made it for me several times over the 45 years we've known each other. I met her when I was 1. Just kidding. She wasn't even a sparkle in her mother's eyes when I was 1. And her mother's eyes were usually sparkling, along with her mischievous smile. Anyone who knew Jane Allen can easily summon up that smile. When she got mad though? Yikes!

So anyway, I Googled chicken Cynthia and came up shorthanded. I found a few recipes, but none that sounded as appealing as Nancy’s. Most did contain grapes and oranges, but none included an orange liqueur, and none were as simple, containing only five or six ingredients, or as yummy sounding. Therefore I am officially changing the name to Chicken Nancy. At least for this particular column.

I met Nancy, who grew up in Leavittown, Pennsylvania, right here in Boothbay Harbor. Her family, the Allens, still have a summer cottage near Spruce Point. Nancy's grandfather, Frank Allen, who had an art studio on the east side of the harbor, built the big, open cottage with a huge fireplace at one end of the cavernous living/dining room space.

I was a summer punk, between lives, and we were both working at what was then the Rusty Anchor, beside the Tugboat Inn and Restaurant, before Ed and Frank Rogers moved it to the former Boothbay Playhouse. Geez — lots of changes have occurred here over the years huh. None of them as controversial as all the changes happening now. But we won't get into that. Let's all be happy while we're reading this column.

I ended up moving into Nancy’s cottage in the late summer, when the rest of the Allens had headed back to their winter residences and she was a little nervous about staying there alone. She used to thank me for staying there with her, when really, I should have been thanking her. She's always been nicer than I.

OMG what was I talking about???!!!

Oh yeah. Food.

So Nancy and I both loved to cook. We moved to Sugarloaf that winter, renting a little house on Poplar Stream. We were poor. Our favorite lunch was Campbell's tomato soup. BUT, being the accomplished cooks we were, we added dried basil flakes and a pat of butter.

Luckily, we eventually moved on to more sophisticated dishes. Case in Point: Chicken Nancy (Cynthia).

It is a beautiful, elegant, gorgeous and impressive-looking dish, and it’s simple to prepare. Nancy got the recipe from a German chef at a restaurant, Wayfarers, where she  worked, in Alexandria, Old Town, Virginia.

Okay, ready?

Dust boneless chicken breasts (pounded out or sliced to make fairly thin) with flour and a little salt. Pan fry in some oil. Remove to platter. Throw a hunk of butter into pan and stir that around with the essence of the fried chicken left in the pan. This part wasn’t in Nancy’s recipe, but I stirred in around 3/4 cup chicken broth with a little flour mixed in, to thicken. Don’t tell Nancy. I wanted a lot of sauce.

Stir in some orange flavored liqueur — triple sec, Cointreau, curacao or Grand Marnier. I happened to have a tiny bottle of Cointreau in the liquor cabinet, behind the Jack Daniels, so I used that, and supplemented it with some blood orange bitters. Throw in some grapes and cook for 10 or 15 minutes to thicken sauce and soften grapes. Stir in some cream. Peel and slice an orange, or divide into sections and add to sauce. I found some Cara Cara oranges at Hannaford. Had never heard of them. OMG. Just get some.

Spoon the sauce over the golden brown chicken breasts. That’s all, folks.

P.S. In 1987 Nancy Allen became Nancy Allen Thayer.

Don't get all excited. We're both straight, and gay marriage wasn't legal in Maine in those days anyway.

Nope. I introduced Nancy to my cousin, Brian. They fell in love and got married.

It's nice having a bestie with the same last name.

See ya next week!

And don’t hesitate to email me with questions or compliments: suzithayer@boothbayregister.com.