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Whitehouse Chicken

The comfort food of our family

By anonymous rebecca Published 3 years ago 4 min read
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The first time I met my boyfriends family will be a day I’ll never forget. I remember what I was wearing, what my hair looked like, what I ate for dinner, and how anxious I felt. This was not a normal “meet the boyfriends family” event. My boyfriend lived in another country, The Bahamas, and I was just a normal girl from Canada. I took 3 planes to get here, and this was the man I intended to marry, so I was really hoping to fall in love with his family as much as I had fallen in love with him.

As I unboarded the plane and set my eyes on the Bahamas for the first time in my life, I couldn’t help but swallow the lump in my throat. Thoughts catapulted around in my brain. Are they going to like me? Will they accept a girl of a different race into their family as easily as I hope? If this goes sideways, my departing plane doesn’t leave for another two weeks.

Meeting his mother could not have gone better to be honest. She was so warm and welcoming, and for some reason the nervousness I could hear in her voice was actually a bit of a relief to me. I had talked to her many times on the phone and FaceTime, but standing here face to face with her, was different. Her kind eyes were a comfort, and I knew from the beginning we would be great friends.

His Dad on the other hand was confident, outspoken, and just plain loud. I can definetly be the same way, but I get very shy and quiet when I meet new people. His forwardness forced me out of my shell, and he even got a few chuckles out of me. Chuckles, because I had no idea what he was saying with his thick accent. I instantly made a goal to myself that I’ll have to learn the Barbados dialect by the time I leave. Even though I had no idea what he was saying, his big smile was an assurance that I had no reason to be nervous.

It was soon dinner time, and this could either go really well, or really awkward. Going to someone’s house for the first time is always awkward. What if I don’t enjoy this cultures food? What if I say the wrong thing, or worse, what if I cannot figure out what his parents are saying through their accents? My husbands mom dished up everyone’s food, which is a cultural difference that I was not used to. She placed in front of me the largest serving of food I have ever been given in my life. I looked at my boyfriend and whispered, do couples share plates in the Bahamas? I assumed with this amount of food it just be for both of us. He laughed and said “Mom, this is way too much food for her, just hand me another plate and I’ll take half of hers, no need to give me another plate full of food.” Soon after everyone sat down, my boyfriend’s Dad said grace, and everyone dug in. What sat on my plate looked intimidating. A thick layer of rice on the bottom, chicken was placed on top of the rice in some sort of orange sauce, and the whole casserole was topped with a thick layer of cheese. Interesting. I took one bite and was completely sold. This was the definition of comfort food. The orange sauce turned out to be a mixture of curry, chicken soup, and mayonnaise. Comfort food was definetly a great addition to this awkward dinner, and pretty soon everyone was laughing and talking as his family got to know me, and I them.

Fast forward to 3 years later. My now husband and I live in Canada, and his family is still in the Bahamas. Last September hurricane Dorian went through their island of Abaco and ruined the most beautiful place I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Hurricane Dorian stole a piece of my husbands childhood, his home, and his Grandmother’s life. The months that followed hurricane Dorian were extremely emotionally draining for my husband. He was constantly worried about his family, their financial status, and his family’s emotional and mental status.

Soon after his family was back in a comfortable house in the Bahamas, COVID-19 hit North America, and my husband has been separated from his family due to lockdown. He hasn’t seen his Mom, Dad or younger siblings in a long time. Although he keeps his head up, I know sometimes he’s fighting to show his heartbroken feelings, which is when I pull out his mother’s recipe for Whitehouse Chicken. Nothing is more comforting, and brings back feelings of his family as this recipe. I often try to incorporate his cultural food into our regular menu as a way to fend off the homesickness, but when we both just miss his family in an unexplainable way, Whitehouse Chicken is on the menu for dinner.

Recipe is as Follows:

1 pack of Chicken breast boiled and diced

Cooked white rice

In a separate bowl mix

2 cans of cream of chicken

1 cup of Mayonnaise

3- TBL spoon of curry

1-cup of chicken broth that the chicken was cooked in

Dash of salt

3-teaspoons of lemon

Spray pan with Pam spray

Put rice at the bottom of the pan

On top of the rice spread out the diced cooked chicken

Spread mixed sauce on top of chicken

Grate cheese on the top and bake until the top is slightly brown

humanity
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About the Creator

anonymous rebecca

hi :) I’m anonymous rebecca. I’m not really a writer, unless you want to count the time I won 2nd prize in a short story contest in 2nd grade. Just here for some fun and to see if I’ve got a knack for it.

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