Disclaimer: We’re not responsible for any “Coq au Blam” damage

After this “Chicken with Apricots” recipe appeared in the Feb. 7, 1982, edition of Empire, some Post readers reported oven explosions. Two chemistry experts at the University of Colorado said the alcoholic content of the brandy and the high temperature of the oven may have been the reason. Be warned.

Chicken With Apricots (Poulet à l’abricot) Empire Magazine, Feb. 7, 1982

Ingredients

2 frying chickens, cut in serving pieces 1 stick (½ cup) butter

¼ cup peanut oil

1 heaping tablespoon flour

5 large cloves garlic

2 cups apricot brandy

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

6 ounces dried apricots

Directions

Wash and pat chicken pieces dry with paper toweling. Melt butter and oil in a skillet over moderate heat. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time.

Cook over moderate heat until chicken is golden on all sides. Transfer chicken to a large, shallow casserole. Pour off all but about ¼ cup of the fat from pan. Add flour to fat in pan. Cook over moderate heat a few minutes, stirring.

Crush garlic through a garlic press into pan. Mix well. Add brandy, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Arrange apricots in the casserole, tucking them in among the chicken pieces.

Pour the sauce over chicken and apricots. Bake, covered, in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 to 30 minutes longer or until chicken is done. Baste chicken occasionally with sauce in casserole.

Serves six.