Chicken á La King (Sisters Café)

I think I've just found our new traditional meal for Christmas Eve. This recipe and tradition comes from the Sisters Café family. I tried it for the first time this year and loved it! Besides the yummy meal and the coolest-ever bread crowns, I loved that it only took me 30 minutes to make! Click HERE for their original recipe. Serves 8-10 adults.

photo credit: Sisters Café

½ c butter

½ c red bell pepper, diced
½ c green pepper, diced (these red and green peppers are so festive!)
½ c onions, diced



½ c flour
3 c chicken broth

1 c cream

5 c Rotisserie chicken, shredded
Salt and pepper

¼ c milk

Shred chicken, and dice peppers and onions. Heat butter over medium-low heat. Sauté peppers and onions just until soft. Then add flour. Mix well to make a roux. Let it bubble. Add mushrooms and broth; bring to a boil to thicken. Stir in cream and chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t boil after adding cream. Add milk to thin if needed.


Photo credit: Sisters Café

Photo credit: Sisters Café

To make the crowns: Buy wheat bread at the store – not whole wheat, just the cheapo wheat kind. (Or you can use white if you prefer.) Get out your muffin tin. Place a slice of bread over a muffin hole. Push in on the four sides and push down into the muffin hole. Don’t squash the bread, but use enough force so that it stays down in the muffin hole. The four corners should be sticking up. Bake at about 250° until toasted and dry 20-30 min. Keep checking every 5 minutes. When done, the bread will be like toast, and you will be able to lift the crowns out of the muffin tin and they will hold their crown shape.

*New in 2013: Use Cheri Yorgason's sandwich roll recipe to make the crowns. These are much tastier and moist than the above method:

½ c warm water
2 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 c warm water
½ c sugar
½ c butter, softened (microwave hard butter 15 sec)
3 beaten eggs
4½ c white flour
1 tsp salt

In a mixer, dissolve the first 3 ingredients and let sit for 3-5 min. Add 1 c water and ½ c sugar and mix. Mix in the butter and eggs. Add in 2 c flour and mix. Add 2½ c more flour and salt. Mix. This mixture will be sticky. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour.


Place on a generously floured surface. You don’t have to knead this dough, but it will need to be placed on the flour, rolled over 1-2 times to make it easier to work with. Flatten it out on the flour about ½ inch thick and cut into small circles (use a small cup). Roll into balls and place inside 2 greased muffin tins. (Make regular muffins on cookie sheets with leftover dough.)

Using kitchen scissors, snip rolls into quarters, cutting almost to the bottom, making 4 peaks. Pinch edges to make them pointier, if needed. Cover with towels and let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 375° for ~9 min. Remove from oven, brush tops with water (to preserve moisture), and enjoy!