Chicken Salad Craze

Note: This is an old post I finally got around to putting up. I started it months ago!

Will and I both tend toward food crazes, so sometimes meals around here might come off as a tad repetitive. Not to us! I am currently in a chicken salad craze. I have a favorite chicken salad, with grapes and walnuts, but that is for another day. Today I want to share my recipe re-creation success. Union Market (aka Union Mark-up) sells a delicious curried chicken salad that I have recently been obsessed with. I took some notes last time I bought some and successfully recreated it two nights ago. Here is a picture, although it doesn't do it justice:
Will is demonstrating how to fill a pita; Mona is wondering how she can get involved.

CURRY CHICKEN SALAD (a la Union Market)

• 2 large whole chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1/4 cup or more raisins, soaked in warm water for at least an hour
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots (I buy the bagged kind b/c I don't have a food processor)
• 2 whole green onions
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup red onions (to taste)
  
• 1 stalk celery
• parsley to taste
  

Chop and combine the above in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together:

• a scant 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• a generous 1/4 cup yogurt (you can vary the ratio; the point is to have a half cup total)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• 1/2 tsp sugar (I think I used brown)
• 1.5 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• a dash turmeric (to make it yellower!)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Taste the dressing for seasoning and adjust. I bet it would be great with a dash of cayenne! Gradually mix the dressing into the chicken mixture until it reaches the desired level of "dressed-ness." Great served with pitas and lettuce.

Summer Slacker Salad

Well, well, well, the challenger has become the challenged. I have not posted a salad a week this summer, despite front loading some salads.

Here are two "salads" for quick and easy meals.

Italian Brie Pasta Salad
(Adapted from The Six O'Clock Scramble Cookbook)
1/2 lb of Brie
6 really ripe tomatoes
1 C fresh basil
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil - optional

Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, take off rind and break into tiny pieces. Cut up tomatoes and basil and put cheese, tomatoes and basil in a bowl. When pasta is cooked, drain it and immediately toss with the cheese and tomatoes and basil. Add salt and pepper and toss with olive oil if desired.

The real beauty of this salad is that you can do anything with it. You could use fresh mozzarella or other cheeses and mix in all kinds of different veggies or even fruit with the brie (strawberry, arugula, brie and tangerines?!?!)

Chicken Cesear Salad Wraps
(Adapted from somewhere...this salad entered my life somehow about a month after Isla was born. I'm not sure where it is from, but it is a great emergency meal and a wonderful no-brainer new mommy meal.)

Tortillas
Chicken Breasts
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Sweet Bell Pepper
Italian or Caesar Dressing
Parmesan Cheese

Cook a chicken breast - if frozen, boil it and then slice it (and saute in olive oil and Italian seasoning if you have time), if thawed, bake or saute in olive oil and Italian seasoning.
Heat a tortilla and spread with dressing.
Sprinkle with cheese
Slice tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and chicken into long strips
Place on tortilla, wrap and eat!!!
(Dip in extra dressing as needed.)

Two More Salads

I have a new favorite blog...it was just a cooking blog that I heard about through Stacy's sister, but then she combined it with her personal blog, so among great recipes, I get to read about decorating her place, her sweet little boy and her adventures in San Diego.

Also, based on the blog name, I think her name is Elizabeth Bryant, which is Lola's pornstar name...destiny, right!?!

Anyways, her cooking style is very similar to my own and we've been eating her recipes a lot lately.

Here are two yummy salad recipes:

Salad #1
Chicken Tarragon Salad
This is very mild and light. I used coconut yogurt instead of sour cream and cut the amount mayo and sour cream in half. I served it on toasted sourdough bread the first meal and in filo bowls the second meal. I wouldn't recommend the filo bowls too much work for very little pay off (I did make baklava too, and that was good and well worth the effort.)

Andrew and I had a horrible tarragon experience once and have avoided it like the plague since, but we used fresh tarragon and it was good.

Salad #2
Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn
This is SO good and SO easy! I've never used quinoa, but we loved this. I recommend starting with her basic recipe, because it is so simple and good, but once you've made it, the recipe has lots of potential for experimentation. We added lime juice and I think there is really no limit to the add-ins you can use.
We used the roasted frozen corn from Trader Joes, for extra roasty taste!

Frrriiieeeed Chicken!!!

I decided to stop making desserts until Easter because we've been devouring them faster than I can make them.  I'm not off desserts, but I'm not buying any or making any...eating an already purchased piece of chocolate with a marshmallow and a date is another matter, and perfectly acceptable!

My dessert desert led me to try making friend chicken - got to get the fat in some way or another, right?

I used Bittman's instructions on pg. 663 and used my own spices and the batter component of "Spicy Batter-Fried Chicken on pg. 666 (hmmmm....it was devilishly tasty!)

Instead of using a chicken I cut up and dried chicken breasts into large hunks.  This meant slightly shorter frying time.  I eye balled it - waiting for a browned batter and then cut my first piece open to double check.  Perfection!!!

I was AMAZED with the ease and success of the recipe.  KFC will not be seeing us anytime soon!  This is the first thing I've deep fat fried (only 1/2 inch of oil needed -  I used corn), and also the first breaded food I've made where the breading stayed on and stayed crispy. The secret was having a candy thermometer in at all times.  Bittman recommends covering the pan to prevent splashing, but I only covered half so I could leave my thermometer in and ensure a constant state of 350 degrees.

It was a fun and empowering to make such an iconic food! The only downside is a house (and a neighborhood) that smells like oil.  Keep your windows open if you're going to try this one.

Chocolate Pasta

A special (and very thoughtful) houseguest gave us a bag of Chocolate Pasta last year. Thank you again, Wm. I discovered the beautiful bag of chocolately pastas yesterday as I cleaned out cupboards for the amazing Kitchen make-over!

Tonight we had the pasta with the mole sauce (recipe on the bag). It was yummy. I don't know how authentic this is, but its tasty enough to make again and serve with tortillas or rice. I modified it just a bit. Make it as spicy as you like by adjusting the amount of chili powder used. I used only 1/4 tsp and it was very mild. We were still recovering from the chipotle!!*&$%*!! ranch beans I made yesterday.

Chicken Mole

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 to 1 tsp chili powder

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa

2 Tbs flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp powdered cumin

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs sugar

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 can ready-cut tomatoes, undrained

1.5 cups chicken broth

1.5 to 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cut in cubes

Heat oil over med-high heat. Saute onions & garlic till translucent. In a small bowl mix all dry ingredients & spices. Add this mixture to the onion pan, stirring well. It will make a thick paste and smell delicious!! Add chicken broth about a third at a time, stirring well with each addition to blend. Stir in tomatoes, bring to a boil and turn down to simmer. Simmer covered for 90 minutes. Add chicken and heat through.

I started with 3 chicken thighs and simmered them for a couple hours in 4 cups of water with a bit of chopped onion, parsley & celery, thus making my own chicken broth and cooked chicken.

Now I'm curious to learn about more authentic chocolate mole recipes.

Speaking of the kitchen make-over; we got our building permit today!!!! We moved everything out of the breakfast nook, took off some dry-wall and began tearing up the two layers of laminate flooring and underlayment. I will never miss that old floor. I also began emptying out cupboards and packing things away. I still have full cooking abilities, so haven't gone into withdrawal. I'm hoping to avoid withdrawal by switching into full-on camping mode.