Susan's Super Chicken Salad

I've been struggling with some technical issues here on the blog lately. I recently ran out of picture storage space and had to upgrade. The upgrade took 24 hours to take effect, however, which kinda nixed my timing on Friday's book post.

Anyhoo, today's recipe comes to you courtesy of my friend and coworker Susan (everyone say, "hi"). She makes the best chicken salad. The BEST. Seriously, I hate chicken salad and I could eat this by the bucketful. So, I was really happy when she gave me permission to share it on the blog. (If you make it, soon, you'll be really happy, too. Just saying).

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large pot                                                                       Knife for slicing and dicing

Large mixing bowl                                                        Measuring cups

Cutting board                                                                Mixing spoon

Ingredients

18 oz cooked chicken                                                     4 boiled eggs

1/2 yellow onion                                                            Sweet pickle relish

Granny Smith apple                                                       Salt and pepper

1 cup chopped pecans                                                    Mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups cranraisins                                                  Bread

Now Let's Make Chicken Salad!
First note, you want to boil your eggs in advance. If you're new to this process, a great tutorial/ walk through can be found here. You can also buy hard boiled eggs in the deli or salad section of your grocery store.

You only need the large pot if you need to cook your chicken. 18oz of chicken is about 3 chicken breasts. Bring a pot of water to boil, add the chicken and cook until done (chicken should be white throughout). Shred your chicken and place in the large mixing bowl. I already had leftover chicken, so I just had to shred it. This recipe is a great way to use up leftovers.

Take your yellow onion, peel it and cut it in half. Set one half aside for another day. Mince the remaining half as finely as your streaming eyes will allow, and add it to the bowl of chicken. Susan's original recipe calls for grating the onion, so feel free to go with that option, too.

Next, you need to dice your apple. I like to go ahead and slice my apple, removing the seeds and core from each the slices. Then I slice along the length of the apple piece, turn it and slice perpendicularly across the cuts I just made. I find this to be the easiest method for me to dice apples. However, feel free to follow your bliss. Add your chopped apple to the bowl of chicken.

Grab a couple handfuls of pecans and place them on your cutting board. Begin chopping the pecans by rocking your knife back and forth across the pecans. Stop occasionally to gather them back into a pile and resume chopping until all the pecans are in pieces. You can also buy pre-chopped pecans, however, it's much cheaper to buy halves and do it yourself. Add the chopped pecans to the bowl of chicken.

(Guess what? That's right - more chopping!) Now you need to cut up your boiled eggs. If you've boiled your own make sure you peel them first (what's that? Duh? *shakes head* You'd be amazed). Gently slice the eggs, then turn your slices and cut the eggs into small cubes. Add the eggs to the bowl of chicken.

By now you should have a bowl full'o'ingredients. Add 1 1/2 cups cranraisins, and add salt, pepper and sweet pickle relish to taste (In my case, taste means no relish. blegh!) Using your mixing spoon, gently mix the ingredients together.

Now it's time to add the mayo.  You want the "salad to be moist but not mayonnaisey" per Ms. Susan. So, start by adding two heaping spoonfuls and mixing that in (I just use my mixing spoon to "measure"). I found that I had to add one more heaping spoonful and tiny bit more.

Pile the chicken salad onto a piece of bread. I find that a heavy, coarse bread like rye or pumpernickel is best.

Top it off with another slice and enjoy!

   

Slow Cooking It Thai Style

Since getting my slow cooker, I've wanted to try a curry in it.  I knew I wanted something vaguely Thai in a chicken masaman sort of way, but otherwise I winged it. I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

What You'll Need

Supplies

Slow cooker                                                          Large cast iron skillet

Cutting board                                                        Small mixing bowl

Knife for chopping                                                Measuring cup

Measuring spoons                                                 Fork

Ingredients

2 small onions                                                        1/2 tsp ginger

2 potatoes                                                               1 tsp minced garlic

1 can coconut milk                                                 salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chicken broth                                                3-4 chicken breasts

1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder                                        Olive oil

2 Tbsp peanut butter                                              Green onions

Now Let's Make Thai Chicken Masaman

Start by prepping your vegetables. Cut the tips off your onions on one side and remove the peel. Slice the other end off. Slice the onion in half, and slice each half into thirds, keeping the pieces together. Turn the onion and slice across your previous cuts to finish chopping your onion, which should be fairly coarsely cut.

 These are onions...

Next, scrub your potatoes to remove any dirt (you can also peel them, if you'd prefer). Slice each potato in half lengthwise. Then, slice the potato into quarters, again lengthwise, keeping the slices together. Turn the potato and slice along your previous cuts to coarsely chop the potato.  

 Sorry for the blur; it's hard to photograph and chop at the same time. Ponder that.

Place both the onions and the potatoes in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Pour some olive oil in your cast iron skillet and heat to medium.  While your skillet heats, trim any excess fat from your chicken breasts.  Quickly brown the chicken in the pan on all sides. 

Place the breasts over the top of the potatoes and onions. I like to nestle them in the veggies a little rather than setting them on top as this allows them to steep in a bit more moisture while cooking.

Oddly, I find partially cooked chicken less than appetizing

Open your can of coconut milk and pour it into the small mixing bowl. Measure out 1 cup chicken broth and pour in with the coconut milk. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder, 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 tsp ginger, and 1 tsp minced garlic to the bowl. Liberally dash with black pepper and add salt (I used a little less than 1 tsp). Using your fork, whisk the ingredients together until liquid is smooth. 

 Avoid a real whisk unless you want to gum it up with peanut butter...

Pour the coconut milk mixture evenly over the top of the chicken breasts.  Cover and set slow cooker to low for 5 hours.

Serve with jasmine rice (I like to toss my rice with some golden raisins), and garnish with green onions.  Enjoy!

Mmmmmmm...

 

Chicken Berlin

Yep. I'm just too tired to come up with a cutesy title tonight, guys; I'm afraid utilitarian will have to do.  This recipe is loosely based off a dish at one of my favorite local restaurants, Ol' Heidelberg, which serves up fine German cuisine.  I've no idea if this is an authentic dish or not, but it's darn tasty!

What You'll Need

Supplies

Cutting board                                                         Measuring spoons

Knife for slicing                                                      Small pan

Small mixing bowl                                                  Large pan
2 forks                                                                    Large Cast Iron Skillet
Plate

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts                                                   1 tbsp thyme

2 eggs                                                                     1 tsp rosemary

1 tbsp mustard                                                       Swiss cheese

Bread crumbs                                                         Large onion

1 tbsp salt                                                              Apple

Black pepper                                                           Olive oil
2 Tbsp butter

Now Let's Make Chicken Berlin!

Start by preheating your oven to 375 F.

While the oven heats, begin your prep work.  Slice your onions thinly and separate the layers so you have lots of rings.  Set these aside. Position your apple so that the stem is facing the palm of the hand that you use to steady what your cutting. Slice the apple thinly until you have 8 rounds. Remove any seeds and core. Set aside.

Crack two eggs into your small mixing bowl. Measure and add 2 Tbsp of mustard. Beat the eggs together with the mustard until there is little visible egg white left.  On your plate, pour out enough bread crumbs to cover the plate in a small heap.  Add 1 Tbsp salt, 1 tbsp thyme, 1 tsp ground rosemary and black pepper to taste. Use your remaining fork to mix the dry ingredients together.

Coat the bottom of your large skillet with olive oil. Trim any fat off the chicken breast. Take a chicken breast and dip it into the bowl of egg, thoroughly coating all sides of the chicken.  Hold the breast over the bowl, allowing any excess egg to drip, then place the chicken on the plate of bread crumbs. Using your fingers, lightly press the breast into the crumbs to coat, flip the breast and press again. Transfer the breast to the large skillet. Repeat for remaining chicken breasts.

Bake the chicken at 375 F until cooked; chicken should be white throughout.

While the chicken cooks, heat your pan to medium heat. While you allow the pan to come up to temperature, take your swiss cheese and slice it.  You want enough slices to cover the top of your chicken, so judge according to the size of the block your using. I highly recommending using a higher quality swiss cheese, like Jarlsberg, to get a better flavor. It matters, trust me. Set aside

I ate the cheese, so the only picture you get is me, hoomans

Once the pan warms, add 2 tbsp butter and allow the butter to melt.  Add your onions and saute until translucent and tender.  By the time your down sauteing your onion, the chicken should be done. Reduce the heat of the eye to low until your ready to use the onions.

Turn the oven off. Place your slices of swiss over the top of the chicken. Put the chicken back in the oven and allow the cheese to melt. While you wait, take your small pan and add a little butter. Heat the pan to medium, and place your apple slices in the pan. Saute lightly, just enough to warm the apple. Plate the chicken breasts. Top with apple slices, then add onions over the top of everything.

Serve with other delicious German sides, like pan fried potatoes and slaw.

I put my apples on top, but it's better if they're under the onions. True story.

   

Cooking the Books: The Great Chicken Cookbook

Well, I try not to cook my books most of the time, but that doesn't save them from splatters and stains. For a blog that mixes cooking and books, I've been truly remiss for not including any cookbooks in my weekly books reviews.  I know, cookbooks aren't usually something you sit down and read (or so I've been told, but I already knew I was weird).  Nevertheless, knowing which cookbooks are worth having around is valuable information, especially given the hefty price tags some cookbooks carry.

The Basics
The Great Chicken Cookbook. Ultimo, Australia: Reader's Digest, 2010. Print.

Gosh, what to say? This is a book about chicken.  Chicken is a tasty, tasty bird. This cookbook promises over 230 recipes that will appeal to a wide variety of tastes.  It claims to have easy-to-follow cooking instructions, as well as indicating cooking and prep times and labeling low fat and quick meals.  So, does it live up to the hype and achieve true greatness?

The (Cook)book
Yes, to make a long story short, it does.  But, let me give you some specifics.

Pick this book up and give it a quick flip through, and you'll soon realize that it has excellent photographs and lots of them.  This is a must have in a cookbook for me. I want to see what I'm making before I go to the trouble of cooking it.  I don't need a photo for every single recipe, but I do want an abundance. I mean, what if you get super-excited and cook a nifty looking recipe only to discover that it both looks and taste like... well, something not so pleasant.  Admittedly, pictures only assure me of the looks side of things, but for me that's part of the joy of preparing and consuming food.

While usually, I'm kind of meh on the introductory section to cookbooks, this one has a great one.  It details how to skin and bone the various parts of a chicken as well as how to cut a whole chicken into parts. This is super-useful and very cost effective, since buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts, etc, costs much, much more than doing it yourself. Even better? The book provides clear photos for each step of the process with detailed directions.  This section also contains some very useful and important information on the safe storage, handling and disposal of raw chicken (Salmonella is not your friend, even if it offers you candy).

Now, let's get down to the recipes.  The cookbook does indeed offer a huge variety, with various ethnic influences.  I like the Curried Chicken Turnovers (p30), Quick Chicken Laksa (69), Chicken with Orange Sauce (100), Chicken Braised in Red Wine (124), Mustard-Tarragon Chicken Saute (139), and Lemon-Basil Chicken with Pita Pockets (306).  And those are just the ones I've gotten to so far. Each recipe indicates number of servings (the only time that gets confusing is on some of the appetizers), and nutrition information. I especially like the latter, since I want to know if what I'm putting in my mouth is a day's worth of calories.  While most of the recipes were fairly light, some weren't, so pay attention. Most were middle of the road, and you wouldn't want to pair them with any heavily caloric sides (but you were going to eat green stuff, anyway, right?).

While most cookbooks I recommend borrowing from your local library (they'll be in the 641's in Nonfiction), this one is actually worth owning.  If chicken is a routine protein in your household, this cookbook will help you get some variety and extra mileage.  None of the recipes seem overly complex, which makes the book ideal for the savvy and not-so-savvy cook alike.  Best of all, it's not particularly expensive.  The original hardcover was $24.95 and I recently saw it online for as little as $6.99.  It's well-worth the money.

   

Tastes Like Chicken!

Because it is.  (Bwahahahahaaa! I'm hi-larious) Tonight's recipe features something super easy and fast.  Why? Because a) I'm still sick (*hack, cough, hack*) and b) I just got off work.  You have those sort of days, too, right? RIGHT?! Ah, I thought so. Without further ado, I give you Work-Night Chicken Quesadillas.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Cutting board                                                                 Large skillet

2 forks                                                                           Cast iron griddle

Knife

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken                                                        1 tsp minced garlic

Tortillas                                                                          Chili powder

Shredded cheese                                                             Cilantro

1 Tbsp olive oil

Now Let's Make Work-Night Chicken Quesadillas!

Put your rotisserie chicken on your cutting board. Slice slightly to one side of the center of the chicken to begin removing the breast.  Don't worry if you're not a master carver; it doesn't need to be pretty.  Take your chicken breast, and remove any of the skin still attached (no one wants to get a big hunk of rubbery skin in their quesadilla. Trust me, learn from me). Now, use one of your forks to hold the piece of chicken down.  Take your other fork and firmly drag it across the piece of chicken to begin shredding the chicken. Continue until the entire breast is shredded.  Repeat for the other chicken breast and any other meat you can/want to pull off the chicken.

 Remember, click to enlarge for a closer view!

Set your cast iron griddle on an eye and heat it to medium heat (about four or five). Now ignore it and move over to your skillet.

In your skillet, heat about 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add your newly shredded chicken and 1 tsp of minced garlic.  Add chili powder to taste. Personally, I like a lot.  If you have time and are so inclined, you could also add half a diced bell pepper. Saute the meat until it is heated throughout and flavors have mingled.  Reduce heat to low.

Come back to your griddle.  By now, it should have reached an even heat.  Place a tortilla on the griddle.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese as desired and add a few cilantro leaves as well. Watch as the cheese slowly melts. Once all the cheese is melted, add chicken to the center of the tortilla. Make sure to divvy up the chicken based on however many quesadillas you're prepping.

Okay, so I used a spatula.

Using one of your forks, fold one side of the tortilla over the chicken in the center. Then, fold the other side over. Remove to plate. Add another tortilla and repeat until all your chicken is used up. Serve with a salsa and sour cream. Some other ingredients you can add right before wrapping the tortilla up? Freshly diced tomatoes, sliced red onion, chopped lettuce, olives, etc.  Enjoy!

   

It's an Easter Fiesta!

Cause, you know, what says Easter Sunday dinner like Chicken Empanada? Am I right? (What's that? I'm not?).  Okay, okay, I'm joking. This is actually a great recipe for the day or two after you've prepared a big feast, when what you really need is a break from the kitchen (Easter, Passover, Spring Equinox, whatevs).  This particular Chicken Empanada recipe is super easy and quick. Oh, and it's delicious, just saying.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Cast iron skillet                                                              Pan for sauteing
2 Forks                                                                           Large mixing bowl
Cutting board                                                                 Mixing spoon
Knife for chopping                                                          2 cookie sheets

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts                                                           1/2 red bell pepper

Olive oil                                                                           1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese

Chili powder                                                                    Shredded cheddar cheese

Garlic powder                                                                  2 boxes pie crusts

1/2 yellow onion                                                             

Now Let's Make Chicken Empanada!

Start by cooking your chicken. Drizzle some olive oil into your cast iron skillet.  Roll your chicken breasts through the olive oil to coat all sides, then arrange them flat side down in the skillet.  Lightly sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder, then liberally sprinkle them with chili powder. Bake at 375F until the chicken is cooked and white throughout (there should be absolutely no pink, unless you want to spend a couple days worshipping the porcelain gods).  I like to do this step with whatever I'm cooking the night before, so that the chicken is ready to go the next day. If you have any left over (ie from a roast), feel free to skip this step and use that instead, just know that you need about a 14 - 16 oz of meat.

Insert witty caption here.

If your oven isn't still set to 375F, begin preheating it now. Using your two forks, begin shredding the chicken.  Use one fork to hold the chicken breast in place.  Firmly drag the other fork across the chicken breast, using it as a claw to pull the chicken apart.  Try not to shred the chicken too finely; you want bite size pieces of chicken. Repeat this process until all your chicken is shredded. If you're working with leftovers of a whole chicken the process is similar, although you may be pulling pieces of the appropriate size directly from the chicken. Place the shredded chicken in your large mixing bowl.

Take out the pan you plan to use for sauteing and warm a small amount of olive oil in it over medium heat. While the oil warms, dice your onion.  Cut off the non-root end, then moving around the onion make even cuts that stop just shy of the root.  Then, root-end facing away from your knife, begin chopping the onion for a quick dice.  Add half the onion to the pan (reserve the other half for another cooking adventure).  

Next, begin dicing your red bell pepper.  Cut the pepper in half, reserving one half for another day.  Remove the stem and carefully cut away the seeded white part from the inside of the pepper. You should only have red left by the time you're done (do not skip this step; the white flesh can be really bitter. Patooie!).  Holding the pepper down with one hand, make vertical slices that run the length of the pepper (starting from the stem end and going down, as opposed to across the pepper; click to enlarge the picture).  Gather your slices into a bunch and cut across them to dice the pepper.  Add this to the pan with the onion and saute until tender. 

Sorry for the blur.

Once the onion and pepper are mostly tender, add them to the mixing bowl with the chicken.  Open the can of cheddar cheese and add it to the bowl. Add chili powder to taste.  I usually add a lot; at least another tablespoon.  You want enough so that the chili powder is visibly and liberally dispersed throughout the mixture.  Mix everything together thoroughly.  

Mmmm. Cheesy.

Spread a pie crust flat on each of your cookie sheets (a wider sheet definitely helps).  Spread the chicken and cheese mixture evenly over each of the pie crusts leaving about an inch to spare all around the outer edge. Top with a layer of shredded cheese. This recipe calls for cheddar, because that's what you'll see pictured. However, a colby monterrey-jack blend is also very tasty.  You can either shred your own or use pre-shredded.  

Place another pie crust over the top of the filling.  Seal the edges together by pressing around the outer edge with your fingers.  Try to get as close to the filling as possible with your seal, but don't actually press on the filling part (this will cause an explosion; ask me how I know).  Trim the excess pie crust from around the edge, then seal more firmly by pressing one of your forks along the edge of the crust. Reserve any excess crust for another recipe (waste not! You could turn this into tartlets or turnovers). Using the fork, poke a few holes in the top. Repeat for the other empanada.

Bake at 375F for about 30-40 minutes until the top has turned a nice golden brown.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with fresh cilantro.  Yum! (I may or may not have been too busy nomming this to get a good picture of it on the plate all pretty. Heh heh).