Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad is a personal thing.  I think there are as many recipes for chicken salad as there are personalities. They range from savory, to nutty and fruity, to pickle-y, to curried, to sweet, to smooth, to chunky... you get my point.  My favorite bought Chicken Salad is from Bread and Company.  They actually have 3 types: Curried, Honey Walnut and Almond Tarragon.  I like them all, but Honey Walnut is my favorite!   They have this amazing artisan cranberry walnut bread.  Their chicken salad sandwich, made with that bread is called the "Iroquois".   It's super special.  In fact, during my third child's labor and delivery, when I was trying to find a "focal point" to help me deal with my pain, I thought of an Iroquois Sandwich and Fruit Tea from Bread and Company.  I know, kind of ridiculous.  My focal point was not Hawaii, or some beautiful beach, or a sunset, or the sight of my sweet baby on her way, but a chicken salad sandwich.  Call me a realist.  I think I was focusing on the immediate reward that I imagined could actually be at the end of this anguish.  And it worked.  And she popped out, and my in-laws went promptly to Bread and Company and fulfilled my dreams with my focal point-lunch!  

So, I guess you could say I have a strong connection with Chicken Salad.  The good news with making it, is that you can't go wrong and you really don't need a recipe.  You just need some good ingredients and some test-drives to find the way you like it. 

For me, the key ingredients are: Mayonnaise, Chicken (of course),  grapes (or other fruits are good too), honey, nuts, a little lemon juice, salt and pepper.

I sometimes add chopped celery, and onion - depending on who my eaters are. 

I like a thick, smooth chicken salad. Some people prefer cubed or chunked chicken.  

If you like a smoother, creamy chicken salad, then I have a trick for you that I just learned this past year – use a stand mixer to tear/smooth the chicken!  In a matter of seconds, the chicken goes from hunks, to pulled, creamy chicken! (Thank you, Casey, for this great tip!) 

This recipe really isn't a recipe.  To those who love a recipe with exact measurements, this might drive you a little crazy.

1. Cook your chicken.  

You can roast it: brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt and ground pepper, place on a baking sheet and roast it in a 400˚ oven until done.

You can boil it: place your chicken in a pot of boiling water with some large chunks of onions (and celery and carrots if you want). 

You can crock pot cook it: A great tip that came from Connie via her mother-in-law is to place your frozen chicken breasts, and chunks of onion (and carrots and celery if you want) in a crock pot and cook on low until the chicken cooks to pulling-apart tenderness.  It is moist and tender.

Or...you can start with a rotisserie chicken.  Just tear off the meat you want to use and you are set. 

Cook your chicken, by the method of your choosing, then chop or dice if that's your desired outcome, or put in the mixer for a creamed effect.  

2. Then, add Mayo.  People are crazy-devoted to their mayo.  Have you experienced this?  Some are Hellman's-purists, some are Miracle Whip people, some are low-fat, some see that as an abomination.  And then there are Duke's fans.  Regardless, mayo is key in Chicken Salad.

I add some lemon juice (start with about a teaspoon) to the mayonnaise and then I add it by the large spoonfuls and mix between additions to ensure that it is creamy enough but not gloppy with mayonnaise.

3. Salt and Pepper to taste. Obviously.

4. The personality: And here is where the road diverges and you must make your decision about spices: tarragon, honey, onion, curry.  You have to choose.

And "mix ins": Raisins, grapes, sliced almonds, toasted pecans, walnuts, pickles, chopped celery, chopped onion.  And those of you who love measurements in recipes, I am sorry, there really can't be, since you don't know exactly how much meat you will have, or how creamy, nutty, flavored you'll need it.  

Keep refrigerated after preparation.

I have wondered when to post about chicken salad, pondering which season is the most chicken salad-ish.  I think it is a good summer meal, cold and yet hearty. Lovely on a bed of lettuce, or with a tomato,  or scooped on a pineapple boat.  It is a great spring picnic item.   But it's on my mind because I have eaten it twice in the past few weeks.  Nashville weather last week was warm and springy and this week it was blistery and flurrying.  So, really this can be an anytime dish.

This is the pineapple trick that my mom taught me.  She has served this at ladies lunches before.  It is delicious and lovely .  Chop the top off of the pineapple.  Quarter it.  Shimmy a sharp, long knife between the outside skin and the fruit to separate it from the skin, starting on one end and working all the way around the piece.  Slice the long hard core piece away from the top, making it flat instead of pointed. Slice in thin slices.  For the fancy zig zag effect, just gently push the pieces with your pointer fingers.

Then plop a big scoop of chicken salad on top and you are ready to have a luncheon.


I'd love to hear your favorite methods, ingredients, ideas for Chicken Salad YOUR Way!

Sick Days: Soup, Vicks, Emergen-C and TLC

We have had a week of sickness around the Hunt house. Strangely, it has spanned the gamut from a migraine headache mom; to a stomach-nastiness-turned dry-coughing-at-night and runny-nose-in-the day girl; to a coughing-hacking-sniffling boy... and in my mind is swirling, "the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever..." NyQuil's classic ad.

So, the comfort measures in our home have been:
drinking lots of liquids – water, water, water (the healing flush)
and hot tea with honey,
and icy orange juice.

Eating popsicles, and taking Emergen-C (I swear by it, to help preempt the sickness when you first start to detect it, and to lessen the symptoms and quicken the course for after the sickness has already set in). It's like Airborne.  It's a packet of tangerine fizzy yumminess that is packed with vitamins and protective factors.

And Soup. I made Tortellini soup, which I had made just the other day for Valentine's dinner when Lane came to hang out.  Though that day, it was actually Tortellini Ravioli Soup.  Dave had done the grocery shopping and there was a slight mix up in that he got cheese ravioli from the freezer section instead of cheese tortellini.  Thankfully it was mini ravioli and so it could legitimately be eaten as soup because it fit in the spoon.  So, we had ravioli in our "tortellini" soup.  I told Dave it was apropos for our Valentine meal, as "love bears all things" came to mind from I Corinthians 13.

Tortellini Ravioli Soup

I made it this week again, and this time with the tortellini and it was super yummy and I would have to say, less awkward to eat.

You really can't go wrong with this recipe.  You can add to and take away from and make it the way you like it.  You can use meat-filled tortellini, you can add beans to the soup, or use cheese-filled and then add hunks of Italian sausage or turkey/chicken sausage if you'd like.  You can add other veggies chopped and sauteed; or add more diced tomatoes or less spinach.  Tweak it and make it your own.

Asher described it as tasting like "pasta soup".
He's right.

Tortellini Soup and Salad

Tortellini Soup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup onion, chopped (depending on your preference)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 bag of tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed and cut into slices
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
Grated parmesan, for serving

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions to the pan and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Mix in the oregano, basil and diced tomatoes.  Add the broth to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions.  One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach.  Remove from the heat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste (and a few crushed red pepper flakes if you want a kick).  Serve warm with grated parmesan as desired.

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I also made a new twist on Snickerdoodles, as per this BLOG that I love, In Praise of Leftovers.  They are Brown Butter Snickerdoodles and are rich and lovely.  Dave, my resident Snickerdoodle-freak, however, still stands by my recipe as his favorite.

And then my mom, knowing that I had children coughing up lungs around here, texted me the amazing trick she just heard of.  You put a liberal coat of Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottoms of the child's feet and cover with socks, before bedtime and it keeps their coughing at bay during the night.  She emailed me this LINK to the article.  Fascinating, huh? Therefore, we have been slathering Mentholatum and/or Vicks on my kids feet this week and it has been really effective.  And, of course,  the humidifier is being rotated room to room each night depending on who's in the greatest need.

So, that's what's happening in our house.

I hope you and your household are doing well.  We are hanging in there, making the most of the time for snuggles, and comfort food, and lots of Tender Loving Care. 

French Toast For Breakfast... or Dinner

I really love breakfast foods.  However, sometimes it's too early in the morning for me to want heavy or savory things, and of course most mornings I don't have time to prepare breakfast meals.  It's most likely that I eat yogurt and granola, a bowl of fruit or oatmeal, or an english muffin with a fried egg.  So I love breakfast for dinner! I have more time to prepare and I am more in the state of mind for a heartier meal.

The only problem is that my husband is reluctant about the concept of breakfast for dinner, or at least he once was.  When we would discuss what we should have for dinner I would throw out ideas, and we would go back and forth talking through our options. Then when I would suggest breakfast for dinner he would say, "oh...really? breakfast for dinner?"  I saw this becoming a trend and so I asked him what his hang up was with breakfast for dinner.  Direct communication is always the best. (Just a little free therapeutic advice I thought I'd throw in).  He said, "I guess it's just hard to think of breakfast...for DINNER".  This didn't dissuade me.  Finally we uncovered that it was the meat category.  His favorite part of breakfast for dinner was meat: bacon, sausage, country ham, etc. and yet sometimes we would have a meatless breakfast for dinner.  So I made him a promise that I would try to always serve meat when we have breakfast for dinner. And he committed to being open to breakfast for dinner.  It was win-win.

For our Breakfast for Dinner Menu we usually have:
something bready: biscuits, muffins, toast, waffles, scones, pancakes or french toast;
and something eggy: poached eggs, scrambled or fried eggs, a strata or such;
some fruit...cause we love fruit;
coffee and juice (sometimes icy orange juice if the kids get their wish);
and MEAT: bacon usually, but sometimes sausage, country ham, or sometimes we'll put some deli turkey that we have for sandwiches on the griddle and warm it up.

One of my favorite breakfast foods is french toast.  The best french toast from a restaurant, in my book, is at the Pancake Pantry.  We went there for my birthday last week.  It is incredible...though it should be since they charge $9 for a plate of it. (I could serve my entire family french toast for less than that)!

I was trying to decide what makes it so super great and I really think there are a few keys, starting with thick Italian bread slices. The cinnamon and powdered sugar on top and the whipped salted butter are definitely part of what makes it special.  (Oh and that amazing cinnamon cream syrup with the pancake syrup poured together on top are an amazing aspect as well).

My favorite recipe that I have found is in The Best Recipe. (I talked about this cookbook HERE). They give a scientific explanation for the egg-to-milk ratio needed to create the perfect french toast depending on the type of bread being used.  It is a great recipe and has been my go-to for years.





French Toast (adapted from The Best Recipe)
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8-12 slices firm, day-old European-style bread, such as French or Italian, 3/4 inch thick
Butter to grease skillet

Heat 10 to 12-inch skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile beat egg lightly in shallow pan or pie plate; whisk in milk and vanilla, and then sugar, flour, and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth.

                                                                                                    

Soak bread without over-saturating, about 30 seconds per side. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.

Swirl 1 Tbsp of butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet.

Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on first side and about 1 minute on the other side.

(Continue adding 1 tablespoon of butter to skillet for each new batch.)

Sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Serve immediately with butter and syrup. 

So whether for breakfast or dinner, or lunch for that matter, I recommend you try this french toast recipe, pronto!

My Someday List & Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

I am an avid list maker. I come by it honestly – we're a list-making family. It’s what we do – (though they vary in methodology and rigor).  I always have multiple lists going. Sometimes, when my mom and I need to feel productive, we put things on our lists that we are already doing just so we can have the satisfaction of marking things off the list.  I have lists of:

things to do at work, 

things to do at home, 

long range "to do" lists, 

house project "to do" lists, 

foods to make, 

foods that I’ve made and photographed to blog at some point, 

bucket lists, etc. 

A new list I’ve started is a “some day" list. 

This list contains things that someday I want to do.  They are inspired by people doing them for me and they mean so much that I want to do them for someone someday, or they are things I see others doing that I want to also do when the time is right. Many of these things are related to my children when they are grown, things to write about, places to go, hobbies to try.

Here are a few things on my “Some day List” :

My friend, Blair’s mom, Ruth, has sent amazing baked goods to me via Blair as a THANK YOU for loving her daughter in Nashville, being a home away from home for her, as she lives a few hours from home. She sent these INCREDIBLE oatmeal raspberry bars which I love, and a lovely plump loaf of her homemade whole wheat bread. She included a lovely note of gratitude.   Little does she know that WE are the blessed ones!  Blair's wonderful presence and friendship to our family is a gift.  

(I thought to myself, “do this someday”! When my kids are out of my nest. I want to show gratitude via notes and food to those who love and take them into their families and homes). 

another thing on my "do that someday" list is:

When Dave and I bought our first house, I was so excited to have a home and super excited to have a porch on which to rock.  Evidently, I had expressed this dream of porch-rocking to my coworkers at Oasis Center, because the week we moved into our house, we arrived home to our new house, to find a rocker on the front porch with a large bow on top with a card attached.  They put their money together and bought and delivered a rocker to the porch of my new house.  A dream come true- a house with a porch and a rocker to rock in.  It was an overwhelming and unforgettable moment many years ago, where I felt so supported and celebrated by my co-workers about something happening in my personal life (buying our first home).  It meant the world to me!  

My friend, Hannah, told me many moons ago about something her mother-in-law did when Hannah went to visit. Her mother-in-law would have fresh flowers and a magazine on the bedside table in the guest room where they would stay awaiting her when she arrived.  She said these lovely touches made it feel like such a vacation to visit their home and she felt so honored and welcomed.  I want to do that someday!

I hope someday if Asher marries, I can bless his wife with lovely touches like that.  I expect the way I will love Lainey and Lucy’s someday-husbands will be cooking their favorite foods, like my mom has so wonderfully done for my husband. 

These are a few of the items on my "to do some day"list.  

In the meantime, I am making these oatmeal raspberry bars when I need an easy to make, tasty treat! 

There are many versions of this recipe with little differences.  I think one (Ruth's) is a winner. It has so few ingredients! The ingredients are lots and lots of butter, brown sugar, oats, self-rising flour and raspberry jam.  

This recipe is simple and yummy!

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

2 sticks butter (softened)

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 ½ cups oatmeal (old-fashioned oats)

10 oz. raspberry jam (seedless is best)

Mix first 4 ingredients with hands until crumbly.

Spray a 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray.  Line pan and up sides with foil or parchment. Spray the liner.

Pat half of the mixture into the pan.  

Spread jam over the first layer and top with the remaining oatmeal mixture. 

Bake at 375˚for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Cool and cut.

You can add toasted coconut, or change the kind of jam.  You can make them in a smaller pan if you want them thicker. You really can't go wrong, I don't think.

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Thank you, Ruth, for inspiring me and sharing your daughter with us! I hope my kids will bless families they meet when they leave the nest, like Blair does.   And I hope I will be as thoughtful to those people as you have been to me. 

Lemon Artichoke Soup

A couple of years ago when our Social Work program was going through our accreditation reaffirmation we had a dinner with our site visitor.   My colleagues, the site visitor, and I met on a rainy weekend evening at Midtown Cafe.  I had never been there but had heard it was the "it" place for prestigious locals to dine.   It is lovely, dimly lit, quiet, and understated.  I was told that the house soup, Lemon Artichoke, is a must-order.  So, of course, I ordered it.

We were having a nice time, visiting with each other, talking about family, books, and travel.   I recall that we all ordered some type of seafood entree and we each ordered a cup of soup. The soup was delicious. It was complex, smooth and memorable. However,  I found myself in a bind. I was analyzing the soup in my head, and really wanting to analyze the soup with my fellow tasters.  I wanted to ask everyone's ideas on what was in the soup, pull out my note pad and brainstorm the ingredients, and ask the server for some inside information on the recipe, so I could recreate this at home.  The problem was, it was not the time or place.  I'm sure I couldn't resist commenting on the flavors or soliciting the input of my companions, but I tried to keep it tame.  If the site visitor hadn't been there, my colleagues would have fully expected me to snap a photo, scratch down some notes, analyze it, and ask their input.   They have learned this about me and have accepted this quirk about me. (Thank you, team).

I remember thinking: butter, wine, garlic, onion, lemon juice, something with kick...cayenne I bet, artichokes, salt...

Once home, I started looking in cookbooks and searching online for soup recipes with these ingredients.  I found one and played around with it and I think it is really good.  I wish I could go to the Midtown Cafe and try their soup again, for comparison sake.  But I can't afford to go there when it's not a business dinner.

My friends who have tried this soup really like it and Dave is a fan, though, it's not the most popular with the kids, (and when I told my mom what I was writing about this week, she was not so enthusiastic).  She said it goes in the Sushi post category...interesting, but I doubt if I will try it.

If you like creamy, lemony, artichoky dishes and a little kick...you'll love it.  It's quick to put together and I think it's nice to have a different soup up your sleeve.  You can add couscous or orzo if you wanted it to have more of a starchy soup.  (Though I usually lean on the crusty bread served with it to be my starchy addition).

It would be a lovely soup for the first course of a dinner, or great with a yummy sandwich like this one (turkey, apple, spinach, co-jack, craisins, honey mustard on Ciabatta).  It is great to a enjoy as leftovers for lunch or an easy second-day dinner.

Lemon Artichoke Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup or more)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 cups milk (2% or whole milk- depending on how heavy you want it to be)
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
dashes of cayenne pepper

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add minced onion and garlic; cook until clear.  Add chicken broth, artichoke hearts, and olive oil.  Bring to a boil.  In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch.  Stir into the boiling liquid and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Stir in milk and heat through.  Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.  I like to sprinkle a little on top for added color and kick.

One of my favorite things about winter is soup-making and eating.  

It is comfort in a bowl. This one is a bright mix of tangy, creamy, and kicky that makes it nice any season.

Enjoy!

Guideposts for Life- applied to Coconut Chocolate Pie

My whole life my mom has reminded me of the golden rule – Do to others as you would have them do to you.  Did you grow up with this as a mantra in your life?  When I had girl drama with school friends as a teenager, I would be reminded to treat others in a way that I would want to be treated.  When there was any kind of conflict or dilemma, this was a guiding principle in our home. 

In adulthood: as a friend, as a sibling, employee, teacher, neighbor, – keeping in mind this simple guidepost is transformational.  Many times a week I ask myself, “How would I want to be treated?” This changes things.  When I want to put someone in their place because I am irritated, when I want to give up on someone who is flaky, when I want to elevate myself, in those moments, if I ask myself “How would I want to be treated?”, it usually alters my response.  I turn towards a response of mercy, compassion, gentleness, and generosity.  After all, that’s the treatment I long to be given!

So the other day, friends came for dinner, and I broke a different principle of my mom’s by trying a new recipe when company is coming. Because it was “low pressure” company – a couple from our small group at church, they love us/we love them, I thought it was worth the risk.  I recently reorganized my cookbooks in the kitchen, and with the new arrangement, I am trying to use them more, now that they are more accessible.  A Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts Cookbook is one that I had wanted to use but hadn’t had a chance to.  I flipped through the pages the other day and marked recipes that looked especially yummy (and/or doable).  I found a recipe for a Coconut Chocolate Pie and it looked amazing.  I remembered that this couple we were hosting likes coconut, so it would be fun to make it for them.  I followed the simple recipe and made the pie.  And it bombed!  The chocolate filling didn’t set up at all.  I was so disappointed.  After a couple of hours, I moved it to the freezer, instead of the fridge, hoping it would firm up. I kept checking it, and finally gave up.  Our friends were kind and gracious.  I was irritated. 

My first reaction was to be mad at Martha Stewart and to mark this recipe off as a dud.  I was tempted to dismiss the entire cookbook.  “If this one was touted as one of the simple ones, and I couldn’t accomplish it, then surely I couldn’t succeed at the others!”, I thought to myself. Then the golden rule popped in my mind.  What would I want someone to do with my recipe? What if someone came to my blog, tried a recipe that I claimed was simple and when they tried it, it didn’t work, and so they dismissed the recipe (that I found to be a treasure)?  What if they just rejected the whole blog? I would be disappointed.  I would want to say, “Oh, no! Let’s trouble-shoot; tell me what you did. What went wrong? Try this, do this, let me know how it goes.”  

So, I decided to try again: to give the recipe the benefit of the doubt, to own the possibility that I could have done something wrong.  This time I looked on-line to see if anyone had made it and had tips.  I found a couple of blogs where they had tweaked things a little.  I re-read the simple recipe from the cookbook and evaluated my ingredients.  I realized that while the recipe calls for “bittersweet chocolate - preferably 61% cacao”, I had used semi-sweet chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand.  I thought it would be fine.  But then I realized that the less pure, less dark chocolate probably was to blame for the pie not setting up.  The filling is made with just two ingredients: heavy cream and dark chocolate.  Therefore, each ingredient really needs to be correct.

We bought 60% cacao chocolate bars from Trader Joes and finely chopped it, as was instructed in the recipe.  And low and behold, it worked beautifully.  So, really it wasn’t the recipe at all, it was my using the wrong ingredients.   Which leads to another guiding principle of my life – taking personal responsibility for my part of a problem.  I find that our culture is especially prone to blame-shifting. We would rather point a finger at others than to self-reflect and own our part of the problem.  When we can “own our junk”, take responsibility, and admit our faults, it can make a huge difference in our lives (and in the lives of others around us)!

I have a feeling the pie mess-up was a divine gift.  It was a humble reminder to extend grace, give it another chance, own my part of the problem and enjoy the delicious rewards of trying again.

(I know these are deep thoughts regarding pie.  I guess this is what happens when a social work professor is also a baker.  Thanks for going there with me.)

Coconut Chocolate Pie

(borrowed from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts)

For the Crust:

4 Tbsp. butter, softened

11 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

For the Ganache Filling:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate

(preferably 61% cacao) finely chopped

Make the crust:  Preheat oven to 350 ˚. In a food processor, process butter and 1/3 of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Sprinkle remaining 2/3 coconut over mixture, and combine with your fingers. (which I love to do)

Place a 9 inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Lightly spray pie plate with cooking spray.  Press coconut mixture into the bottom and up the sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy.  Place foil around edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil, and bake 4 to 6 minutes more.  Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling:  Bring cream just to boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.  Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined.  Pour into coconut crust.  Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

(The cookbook noted that this pie is gluten-free, with the crust made out of coconut).

It really is easy and lovely.  Next time I would like to top it with toasted almond slices.  Mmmm.  I have always wished that Almond Joys and Mounds candy bars could flip-flop, because I like the dark chocolate with the almonds.

(we served it with a dollop of whipped cream and we decided it didn't add much
to the flavor but added a nice texture)