I rarely write about my cooking, but this evening's dinner was simple and tasty. It was also a bit of an homage to summer, which is quickly drawing to a close. Only three or four more days and we'll be back in the autumnal equinox.Tonight's dinner was also special because it featured three varieties of tomatoes: lemon, beef steak, and zebra. I sliced them into quarter wedges and laid them out in a circle on a plate. Then, in the center, I placed about a cup of homemade chicken salad.
I don't spice mine up a lot, though, I suppose I could try throwing in some fresh tarragon or dill.
Here's the recipe:
2 large chicken breasts and chicken legs *
1 bunch of celery, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
Mayonnaise **
Salt and pepper
Tomatoes
Strip the breast and leg meat off of the bones; trim off any excess fat, veins, and otherwise icky, crunchy parts. Wash and dry one bunch of celery; trim off leaves and chop stalks into 1/4" pieces. In bowl, combine chicken, celery, and almonds with enough mayonnaise to make the salad moist, but not gloppy (about 1 1/2 cups). Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in the fridge to chill for three or four hours.
On a plate, cut one whole tomato into 12 or 16 wedges and arrange on the plate in a circle. Place chicken salad in the middle. Cut up some crusty bread and enjoy!
* I just buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco and then strip it. Easy, decently flavored, and you don't have to worry about all the miss of cooking a chicken yourself. Otherwise, season and bake a whole chicken, let it cool, and strip it.
** I grew up using Miracle Whip, but I know that offends the palate of most of my readers. You can substitute with a good mayonnaise, though. I use Duke's. It's from North Carolina and it beats Hellman's, Kraft, and any other brand of mayo you can name hands down. If you're okay with Miracle Whip, don't use that half-assed, light stuff. Go with the full octane version. Same with the mayo.
7 comments:
Oh mi gosh that looks so good. Damn, I thawed out homemade Minnestrone and the pasta is blah. Yours looks soooo much more inviting a meal.
Cele: Come on over. There's plenty left and your company would be most welcome!
I bow before the domestic goddess. I am sadly inept at this stuff.
I absolutely love cherry tomatoes...fried in olive oil and sugar. Yummy.
That chicken salad looks great (minus the celery, which makes me gag, lol).
SML: No, no, please, no bowing. And I doubt you're inept at the cooking thing!
Ms. U: Cherry tomatoes in EVOO and sugar? Interesting. I'll have to give that a try. As for the chicken salad, for you, I will personally pick out every piece of celery!
Love the photo -- summer tomatoes, there's just nothing like them!
Looks lovely! This one goes on the "gonna try this one" list, with one modification, because I think tomatoes were a secret experiment of something poisonous that somehow survived the dark ages. But it makes a lovely splash of color. When done with a meal, save it for pelting the television whenever anything with O.J., Spears, or Lohan shows up on the screen. Scott likes tomatoes, though, so I suppose I could save them for him, or make a big pile on my plate or toss them to him, one at a time.
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