Salad Duo

I'm not one that enjoys a gloppy mayonnaise dressing; however, when something can taste this good, I'm glad to make an exception. And you can have a lighter hand with the dressing so its not excessive.

Curried Chicken Salad
(Recipe from Barefoot Contessa - Family Style cookbook by Ina Garten with amendments)

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup Major Grey’s chutney

3 tablespoons curry powder

1 cup medium-diced celery (2 large stalks)

1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews

Rub the skin of the chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Barbeque until the chicken is cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and dice the chicken in large bite-size pieces. For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until smooth. Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions, and raisins, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Add the cashews and serve at room temperature.

This next salad recipe can feature either cabbage or broccoli - totally up to you. It offers up all the right flavours: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and pungent.

Cabbage Delight

(Recipe from Enlightened Eating cookbook by Caroline DuPont)

Dressing:

2 tablespoons apple cider viengar

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 tablesppons flax oil (or hemp oil)

1 tablespoon honey

1 to 2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt

1/2 teaspoon grond fennel

Vegetables:

2 cups green cabbage (or broccoli) chopped medium fine

3/4 cp red cabbage, chopped medium fine

1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely sliced

1 carrot, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1/3 cp fresh parsely, choppped

1 apple, cored and diced small

1/2 cup currants or raisins

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (or 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup raw cheese, diced small (optional)

Combine dressing ingredients in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Add vegetables and toss to combine.

Family Favourite (since 2001)

I came across this recipe in a Chatelaine magazine one fine day in 2001 when I was waiting patiently for my Tai Chi class to begin. Most times when I read a recipe, I can already taste it and know how it's going to turn out. This one I knew I had to make because it tasted so good in my head. The problem was I didn't have a pen and paper to jot it down and knew I'd never remember it. It's the first (and only time) I took a magazine from a waiting room. The recipe turned out every bit as good as I had imagined and we made it almost weekly for about the first year. Now I pull it out now and again and we always wax on about how great it still is. Who said crime doesn't pay?

Chicken, Avocado and Coriander Pasta Sauce
(recipe from Chatelaine magazine September 2001)

Makes enough to coat 1/2 pound pasta

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1/2 lb or 3 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 plum tomatoes
1 ripe but firm avocado
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander

Slice chicken into thin bite-size strips. Heat oil in a large wide frying pan set over medium heat. Add chicken and garlic and stir occasionally until lightly browned and nearly cooked through, from 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop tomatoes into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks. Peel avocado and cut into bite-size pieces.

When chicken is nearly cooked, add tomatoes to pan, along with seeds and juice. Sprinkle with cumin, salt and cayenne. Stir often over medium heat until tomatoes are hot, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in avocado, lemon juice and coriander, just until blended. Toss with cooked penne or orecchiette. Taste and stir in more lemon or lime juice if you would like more tang. Enjoy sauce as soon as it is made as avocado will darken.

My notes: For this recipe I always use penne and always use lime (not lemon).

A Passage to India

I've been waiting a while to have dinner with two good friends whom I used to work with. Everyone's summer is so busy it can be difficult to hook up. The three of us met at work and two of us have since moved on. That was about 5 years ago; yet here we are still managing to stay connected.

We agreed upon Indian food tonight and met up at the Original Tandoori Kitchen restaurant (7215 Main Street, Vancouver). Indian food lends itself well to sharing plates and we settled in together to vegetable pakora as an appetizer. The veggies (mainly potato and cauliflower) were covered in a crispy batter and served with a dipping sauce that had some nice heat to it. Our main course consisted of chicken tandoori (chicken marinated in yoghurt, ginger, garlic, and mixed spices) served with a butter sauce; chicken tika masala (chicken cooked in onion sauce and fresh tomatoes); rounded out with rice pulao (basmati rice cooked in onion and spice); and nan bread (unleavened bread).

The food was enjoyable, but the service had much room for improvement. Still, when you're out with good friends none of the other stuff matters much.

Hail Caesar!

When I eat this salad I feel like I'm on the deck at Bridges Restaurant enjoying the view with the wind in my hair. I'm not sure exactly how food can transport you to other times and places, it just does and who am I to question?

After yesterday's post it got me thinking what recipes I revisit the most and I immediatly thought of this Grilled Chicken & Arugula Caesar Salad with Grilled Croutons. From an issue of Fine Cooking magazine (issue 65 - which dates it back to July 2004), this salad is one of the better Caesar variations I've made. The recipe below is exactly as the magazine published it, but read 'my note' below for some insights and tips.

I hope this recipe sweeps you up and carries you to your own happy place.

Grilled Chicken & Arugula Caesar Salad with Grilled Croutons

4 oz. baby arugula (about 5 cups loosely packed), washed and dried
2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets
2 large cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
1/2 cup fresh, finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1-1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 3 large), rinsed and patted dry
4 slices French baguette, cut 1 inch thick on an extreme diagonal (6 to 8 inches long)
Cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (optional)

Heat a gas grill to medium high. Put the arugula in a large bowl, cover with a damp paper towel, and refrigerate. In a blender, combine the lemon juice and zest, anchovies, garlic, and peppercorns with 6 Tbs. of the oil, 1 Tbs. of the mustard, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Blend thoroughly until most of the peppercorns are well broken up and the dressing is emulsified. Add 2 Tbs. of the grated Parmigiano and blend to incorporate. Leave the dressing in the blender.

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the remaining 1 Tbs. mustard and 3/4 tsp. salt. Brush the bread with the remaining 2 Tbs. oil and season with salt. Grill the chicken, covered, until golden grill marks form, 5 to 6 min. (for even cooking, rotate the chicken 90 degrees halfway through cooking each side). Flip the breasts and continue to cook, covered, until golden grill marks form and the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 min. Let rest on a cutting board for 5 min. Grill the bread until dark around the edges and golden brown in the center, 1 to 2 min. per side. Slice the chicken thinly on an angle. Cut each bread slice into 10 cubes. Pulse the dressing in the blender; add a little of it to the arugula, just to coat.

Divide the arugula among four plates and sprinkle with a little Parmigiano. Toss the chicken with the remaining dressing and arrange over the arugula. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano and arrange the croutons and tomatoes (if using) around the salad.

My Note: I've got a great blender, but it still isn't up to the job of breaking down whole peppercorns. So before they go in the blender, I roughly pound the whole peppercorns in my mortar and pestle. A cast-iron skillet, rolling pin, or any blunt instrument wouldly likely do a fine job too.

I've made this salad with romaine lettuce, when there has been no arugula available, and leave out the anchovies more often than not as they aren't a pantry staple for me so I seldom have them on-hand. Regardless of these small adjustments, this recipe works well.

Better Late Than Never

I was a bit late getting dinner started tonight and I'm not the fastest cook in the West so Michael was anxiously awaiting tonight's meal. I used the same chicken recipe I made on July 18 (refer to blog of this date for the recipe) except tonight I used fresh cilantro in place of the rosemary for a different flavour profile. To accompany the chicken I made Quinoa Tabbouleh. Of course there's a significant protein content in the quinoa so not even necessary to serve it with another protein (in this case chicken), but that's just what I was in the mood for. And for our vegetable, Grilled Eggplant Marinated with Mint. Michael wanted to make sure the mint got a special mention because it's from our garden. Or I should say, his garden. We...I mean he planted a variety of different herbs just a few weeks ago. We don't have a lot of anything at the moment, but if this hot weather continues, we'll be brainstorming what to do with the abundance of basil, lavender, cilantro, etc.

Below are both recipes for your consideration. After just one taste of last night's Chocolate Bourbon Popsicles we are addicted! So dessert tonight was a repeat. Besides we have to get through the popsicles quickly so I can re-use the popsicle molds to try another flavour. I have my eye on a peach & prosecco combo so do expect to see that sometime soon.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

(recipe from the Clean Food cookbook with some amendments)

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup chopped mint

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsely

1 cup diced cucumber

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup lemon juice

Sea salt

Rinse the quinoa and place in a bowl with enough water to cover. Allow quinoa to soak for as little as one hour or overnight. Place quinoa in fine-mesh strainer and rinse. Place quinoa in a 2-quart pot and add enough water to cover. Add a pinch of sea salt. Bring to a bowl over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to minimum and cover pot. The quinoa will take approximately 15 to cook. Take a peak to make sure most of the water has been absorbed; then remove from heat and leave (with cover on) for 5 minutes. Remove cover and let the quinoa cool to room temperature. To quicken this process, scatter quninoa onto a cookie sheet to let cool.

While quinoa is cooking place all remaining ingredients in a bowl. When quinoa is cool (or even slightly warm), add to bowl and mix with other ingredients. Season to taste with sea salt and serve at room temperature or chill.

Grilled Eggplant Marinated with Mint (serves 8)
(Recipe from Fine Cooking magazine issue 59)

2 small globe eggplant (about 1-3/4 lb. total)

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic

1-1/2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice or red-wine vinegar

1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh mint leaves (from about 1/4 bunch)

Heat a gas grill to medium high or prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire.

Using a serrated knife or a mandoline, slice the eggplant into rounds as thin as possible, about 1/4 to 1/8 inch. Spread the sliced eggplant (you may have to overlap them slightly) on two large baking sheets. Brush the tops with 1/2 cup of the oil and season with salt and pepper.
Smash the garlic and a pinch of salt into a paste. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the garlic paste. Whisk in the lemon juice or vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Once the fire is hot, grill both sides of the eggplant (in batches if necessary) until softened and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. It’s fine if it chars slightly.

Transfer the eggplant to a medium serving bowl, add the garlic oil, and toss gently so as not to tear the eggplant. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours at room temperature (or refrigerate for up to 24 hours, but bring to room temperature before serving). Toss in the mint just before serving.

Sunday Chicken Dinner - Summer Style

For my parents coming over for dinner tonight, I decided to keep it simple - and by that I mean make a main course only (no starter) and purchase dessert. There were lots of tantalizing options for dessert at Granville Island Market this morning and I opted for an assortment of individual tarts from an independent stand in the market. Flavours included: lemon almond, tart cherry, chocolate caramel, and raspberry coconut.

I went with chicken as the main dish and prepared this as a paillard (flattened). Great technique for the barbeque as the chicken cooks evenly, which is sometimes hard to do with chicken breasts. Because they're pounded to 1/4 inch thickness, this also means they cook in record time - about 2-3 minutes per side. Start with skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Put one chicken breast in between two sheets of Saran Wrap and pound it evenly (to 1/4 inch thickness) using anything you have that's heavy e.g. rolling pin, skillet. Of course if you have one of the proper meat tenderizer mallets, this is the way to go. Once you've pounded out all the chicken breasts, place them on a large sheet pan and to each side of chicken sprinkle Kosher salt and pepper, chili flakes, freshly minced rosemary (or any fresh herb of your choosing), minced garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Be generous with the seasoning and flavouring. There's nothing less desireable than an under-flavoured piece of cooked chicken.

To accompany the chicken, a quick salad of green beans (blanched) with red peppers in a dressing of red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. This was all mixed together and chilled in the fridge until ready to serve. And last, but certainly not least - corn on the cob. Who can resist the corn right now? This is a breeze to prepare. Just put the whole corn (still in the husk) directly on the barbeque and grill for about 10-15 minutes turning occasionally. You'll know when it's done when the husk begins to blacken and pull away from the corn. Then just rip off the corn husk, plate it, and it's ready for its blanket of butter.

Couscous, please please

I'm not sure what the temperature was today, but it was pretty hot. All the more reason to not have the oven on come dinner time. This morning I decided to barbeque chicken, but as the chicken was frozen and would need time to defrost, most of my marinades call for marinating for several hours or overnight (even better). There is a great little barbecued lemon chicken recipe I use on such occasions when I don't leave myself time for marinating. I'm looking at the torn, stained photocopy of the recipe now and see that it hailed from HomeMaker's magazine (does this publication still exist?) back in...wait for it...September 1988. So 20-odd years on and it's still in my repertoire - clearly a classic, and here it is:

Barbecued Lemon Chicken (serves 4)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Put chicken in a Ziploc bag. Mix together all of the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Let it sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. Fire up the barbecue and grill for approximately 5 minutes on each side (until no longer pink inside). Note: you could also refrigerate this for several hours - if you have the time.

With this I served a cool and refreshing Couscous & Cucumber Salad with Buttermilk-Dill Dressing (yields about 6 servings):

1-1/4 cups water
1 cup uncoooked couscous
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
2 cucumbers (about 3/4 pounds), quartered lengthwise and sliced

Put couscous in a bowl. Boil the kettle and pour water over couscous, then cover bowl with Saran wrap. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork; let cool.
Combine buttermilk and next 6 ingredients (buttermilk through black pepper) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add couscous and remaining ingredients; toss and serve.