When life gives you lemons...make chicken salad

Okay, so things don't always turn out the way you planned.  Take this week for instance.  One of the things I really enjoy at work is our occasional "Iron Chef" competitions.  The "trophy" is a chef's apron that is signed by each consecutive winner.  I was the third signature on this illustrious award a couple years ago with BLT Cheesecake with Lemon Aioli.  The secret ingredient for the competition was cream cheese.  I simply went to one of my favorite recipe sites, typed in cream cheese.  I then went to the option to add another ingredient and choose bacon.  Lets face it, bacon makes everything good!  The recipe that came up is one from Emeril Lagasse and BAM, it was a winner!  If you're gluten free simply substitute gluten free crackers.  If you're looking for a great recipe here's the link http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/blt-cheesecake-with-lemon-aioli-recipe/index.html, however I digress. 

This week the competition was centered around chicken.  Those who have followed a few of my links may have found my simply good chicken recipe.  It was the beginning of my very first post.  It's the easiest chicken ever and is fantastic.  So, Thursday morning I awoke at 4am to clean, rub and cook a chicken.  My most amazing husband, Steve even offered to get up with me and help.  He does a much better job of cleaning and dressing a chicken than I do.  Steve even cuts the wing tips off. 

The chicken cooked from 4-7am till it was time for me to leave for work.  I dropped my son off at school and continued on with my chicken in the crock pot and the crock pot in a cardboard box.  This is to prevent the amateurish mistake of having said crock pot turn over in the car and spill it's contents on the carpet.  It's very hard to get sweet and sour meatball sauce out of car carpet...long story.  Once at work I walk the miles and miles, well it seemed like it, to the building from the parking garage.  You would think putting everything else I had to carry in the box with the chicken would be a good idea.  Not if your water bottle leaks and has room to turn over in, did I mention, cardboard box.  With water dripping out of the now weakening box, I finally made it to the building only to find out that the room we are holding the competition is on the complete opposite side of the complex.  Oh my aching arms!  Once inside I see that there are other entries already on display so I add my crock pot to the counter and plug it in.  If you've looked at the chicken recipe from the first post you have seen that it needs to cook for 5 hours.  No problem, the competition doesn't start till 11am.  No problem that is if you have power going to the crock pot.  You see, when you plug too many crock pots and a microwave into the same outlet, you are likely to blow a fuse and nothing gets cooked. 

Oh well, so I withdrew my chicken from the competition.  No need to poison anyone with under cooked chicken.  I moved the chicken to another room and continued cooking.  Once I was home for the evening I pulled the cooked chicken off the bones and stored it in the refrigerator to make chicken salad.  If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  If it gives you extra chicken make chicken salad.  My mother-in-law even had a recipe she had been wanting to try.  It looked good but looks can be deceiving.  Don't get me wrong, this is good chicken salad but it's not great chicken salad.  I'm going to list it below but I'm going to also list the one I should have made.  You see said mother-in-law has made the great chicken salad several times and it is delicious.  I had good chicken salad for lunch today and it is good but it's not the lemonade from lemons that I was hoping for.  So, if in the future, life gives you too much chicken, I suggest you do as I say and not as I did and make the great chicken salad instead of the good one.  Or try them both.  You may like the other one better. 

Good Chicken Salad (from A Decade of Cooking, The Costco Way-a free publication)
1 pound cooked chicken breast, cubed (I used some dark meat too)
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
1 cup celery, peeled and chopped (peeled!  Who are you kidding!  Just chop it!)
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup light dairy sour cream (we don't use light)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I think this is why I don't like this recipe as well.  You could try a lighter vinegar)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (3 min in the microwave on a paper towel does the trick)
1 cup red grapes halved (seeded if they have seeds)
6 cups mixed salad greens, torn (optional)

Mix all ingredients except salad greens in a large bowl and toss.  Place salad greens on serving plates if you're using it.  Top with chicken salad.  I just put the chicken salad in a bowl and enjoyed for lunch with an open face sandwich.    Reminder: this is good chicken salad but keep reading...






Great Chicken Salad (also known as Fruity Chicken Salad)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder

2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 red apple, diced

1 cup green seedless grapes, halved

1 stalk celery, chopped

Toss all ingredients and serve as a salad or on a sandwich.  May be served over a bed of lettuce. 

So not every recipe we try is a success.  If this happens to you, brush it off and try again.  Coming soon...gluten free vegan bread, gluten free vegan grilled cheese sandwich, tabouli and a challenge to find a good if not great gluten free tortilla.

 

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