Chinese Chicken Salad -- at long last!

I've been meaning to post this recipe for such a long time, primarily because it is such an important recipe for our family.  My mother originally got the recipe from one of the dental hygienists who  worked in my dad's office.  She gave us some other recipes at the same time, but this is the one that took on a life of its own.

The first "tradition" associated with this recipe was making it on houseboat trips to Lake Shasta. This salad, along with a glass of white wine, served around sunset, became a tradition unto itself. I wasn't old enough to be drinking the white wine, but having this salad as a special meal became deeply rooted in my psyche.

Another fond memory of this salad was bringing it along with a batch Carrot-Ginger-Orange soup in a thermos to have as a kind of picnic with friends in their car one evening on Mount Baldy., right before they moved away from Claremont to Virginia.  We ended up moving there ourselves, but we didn't know that at the time.

And, last but certainly not least, is having this salad every summer with those same friends when we share a cottage at Popham Beach in Maine.  We've made this salad for whoever is coming to dinner, and everyone enjoys it very, very much.

I contributed this recipe (plus another which I will post at another time) to a family cookbook for the Nysmith School, back when my daughter was in pre-K.  That cookbook is the reason why I have this written down, rather than just winging it all the time.  I used to have a sticky note on my fridge with the ingredients for the salad dressing, but that was in Ashburn, Virginia but that sticky note is long lost.

My husband likes to say that this: recipe is a little like performance art: easily put together, all too quickly consumed, but very memorable for all who are present.  I made this on Friday for a Mills College Summer Send-off for the Santa Barbara area.  There are 17 new and current students in the area from Santa Maria to Camarillo.  Here's to the start of some new traditions!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
For the salad:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package wonton wrappers
2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
3 heads of romaine lettuce, leaves separated and washed
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

Dressing
3 tbs. rice vinegar
3 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. MSG (optional - the original recipe included this, but we don't use it)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish.

Preparation:

1. To poach the chicken (note: this technique is from James McNair's Chicken, a book I highly recommend), place the chicken breast in a large flat saucepan, with just enough water to cover.  Bring the water to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer, and cook until the chicken breast is tender when pierced but still moist inside, about 12 minutes. Remove breasts from the poaching liquid to prevent overcooking. Alternatively, bring the water just to a boil, remove the pot from the heat, immerse the breasts in the liquid, and let stand covered for about 20 minutes.
2. Cut the wonton wrappers into 1/4 inch strips.  Separate strands.  Heat oil on stove top over medium-high heat.  Fry a handful of wonton strips at a time, turning occasionally until light golden brown (watch carefully!).  Drain on paper towels.
3. To make the dressing: mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk thoroughly.  Alternately, combine ingredients in a small jar, and shake vigorously.
4. When ready to assemble, stack the romaine leaves and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place in serving bowl.  Add chicken and fried wonton strips, then add dressing.  Toss salad, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve immediately.

It has been quite a long time between posts.  I've gotten a new job - not a consulting gig, but a full-time, permanent position and it has made a big difference.

Last weekend, we went to the Pioneer Picnic in Santa Maria with my in-laws. This is an annual event sponsored by the Santa Maria Valley Pioneer Association (see this article from the local paper for further information).  We had attended this event two years ago, so this time we were familiar with how it is organized, and what it makes sense to bring.  You have to provide your own plates, napkins, and utensils.  The menu consists of barbecued tri-tip, beans, green salad, and garlic toast.  Anything else you want to eat, you have to bring yourself.

We decided to bring a pasta salad (see the recipe below), and some brownies.  Due to my father-in-law's health, we weren't certain till the night before that he'd feel well enough to attend.  This accounts for the lack of advance planning and shopping beforehand.  As a result, in the morning of the picnic, I was working from what we had readily available, and this fact (rather necessity) was my inspiration.

We always keep a box of Ghirardelli brownie mix in the house, based on years of bake sale experiences. Side note: I was one of the few mothers who always made something (even using a mix) rather than buying something at the market on the way to school.  I can whip up a batch of brownies in record time!  Anyway, we recently tried layering some homemade plum jam in between the brownie batter, basically dividing the batter in half, using some thinned down jam on top, then adding the other half of the batter over the jam. This technique makes a wonderful brownie!

The pasta salad took a similar route.  First, we decided what shape of pasta we wanted to use.  Then, I took a look through through my pantry cabinet to see what would be a nice add-in.  Finally, a browse through the refrigerator to see what would be the basis for the dressing.  I wanted a vinaigrette style rather than a mayonnaise based dressing since it would sitting outdoors. The resulting pasta salad ended up with the colors of the Italian flag: red, white and green.

Pantry Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. pasta, cooked according to package directions
Approximately 8 sun-dried tomatoes halves, cut into small dice (yielding 3 tbs.), reconstituted in hot water
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning
1 cup cooked chicken breast, cut into large dice
2/3 cup frozen peas
3 tbs. prepared pesto
4 tbs. prepared vinaigrette (I used Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar)
2 tbs. shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain thoroughly.  
2. Add the drained pasta to a large bowl.  Toss with a bit of olive oil, then set aside.
3. In a small saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the diced onion and sun-dried tomatoes. Saute the mixture until the onions are translucent.
4. Add the onion mixture, cooked chicken and peas to the pasta.
5. Add the prepared pesto and the vinaigrette to the bowl, then the Parmesan cheese.  Mix thoroughly. 
6. Taste for seasoning.  
7. Store in the refrigerator just until time for transport (in our case) or serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Additional thoughts: if I was doing this recipe again, I might add some nice olives, or some arugula. Either or both would make a nice addition to the ingredients listed.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving Leftovers

Like many others who thoroughly enjoyed themselves cooking Thanksgiving dinner (note to self: need to post my Thanksgiving menu), I soon had the quandary of how to use the leftovers in a creative fashion.  My kitchen is certainly not the scale of Kitchen Stadium, where a recent Iron Chef America holiday showdown between three Iron Chefs and three chefs from Chopped had to battle it out using Thanksgiving leftovers, but I wanted to do a certain amount of experimentation rather than simply rehashing the original meal.

Again, like many others, I checked the "usual" sources for inspiration.  Last year, we enjoyed making and consuming Stuffing-Stuffed Mushrooms, and all it takes to make those is buying some large mushrooms suitable for stuffing, and having leftover stuffing on hand.  I am planning on making Turkey Bolognese using some of my roasted tomatoes along with leftover turkey, and I also think that some kind of Turkey Chili (recipe still to be determined) sounds pretty good as well.  We always enjoy making turkey soup, and this year's batch of stock from the carcass was particularly tasty.

Another leftover that was waiting for transformation inspiration was our green beans, using the recipe Green Beans in Creamy Mushroom Sauce.  Our daughter had chosen this recipe and prepared it herself.  She didn't want to include the dried mushrooms, and instead doubled the amount of fresh mushrooms.  It was tasty, but like everything else from our original menu, made lots of leftovers.  We've never made the traditional green bean casserole a part of our regular menu, but this recipe seems to be a close cousin.  So, when I saw the Second Day Turkey and String Bean Pot Pies recipe on the Food Network site, I thought this could work.  I already had puff pastry on hand, bought in order to make palmiers as an appetizer for Thanksgiving, which were then not needed when we found out that dinner would be just us three. 

So, here is my riff on the original recipe.  These mini pot pies were delicious, as well as being cute as a button!

Mini Turkey Pot Pies

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover green beans
2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (we used Cascadian Organic)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup leftover gravy
1 cup chopped turkey
1 tsp. dried tarragon
2 standard puff pastry sheets

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine leftover green beans, frozen vegetables, whipping cream and gravy, and cook over medium heat till vegetables have lost their frozen look.  
3. Add turkey and tarragon and stir till combined.
4. Cut the puff pastry into approximately 4" squares.  Lightly press a puff pastry square diagonally into a muffin cup, repeating till all muffin cups are filled.
5. Spoon turkey-vegetable filling into the pastry-lined muffin cups, being careful not to overfill.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until edge of pastry is golden brown.

Note: it is quite likely that you will have leftover filling.  When I made this recipe, I found that I had a bit more puff pastry than needed to fill the 12 muffin cups, so I made another small pot pie in an oval dish using 3 small squares in the base, filling, then 3 squares across the top.  I still had filling to spare, so this will probably become the basis for soup.

Makes 12 muffin-sized pot pies

A Happy Accident - Creamy Leeks with Noodles

I'm in the midst of cooking the remainder of Sunday supper - an easy slow cooker chicken recipe is ready and waiting - and thinking about the last time that I cooked Sunday supper for my mother-in-law and her houseguest, a recent widower.  We had brought over dinner already cooked, and one of the things that I made didn't end up able to be left as leftovers for them to eat, because the houseguest ate four helpings of the noodle dish.  I'm making a similar type of noodles tonight because they go so well with saucy chicken, and that got me thinking about the origin of this "recipe".  I'm putting recipe in quotes because I've made it so often that it has become a tried-and-true technique rather than an exact recipe to be followed.

I just looked up the original recipe that inspired our family favorite, and I was surprised that it was from September 2001.  Here's a link to the original recipe: Cider-Brined Pork Chops with Creamed Leeks and Apples.   I know what you're saying right now - "Oh, what a wonderful sounding dish for fall".  That's what I thought too, and decided to make to make it one weekend.  I don''t remember brining the pork, I do remember now nice the apples were with the pork, and though the pork chops were good, they weren't something that I thought I'd have to make again soon.  But, I had leftovers, which we decided to store separately.  From those leftovers, something wondeful was born. 

Another night soon after, we made some egg noodles, the kind that are kind of wavy and great for chicken soup and other homestyle dishes.  On a whim, we decided to throw in the remainder of the creamed leeks, and voila - Creamy Leeks with Noodles was born.  And, oh, how tasty that was -- to us, far better than the original dish of which it was just a component.

Creamy Leeks with Noodles

Ingredients:

4 tbs. butter
5 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1 cup whipping cream
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooked noodles, or other type of pasta - we usually use a package of egg noodles, cooked according to package directions

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the leeks, and cook, stirring often, until leeks are softened but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the whipping cream and stir, and cook until cream is warmed through.
4. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
5. Combine with hot cooked noodles, and serve at once.

Serves 4-6, depending on appetite

Ranch Garden - Heirloom Tomatoes + Two Variations on Tomato Soup

This is the second year that we have planted tomatoes, and so far we have had more success than last year's crop.  The tomato plants are in large (emphasis on the large) black pots along the sunny side of the house.  We were concerned that the tomato plants were getting too much sun and heat last year in the late afternoon.  This year we have increased the frequency of watering, and we also added a brand new large pot.  The existing set of large black pots have some very packed-in soil at the bottom, with fresh potting mix added on top.  There was some variation in the depth of the packed soil, and this definitely has an effect on the success of the tomato plants.  The brand new large pot, full of potting mix and fresh soil, has had so much more growth and is producing more (and larger) tomatoes.  We are planning to empty out all of the old pots this season after the tomato plants are done producing.  This will also allow us to set up a better watering system before next year's planting.  We are also considering some kind of fabric shade over that portion of the garden wall/walkway to provide a bit more shade.

We like to grow heirloom varieties of tomatoes so that we can get the kinds of tomatoes that aren't available in the typical grocery store.  I don't have detailed notes for each plant -- just some highlights.  Here's what we have growing this summer:

1. Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter -- not living up to its description
2. Red Zebra -- very pretty, nice amount of fruit
3. Pruden's Purple
4. Aunt Ruby's German Green
5. Pineapple (my favorite)
6. Persimmon
7. Yellow Perfection
8. Japanese Black Trifele -- doing well, interesting shape
9. Garden Peach -- lots of little yellow tomatoes
10. Cuostralee  -- haven't seen much yet
11. Green Zebra -- doing very well
12. Old German -- doing very well

You might ask -- what are they doing with all those tomatoes?  Well, the honest answer is that the tomato crop isn't overwhelming us yet.  My routine when tomatoes start to produce faster than we can use them is to roast them in the oven, then freeze them for later use.   My method is to cut the tomatoes in half or quarters, depending on the size of the tomatoes.  Place them in a single layer in a baking pan, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of good quality olive oil, then toss them to coat.  Add salt, cracked pepper and a pinch of herbs - herbes de provence, dried oregano, maroram work well.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes.  For more detailed instructions and a very good sounding recipe, check out this recipe on the Food Network website: Ina Garten's Roasted Tomatoes.

Now, on to the recipes.  Both of these recipes are easy and quick enough for a weeknight supper.  The first is a veggie-laden tomato soup with lots of basil, and it was particularly suited to a summer weeknight.  The second could be made in autumn or winter, when the fresh heirloom tomatoes are a memory but you can draw from your stash of frozen, oven-roasted tomatoes.

Garden Vegetable Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. butter
1 tsp. sugar
4 cups chopped tomatoes (heirloom if possible) -- we did not peel or seed them
3 cups chicken broth
2 tbs. whipping cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1.  In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
2. Add the onions, carrot, celery and bell pepper.  Stir well to combine.  Sprinkle with the sugar.
3. Cook until vegetables are softened, and onions are translucent, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, and cook another 5 minutes.
5. Add the chicken broth, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Use a food processor or hand blender to blend the soup to desired consistency.
7. Add whipping cream just before serving.  Adjust seasonings if needed.

Serves 4

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients:

2 tbs. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp. sugar
1 12-oz. jar roasted peppers, drained (or you can roast your own)
1 cup roasted tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
Pinch of nutmeg
1/4 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add onions, and sprinkle with sugar (aids in caramelizing).  Cook 10-15 minutes or until translucent and golden.
3. Add roasted peppers, tomatoes and chicken broth.  Stir well to combine.
4. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10-15 minutes.
5. Use a food processor or hand blender to puree soup to desired consistency.
6. Add nutmeg and whipping cream.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 4

Beach House Menus + Thai Noodle Salad

One of my favorite things about going to Maine each summer with our great and good friends is the opportunity to plan the day around what we're going to cook for dinner.  Over the years, some dishes have become "must haves", things we make each year, but we also try out recipes from the summer crop of  cooking magazines.  I brought a stack of recent issues to go through, and had my recipe collection on my external hard drive to supplement where needed (and it wasn't needed this year), plus I had forwarded a couple of good sounding recipes to my friend ahead of time.

We went through the cooking magazines, and found some good looking recipes, then counted the number of days we'd be having dinner at the cottage vs. going out (only 2 nights out this year), and the number of people we were likely to have for each meal.  We made up a rough menu by night, and came up with grocery lists for a couple of days at a time so that we didn't have to do all the shopping at once and fill up the fridge past capacity.  This meant a couple of extra trips up to town, but gave us flexibility where needed in terms of what looked good, what we were in the mood for, and whether we wanted to swap out any recipes based on available time or inclination.

So, for future reference, here are the menus from our week at Popham Beach.  I'm including links to the recipes themselves where possible.  Any items marked with an "*" are things that we tend to make every year.

Sunday

Chinese Chicken Salad * (I will share this recipe soon)
Fresh Corn
Bumbleberry Pie (from the farm stand)

Monday

Five-Spiced Grilled Chicken with Hoisin-Maple Glaze (Fine Cooking, July 2011)
Thai-Style Vegetable Rice Noodles (Cooking Light, June 2012)
Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing (Food and Wine, July 2012)
Bumbleberry Pie

Tuesday

Swordfish Marinated in Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki marinade (available at Trader Joe's)
Orzo with Dried Mushrooms and Country Ham (Food and Wine, June 2012)
Moroccan Carrot Salad (leftovers)
Bumbleberry Pie

Wednesday

Tandoori Salmon (Food and  Wine, June 2012)
Angel Hair Pasta with Creamy Pasta Sauce with Fresh Herbs (Silver Palate Cookbook) *
Grilled Broccoli with Chipotle-Lime Butter (Food and Wine, June 2012)
Mixed Vegetable Hash
Blueberry Pie (from the farm stand)

Friday

Steak Skewers with Scallion Dipping Sauce (Bon Appetit, July 2012)
Creamy Potato Salad with Tarragon and Chives (original recipe)
Green Beans with Parsley and Sesame Tahini Sauce (Fine Cooking, June/July 2012)
Moroccan Carrot Salad (leftovers)
Fresh Corn
Blueberry Pie

Others may disagree, but my favorites from this summer's menus were the Five-Spice Grilled Chicken, the Thai Noodle salad, and the Steak Skewers.  As you can see from our menus, we also really liked the Moroccan Carrot Salad, and thought that it improved with age.  Plus, it made quite a lot, so we had ample opportunities to use it for leftovers.

I am going to share my version of the Thai Noodle salad, along with the adjustments that I made to the recipe.  I can hardly wait to make it again -- it was that good!

Thai Noodle Salad
Adapted from Thai-Style Vegetable Rice Noodles (Cooking Light, June 2012)

Ingredients:

16 oz. uncooked flat rice noodles

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup sliced fresh basil, cut into thin strips (chiffonade)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
4 tbs. fresh lime juice
1 tbs. Thai fish sauce

4 tbs. peanut oil
3 tbs. grated peeled fresh ginger
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 red jalapeno chiles,seeded and minced
1 cup chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

1 cup diced radishes (optional)

Preparation:

1.  Cook rice noodles according to package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold water; drain and set aside.
2. Combine rice noodles with green onions, basil, cilantro, mint, fish sauce and lime juice in a large bowl, and toss well.
3. Combine oil, ginger, garlic, and chiles in a large skillet over medium heat; cook for 2 minutes.  Add peanuts and cook for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add nut-chile mixture to noodle mixture and toss well.
5. Serve immediately.  Pass diced radishes as garnish, as desired.

Serves 8

Creamy Potato Salad with Tarragon and Chives

Have I told you about our passion for tarragon - aka, "the spice of life"?  I think I may have alluded to this when I last wrote about tarragon in my post about the herb garden at the ranch.  An update: the herb garden this summer is smaller than intended, and largely situated around the base of tomato plants.  Alas, no tarragon was available at the beginning of the season, so we will have to continue to buy tarragon at the grocery store.

Now to the inspiration for this recipe.  We were planning a Fourth of July barbecue, and wanted to have a potato salad as a side dish.  I generally don't care for potato salad unless I'm making it and know exactly what went into it.  I was thinking of a way to make potato salad that might taste like one of our favorite recipes, New Potatoes in Tarragon Cream (described in this post).  I searched through my recipe files on my computer, and found a recipe from Bon Appetit in the June 2007 issue that sounded good (Creamy Potato Salad with Lemon and Fresh Herbs).  Actually, I found several recipes that sounded good -- that, after all, is the reason I save them!  I made notes as I was cooking, and I'd have to say that this recipe is an "adaptation" rather than an "inspired by". 

Most importantly, this potato salad is really, really good!!  So good, I'm going to make it again next week when we're at the beach in Maine.  I want to share it with our good friends, and try it as a side for another great bbq main dish (or should I say "Maine" dish).


Creamy Potato Salad with Tarragon and Chives

Ingredients:
3 lbs. red potatoes, peeled
1 tbs. grated lemon peel (from 1 lemon)
1 stalk of celery, minced (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup minced red onion
2 tbs. fresh tarragon, chopped
2 tbs. chives, minced
3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used a light mayonnaise)
4 tbs. rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring potatoes to boil in a large pot of water.  Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Make sure the potatoes are tender all the way through to the center, not just on the outside.
2. Drain the potatoes, and set aside until they are cool enough to handle.   (I did the chopping of the other ingredients as the potatoes cooled.)
3. Cut the potatoes into 3/4" cubes.  Place 1 layer of potatoes in a large bowl, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Continue layering potatoes with vinegar, salt and pepper.
4. Add remaining ingredients, and stir to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
5. Do ahead: this can be assembled up to 8 hours ahead.  The flavor improves upon chilling.

Serves 8