the easiest chicken salad

i've made a lot of chicken salad. today i wanted it to be easy, but this might be my favorite that i've made recently. this recipe is a serving for just one person.

1 roasted chicken thigh
1 tbsp finely diced red onion
1 tbsp crushed pistachios
1 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp mustard (i used zataran's yellow mustard)
salt and pepper
crystal hot sauce
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon

some notes for good chicken salad: don't boil the chicken. that's nasty! always roast. use salt, pepper, olive oil, and some lemon juice/zest if you want a relatively neutral flavor but the possibilities are endless. the more flavor the chicken has, the better the salad will be, duh. also, if you're using raw onion/celery, make sure you get a fine dice so that the flavor isn't overwhelming. make the dressing on the side and then add it in batches so you don't overdress, and if you're using fresh herbs you can mix those in there as well so they'll be evenly distributed.

i used a lot of hot sauce. that's why it's kind of pink in this picture. if you don't want it to be spicy then...don't use as much!

what it do

a simple summer salad + our blog's return

y'all we're back. it's been over two years, but as i've finished grad school and remain seriously under-employed i have plenty of time to post recent recipe experiments. my roommate danielle and i have a catering company (hey y'all catering) and blake and his boyfriend keeton cook all the time, too. ALSO we both have iphones now and not blackberries so there should be considerable improvements in picture quality. to start, an easy salad and vinaigrette i made for a vegetarian dinner the other night. i followed it up with beet ravioli with a tarragon brown butter sauce then lemon icebox pie with fresh whipped cream. 

without further ado:

greens with chevre, pistachios, and strawberries

1 package greens (pictured is an organic girl blend)

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 package goat cheese (pictured is la bonne vie garlic +herbs)

a dozen sliced strawberries 

a handful of pistachios

fresh herbs (i used tarragon and mint -- just tear them over the salad before serving)

vinaigrette: 

zest and juice from one orange

zest from a lemon

one garlic clove (i use a garlic press so that it's completely incorporated)

1 tbsp dijon mustard

a pinch of brown sugar

salt

pepper

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/4-1/2 cup of evoo

i am approximating the oil here because there are many schools of thought regarding how tangy a vinaigrette should be. i like mine particularly acidic, so i would add more white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar/rice wine vinegar/champagne vinegar, whatever you have on hand) than i've indicated above and go light on the oil. Particularly if you're using arugula or another delicate green, you don't want to overdress the leaves or crush them under the weight of a creamy dressing. if you're using romaine or a heavier green (which i wouldn't recommend with this particular salad) a dressing with a higher fat content would work. 

i recommend making vinaigrettes in a mason jar, and shaking vigorously before testing and adjusting seasoning. go light at first, and build up the flavors once you get an ideal oil to vinegar ratio. 

we have four followers so i'm not sure if this is applicable to anyone but eat well and have a great day!   

DALE LEVITSKI

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

so dale levitski (THE ONE FROM TOP CHEF) lives in my neighborhood & i see him from time to time and TOTALLY FREAK OUT. he has a fancy-pants restaurant downtown that is too expensive for me. BUT he just opened a french bistro frog n snail, honestly like a block from my house. our neighborhood is really cute but there is honestly only two nice restaurants (i think its because all of boystown doesn't eat? idk) ANYWHO HE POSTED ON FACEBOOK THAT IT IS HIS BIRTHDAY AND THEY ARE HAVING THE SOFT OPENING TONIGHT AND MY FRIEND CALLED AND GOT THREE OF US SEATS I CANNOT EVEN BREATHE.

a crazy lady at work (not tomato lady) heard me screaming & squawking and brought me over two figurines, a frog and a snail... so i made dale a birthday card.

god i am so weird and lame but of course i have turned this into a full blown crush and i am a disaster. i shall keep y'all posted on how it goes.

long time no see

jesus.

since the last time i posted i have no idea what has happened. but i am ready to come back to this full throttle (half throttle?).

i saw these on tastespotting.com and just flipped out. i had never cooked (or eaten) persimmon before but they are so pretty that i have been looking for a way to use them. finally! i found this recipe & had a cocktail party to attend!



so this recipe is a twist on the classic melon & prosciutto combo. the jalepeno was thrown in for a little kick.



you just slice the prosciutto lengthwise, thinly slice seeded jalepeno, & eighth (?) the persimmon into equal sized pieces. i assembled the little bites at my house and then transported them to the venue (house). i don't remember the baking time or temp but it was hot and fast.



people started eating them before i got a chance to take a pretty picture! they were so damn good and i got to wow everybody BECAUSE NONE OF THEM HAD HAD PERSIMMON BEFORE EITHER! so i looked like a boss. (without like any effort, duh)

so i am going to try and do this more often but i am taking classes again and doing kettlebell twice a week (i know wtf). but in april i signed up for a butcher class where i get to hack a whole pig apart! i am totally pumped. okay y'all

alot of things happened today

okay so the original inspiration for this was on tastespotting : it was a roasted spaghetti squash filled with tomato sauce and meatballs and mozzarella and parmesan. however, once i started i couldn't figure out how i was going to get two spaghetti squash halves to last the whole week...



instead of using prepared spaghetti sauce i made my own & i am using my mini-party frozen meatballs that i just heat up a few when i am eating (microwave). so i cooked down one HUGE onion one yellow bell pepper, garlic, oregano, red chili flakes, and a giant jar of whole plum tomatoes with basil. (my onion to tomato ratio was way off - not enough to try and fix but i have a ton of onions and not enough tomato...probably should have used tomato paste as well).



BUT OMG i used my dehydrated mushrooms that i made a while back. i just poured hot water over them while things were cooking, chopped them up a bit, & added it mid-way so that they could cook a little bit.

i put half in the fridge for dinner this week AND FROZE THE OTHER HALF FOR PASTA NEXT WEEK. yesssssssssssssssssssssssss



i also roasted the squash seeds and then made a vinaigrette of the items above.



before and after roasting...



i should have used less liquid but these suckers didn't last at all. like they were consumed immediately. i dumped the left-over liquid into the tomato sauce. (i <3 worcestershire sauce)



pre-roasted squash above; finished product below. i roasted it at 350° for like 45 min and then 425° until it was fork tender (i have no reasoning for those degrees or time lengths.)



the goods:



the cadaver:



snack:



DINNER:



FOURTH MEAL:



tomato sauce on toast with MOZZZZ. i couldn't figure out how to reasonably make the mozzarella i bought portion into a week's worth of meals so guess what, I MELTED IT ON THINGS AND AT IT. sometimes i didn't even melt it so DEAL WITH IT.

pasta

this one is kind of boring but i photographed it so here it is

i only allow (or try) to let myself eat pasta once it gets cold out & we are allowed to gain like 5 lbs for the hibernation season. otherwise i just sit there eating like 8 servings of pasta a day. but we all know how cheap it is.



not pictured: the enormous amount of garlic that went into this, roll tide!



so i cook the garbanzos & peas down & then kind of smash them all up. it makes it really hearty and with the garlic & chili flakes is AWESOME. made this twice now & honestly has been like $3 for a week's worth of dinners.



near the end of the week when i am completely bored with the pasta i just cook up my mini-party meatballs & VIOLA (BECAUSE DUH mini-party meatballs make everything better. when i am really depressed i just pull out my toothpicks & pretend i am at a party)

HEY Y'ALL

wooooah! i haven't posted in. a. minute.

BUT its because this has been a super busy few weeks.

FIRST! i went down to mississippi to visit MEGHAN! it was ridiculous. more on that later. then i had to get a tattoo & then it was halloween. and i am just barely recovered financially & like physically...

but of course megnation and i did some TAILGATE COOKING (which is the best kind obviously)



we made two things! i was in charge of a cheesy asparagus pouffff pastry tart thang. ^^^ blind baking of said pastry


cooked down onions



smothered in cheese, duh.



the beginnings of meg's dish (which i don't remember the name of) but was awesome poached eggs in a tomato-y brothy thing - so good.



the base! i see tomatoes, onions, AND MUSHROOMS.



POACHED EGGS SECURED.



invite us to your tailgate, y'all. we bring (fucking awesome) things



all we took! don't judge on the butt-plug champs. the walmart didn't have much of a selection.



this was the final spread. the hostess was a completely amazing cook. she made sausage balls (which are the essence of tailgates), sweet potato biscuits with sausage gravy, and badass bloody marys. i was so full of great food and disgusting champs that it hurt.

(what we also didn't discuss is that i bought us one of those like roasted chickens of which i ate a majority of before this potluck. i am disgusting)