Veggies At Last: Asian Chicken Salad

I was perusing my blog last week, tweaking older recipes and deleting some embarrassing ones, and I noticed that there was nary a vegetable side dish or entrée posted.  And I worried if people thought that I didn’t like vegetables or if I had scurvy.

While I don’t crave the sweet crunch of a carrot, I am pretty partial to vegetables.  Thus, I immediately looked for a scrumptious veggie-only dish to post.

For the record, I actually love salad, especially a good Greek one with no anchovies and lots of feta and black olives.  But I digress. This salad is different as it uses Napa Cabbage, which is a new, and pretty awesome, ingredient for me.   I really loved the idea of using a peeler to shave ribbons of carrots and how the whole thing came together rather quickly with the work of my Ginsus.  This salad is very refreshing and sweet, and while I didn’t photograph it with the low mein noodles, they are the perfect addition of crunch and texture.  The dressing is tangy and a little sweet, and compliments all ingredients wonderfully. 

Don’t worry, fellow Saturday Chefs, this might be the first veggie-centric post, but it will not be the last!  

Asian Chicken Salad

Adapted from recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

 

Salad:

1 large carrot, peeled

3 cups shredded napa cabbage, about ½ of a cabbage

3 cups shredded romaine lettuce, from 1 small romaine heart

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and deveined, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 cups chicken breasts, cooked

Chow Mein Noodles, optional

Dressing:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

Black Pepper, optional

Directions

For the salad: Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot and add to a large salad bowl. Stir in the cabbage, lettuce, red bell pepper, mint, and chicken. *If you're a vegetarian, just nix the chicken.

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until smooth.  Season with pepper, to taste, if using.

Plate salad in a mound, spoon a bit of the dressing over the salad and toss. Garnish with the chow mein noodles and serve.

Chef’s Note:  I only dress an entire salad if I know the majority of it will be eaten.  Otherwise, I just dress the salad on the plates just before serving. 

Saturday Chef's Heavenly Fruit Salad

I’ve shared a lot of recipes with you, and I’ve done so eagerly. There are some dishes that I love so fiercely that you’ll have to pry their recipes out of my cold, dead fingers. This is one of those recipes. And I’m only sharing it because I have a feeling that if I post one more baked good or dessert bar, the people set on actually accomplishing their New Year’s resolution of slimming down might revolt. I’m stuck in a baking groove. Sorry.

So, with much selfish hesitation, I give you my most cherished recipe: Heavenly Fruit Salad. You won’t find the cheftestants of “Top Chef” banging this out in a quickfire, because it is a straightforward mixture of fruit and sour cream that is amazingly fresh and gives you a happy, sated feeling that I usually associate with heavier comfort foods with loads of butter and cheese. This recipe is open to interpretation and experimentation, add more of your favorite fruits, nix what you hate.

It was given to my mother by a relative when I was a baby and has since be a part of every celebratory meal that I could remember. I even had a bowl at my birthday dinner last week. And yes, I said BOWL. It’s traditionally a side dish, but I have been known to consume it by the pound. In college, during exams, I requested nothing but a vat of this sweet, crunchy, citrusy dish to power me through a hellish week of studying and paper-writing.

So enjoy this recipe in the spirit in which it was given, and enjoy a Saturday Chef favorite!



 
Heavenly Fruit Salad


Ingredients

1 ½ cup red seedless grapes, halved

1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained well

1 red apple, cored, diced

2 to 3 medium bananas, sliced thin

1/3 to ½ cup light sour cream

1 ½ cups colored miniature marshmallows

Coconut flakes and nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, chopped, for garnish



Directions
Prepare fruit. Cut grapes in half or in quarters, if they are large. Slice apples to be about the same size as the pineapple tidbits. Add the bananas last.

Mix all fruit in a large bowl. Add 1/3 cup of sour cream. Mix to combine. Add more sour cream if needed. Fruit should be covered well, but not too wet. Mix in marshmallows. Serve. Feel free to garnish with sweetened coconut and/or your favorite nuts before serving. Fruit salad will last up to three to five days in the refrigerator, depending on the freshness of the fruit.

Potato, Portabella, and Parmesan Gratin

When I was a child, I had a boundless imagination. It made being grounded fun, and punishing me next to impossible. As an adult and a writer, I actively nurture my imagination and my inner child. I like to laugh make up stories, and generally enjoy myself. On special days, I play with my food. Enter the Potato, Portabella and Parmesan Gratin.

This recipe takes a bit of time to assemble, so I treated it like a culinary puzzle picking the perfectly shaped piece of potato to create the layers. I then added the cheese and even tossed in some mushrooms. The result was a filling, decadent gratin that was as simple as it was flavorful, and served with a quick salad, you have a delicious (and meatless) dinner. And I even snuck mushrooms past my inner child.



Potato, Portabella and Parmesan Gratin
Adapted from Oriana Neri’s recipe

Ingredients
4 lb medium boiling potatoes

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

2 to 2 ½ cups half & half

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

7 oz finely grated parmesan cheese (3 1/2 to 4 cups)*

1/2 to 1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, cleaned and diced

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices with a food processor or an adjustable-blade slicer. Spread slices out on a large kitchen towel. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Dot bottom of a 3-quart shallow baking dish (13 by 9 inches) with half of butter and pour in 1/3 cup of dairy. Layer potatoes in baking dish, season lightly with black pepper.

Spread 1/3 cup half & half and about 1/4 of cheese between layers. Drizzle remaining cream over potatoes and dot with remaining butter. Season with black pepper and sprinkle a bit of extra cheese and any mushrooms you have left.

Bake, uncovered, until potatoes are very tender and top is browned, about 2 hours. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

*Chef’s Note: I did use an imported Italian cheese from the cheese counter, but not Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the gratin was fantastic. Just use quality cheese, and you’ll be fine.

Beverly's Milestone Mac & Cheese

It’s hard to plan anything with family, be it birthday, bar mitzfahs or baby showers. It is especially hard with a family that is as big as mine (I have 22 aunts and uncles). My grandmother turned seventy-five last month, and she proclaimed that she wanted “fabulous” party to mark the milestone. To this blogger that meant something that rivaled Oscar night or at the very least, a girls’ night out ala Carrie Bradshaw and friends.


To my grandmother, however, that meant family, friends and good food.


The party came together effortlessly. The menu was planned. The cake was ordered. Somehow, I was in charge of preparing a dinner worthy of Beverly’s seventy-fifth. It was a terrifying feat and exhilarating challenge. And I felt a little like a cheftestant on “Top Chef.”


We kept the food simple, which meant there was very little margin of error. The classics—roast chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes—can be the hardest to master. While family trickled in from across town or across the country, I was in my element in the kitchen.


It turned out to be a party for many milestones. I was no longer Damita’s youngest girl or relegated to the kid’s table, I was one of the women I had watched my entire life, in the kitchen hugging the babies and stirring the sauce. I celebrated a quiet milestone of my own.


And there, in my grandmother’s kitchen in Indiana, I perfected my recipe for macaroni and cheese. It isn’t over-baked or dry. It is luscious, creamy, simple. Most importantly, worthy of Beverly’s birthday.



Ingredients


4 tablespoons butter plus 1 to 2 tablespoons for pasta

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups of milk, warmed

Salt

Pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup grated sharp or extra sharp cheddar plus more for topping

1 cup grated mild cheddar plus more for topping

1 cup grated parmesan or Italian blend cheese plus more for topping

1 lb box of elbow macaroni, cooked al dente


Directions
Pre-heat over to 375 degrees.

Fill a large pot with water over high heat. When water boils, salt generously, and cook pasta according to directions, but leave it a bit more al dente.

Melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine to make a roux. Let cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Slowly whisk in milk warmed in the microwave until it is combined and smooth. Season again with salt, pepper and a conservative pinch of cayenne. You want the spice to add bite and not heat, so start with an 1/8th a teaspoon and add needed.

Let mixture cook, whisking often, until it boils. It should be thick and creamy. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of all three cheeses. Whisk to combine. The heat from the sauce will melt the cheese. Season to taste. Add more cheese if needed.

When pasta is done, drain and pour into a buttered 13 by 9 inch pan or large casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with butter, add any leftover cheese if you wish. Stir. Add cheese sauce to pasta. It is better to have more cheese sauce, because the pasta will absorb some of the sauce.  Stir until sauce is incorporated.

Top with an extra 1/3 cup of the three cheeses. Season with pepper.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve!

Chef’s Note: This recipe can be made with whatever cheese you have on hand. I generally use a sharp block cheese, a mild cheese and another to balance out the flavors.  It's great fun finding the balance of flavors you love.  Don’t believe those celebrity chefs. You do not need to buy expensive cheeses for a good macaroni and cheese.

I am a guest-blogger again!

Hi, everyone!

I have once again had the extreme pleasure of guest-blogging for Foodies Like Us! 

If you're interested in a yummy, decadent Potato, Portabella and Parmesan Gratin, please check out my entry at their website. 

And be polite, and leave a comment! 

Thanks! 

http://www.foodieslikeusblog.com/recipes/potato-portabella-and-parmesan-gratin-comfort-in-a-casserole/

Please check back here tomorrow for a new Saturday Chef entry!