Curried Chicken Salad in Papaya Boats

 I am completely sold on the honey mustard marinade for chicken as used in the recipe here; I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a boneless breast of chicken that was more moist or flavorful.  So much so that I used the remainder to marinate the lone chicken breast that I had left in the fridge, then seared it, roasted it, and used it for chicken salad.  It’s too hot for a heavy meal, so chicken salad was just the ticket, made even more summery with the inclusion of little balls of papaya and served in a papaya half.

Curried Chicken Salad in Papaya Boats

1 large breast of chicken, cooked, cooled, and diced

1/3 cup chopped celery

1 scallion, diced (white and green parts)

¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted

1 tablespoon golden raisins

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ teaspoon curry powder

1 medium strawberry papaya (I used Melissa's)

Place first five ingredients into a medium bowl and toss together until well mixed; set aside.  Halve papaya, scoop out center seeds; discard.  Using a small melon baller, scoop out inner portion making small melon balls, while hollowing out a larger spot in the center in which to mound the chicken salad.  Put melon balls on top of chicken mixture, and lightly mix in.  In a small bowl, stir together curry power and mayonnaise.  Pour mayonnaise mixture over chicken mixture and fold together until well combined.  It may seem a bit dry at first, but the juice from the inclusion of the papaya will moisten the mixture, giving it a nice creamy texture, so don’t overdo on the mayonnaise.

Scoop chicken salad into payapa “boats” and season with salt and pepper to taste.

                                              Serves 2.    

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Guacamole in a Flash

We tend to be victims of our parents’ tastes, raised by their views, and subjected to their likings.  Take for example, the avocado.  Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium (60% more potassium per ounce than bananas), Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They contain just 5 grams of fat per serving, NO cholesterol and NO sodium, and yet because my mother doesn’t like them, I never had the pleasure of their buttery taste and creamy texture until introduced to them by a college friend who shared her scoop of spicy guacamole with me.  Did my life begin that day, well, no, but my love for avocados certainly did!  I now use them in everything (and if you don’t believe me, have a look here), but guacamole is still my favorite.  I tend to crave it more often than I have the ingredients on hand, that is, until Melissa’s Produce came up with this brilliant Guacamole Kit.  Everything you need to make guac in about 5 minutes is contained in this cute little kit!  It’s quick, delicious, healthy, and so convenient when you have guests unexpectedly stop by, you’re painting the bathroom, and totally unprepared to serve food and drink, ahem.  You can order them online here, or follow the produce man at your local market and badger him to get them in stock.  Bring on the margaritas!

 

 If you’re the nut for guacamole that I am, here is a great book with recipes for all sorts of delicious varieties with various levels of heat. Olé!

This post is linked to: Seasonal Sunday

Alice Springs Chicken

It’s been a long while since I’ve had chicken, so was struggling to come up with a recipe that sounded interesting and tasty.  Largely I’m a beef or pork person, finding chicken a bit bland.  When I shared this sentiment with my youngest son he told me that one of the best chicken dishes he’d ever tasted was at Outback Steakhouse, adding that it was called “Alice Springs Chicken.”  Since there’s pretty much a copycat recipe for everything, I did a search and, sure enough, found a recipe for the chicken that he described.  He was right, this is very tasty.  The chicken breast was extremely moist and flavorful; the topping was even more delicious with the smoky taste of bacon and wild taste of the mushrooms topped with cheese, no less!  As the mustard needs to be made ahead of time and used as a marinade, you have to plan ahead, but I can tell you that it is worth it!

Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken Clone

4 skinless, boneless Chicken Breast halves
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
2 cups sliced Mushrooms
2 tablespoons Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Paprika 
12 slices Bacon, fully cooked
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese & 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
OR 
2 cup shredded Mexican Blend Cheese 

Directions:

Make a batch of The Best Honey Mustard You've Ever Tasted (recipe below).

Pour about ½ of a single batch or ¼ of a double batch of the honey mustard in a bowl and add the chicken. Set in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours or, better yet, overnight. Save remaining honey mustard in a sealed container in 'fridge to use as a dipping sauce later.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat up the oil in a frying pan on the stove and sear each chicken breast 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

Transfer chicken to oven safe pan and brush with honey mustard.

Salt and pepper breasts.

Add butter to frying pan and sauté mushrooms.

Stack bacon across each breast, spoon mushrooms on each breast and then approx. ½ cup of cheese on each. 

Cover pan with foil or lid and bake 7-10 minutes to melt cheese. Dust with paprika and serve with honey mustard.

The Best Honey Mustard You've Ever Tasted

1 cup Mayonnaise

4 tablespoons Sugar

4 tablespoons Cider Vinegar

6 tablespoons Honey

2 tablespoons French Mustard (or any other kind works)

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Make at least an hour before and refrigerate to let flavors combine.

Store it in a clean jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Cream of Celery Soup

Years ago when my husband and I were in Dublin for a literary conference, I spent my days sightseeing and shopping while he was involved in egg-heady talks.  Every day though we’d meet for lunch (our big meal of the day) at O’Neill’s Pub on Suffolk Street.  He'd pretty much order the same thing, but I tried to get something different each day.  On one happy occasion I ordered a bowl of cream of celery soup.  It was delicious, surely the very best that I’d ever tasted.  I picked up his spoon, scooped up some of the soup and told him that he simply must try it.  Obediently, he did.  Then he looked at me with wary eyes and said, “It sort of sets my teeth on edge.”  How deflating!  I loved it and decided then and there that I was going to find a recipe that replicated it.  No hurry now, since only one of us would be eating it, but my quest quietly continued.

I have finally found it thanks to my rummaging through an old (December 1995) issue of Bon Appétit.  The secret, it seems, to an intensely flavorful and creamy celery soup is celeriac, a.k.a. celery root, and this recipe makes good use of it. There is just no way to photograph the creamy delicious of this unassuming little bowl of soup, you’ll just have to try it for yourself.  Equally good when consumed hot or chilled, you can make a vegetarian variety by substituting the chicken stock for vegetable stock.  The garnish I used here is a few leaves I plucked off of one of the celery plants that I have growing in my container garden on the back deck.

Cream of Celery Soup

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

5 cups chopped celery
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1-pound celery root, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 10-ounce russet potato, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon celery salt
2 14 1/2-ounce cans (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery and onions. Cover and cook until very tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in celery root, potato, garlic and celery salt. Add 2 cans broth; cover and simmer until all vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Puree in blender in batches. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Pour soup into large saucepan. Add cream; bring to simmer, stirring often. Thin with more broth if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Seasonal Sunday

Frosty Café Mocha

I use ice cube trays for many things.  Making ice isn’t one of them.  As I showed you here, it is an excellent way to keep citrus zest (along with premeasured quantities of freshly squeezed citrus juice).  I also make coffee ice cubes out of any coffee that is left over in the pot (on the very rare occasions that this happens) in order to have them on hand to make one of my favorite summer drinks, Frosty Café Mocha.  It’s not as highly caloric and decadent as you may think.  Using a blender and the coffee ice cubes is what gives it its thickness and froth.  The addition of chocolate and sugar, and their respective quantities, is up to you.

Frosty Café Mocha

(Makes 1 serving)

 

 5 coffee ice cubes

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon chocolate syrup

1 tablespoon simple syrup*

In a blender (I use a Rocket Blender), combine coffee ice cubes, milk, chocolate syrup, and simple syrup.  Blend until smooth, adding additional milk, if necessary.  Top with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and a chocolate covered espresso bean.

 

*Simple Syrup

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved.  Allow to cool.  Measure out and use as you like, store remainder in the fridge.

 

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best Party

Deep Butter Cake

This post contains affiliate links.

Whoever it was who wrote to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and requested the recipe for Helfer’s Pastry Shop’s Deep Butter Cake has my deepest gratitude. That cake has been a favorite of mine since the seventies.  That fact that I can now make it at home makes me swoon.  It was quite by accident that I stumbled upon it here and, naturally, had to make it immediately.  It was as good as the version the shop sells, but I like to think that my adaptation of their already delicious recipe is what makes it Food for the Gods.  The above link will take you to the original recipe, my adaptation is below.

Deep Butter Cake

from Helfer's Pastries and Deli Cafe adapted by Pattie Tierney

For crumb mixture:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor (see note)

1 cup all-purpose flour

For batter:

11/3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon Butter Sweet Dough Flavor

13/4 cups cake flour

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Prepare the crumb mixture. In a small mixer bowl beat together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add salt, vanilla, butter flavoring and flour; beat at low speed just until crumbly. Cover and refrigerate.

Prepare the batter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch-square baking pan.

Combine 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1 cup butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large mixer bowl; beat on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs; beat on high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until light.

Combine milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring. Alternately add cake flour and milk mixture to batter, starting and ending with flour. Beat on low speed, scraping sides of bowl, until well mixed.

Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly in prepared pan. Spread batter over crumb mixture. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until top is deep golden brown and cake tests done in the center with a wooden pick. Cool 5 minutes.

Place a flat plate or cake board on top of the pan. Hold the pan and plate together securely; turn over. Carefully remove the pan. (The crumb side is now the top of the cake.) Dust with powdered sugar.

Note: According to the original recipe, the inclusion of butter flavoring is essential to the success of this recipe.  While butter flavoring may have its place, it can’t hold a candle to this wonderful bakery emulsion. You can find it on Amazon here. Trust me when I tell you that you’ll never be sorry that you have this ingredient in your pantry.  It makes a world of difference, transforming your tasty pastries and baked goods into bakery shop quality products.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Bing Cherry Lemonade

A week of temperatures in the hundreds with another week of the same ahead, and who knows what’s after that?!  Weather like this calls for something cool and refreshing.  This pretty and delicious drink has been just the ticket for me the past couple of days, and makes good use of the abundance of bing cherries this time of the year.  I can’t get enough of them, so am only too pleased to be able to enjoy them in as many forms as possible.  This recipe serves six, but can be doubled or even tripled if you have a crowd.

Bing Cherry Lemonade

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup water

1 cup pitted Bing cherries

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 cups cold water

Gratings of fresh ginger (optional)

Place sugar and water into a medium saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.  Add ½ cup of cherries and bring to a boil.  (For added zing, you can stir in about 1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger, if you like.)  Boil 5-6 minutes to soften cherries; mash slightly with a fork.  Set mixture aside to cool.

Strain cooled syrup into a pitcher, pressing on fruit to squeeze out juices.  Add lemon juice, water, and the remaining cherries.  Pour over ice and garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint.

Yield: 1 quart

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best Party