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Warm Chicken Salad on a Chilly Day

It’s a nasty, rainy, cold day here in Harriman today. Today would have been better suited for the potato soup we made on Tuesday, but that’s the way the menu kind of fell out this week. Michelle and I used to eat Warm Chicken Salad at least once a week when we first got married, before Sean was born. It’s such a quick, easy meal that could be thrown together at the last-minute. it’s also great to make for a buffet-style party to put out with other foods, giving a healthier choice for people to eat. Another nice thing about this recipe is that you can really put in as many or as few ingredients as you like. We all like different things in a salad, and this gives a great opportunity to “customize” your meal however you would like it.

Warm Chicken Salad

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs ( I am using my own, but you could use panko or other store-bought if you like)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon water

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat

1 package mixed salad greens, such as romaine, spinach, arugula, mesclun or Bibb lettuce

Salad additions (recommendations to follow recipe)

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish and set aside to cool. Wipe the skillet clean. In a separate shallow dish, add the flour and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. In a third shallow dish, add the egg and water and lightly combine. Dredge the chicken in the flour, lightly shaking off any excess. Then dip in the egg mixture and then dip in the breadcrumbs. Press on the breadcrumbs to make sure they adhere. Over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet. Add in the chicken and saute until golden brown on the first side, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken over and continue to cook until it is no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes longer.Transfer the chicken to a plate and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Arrange the chicken with the salad and any accompaniments. Toss lightly and serve.

The nice thing about salad is you can add whatever you want to it. Here is a list of a few suggestions:

Cucumbers (I prefer the English ones myself)

Shaved Carrots

Olives (any kind you like really)

Artichoke hearts

Tomatoes – I find the cherry tomatoes work best in a salad

Avocados

Radishes

Scallions

Peppers – if you want a bit of color

Hard-boiled eggs – you could just add the whites if you don’t like the yolks

Crumbled bacon

Cheese – whatever kind you like really – feta, cheddar, Asiago, blue cheese

Nuts – sliced almonds or walnuts work well

Beans – chickpeas and black beans are both great in salad

The combinations are virtually endless. They are so many different ways to serve this dish that alone it could probably make 20 different recipes. This also makes a great lunch if you just refrigerate the chicken after sauteing and want to have some the next day. Three more things about salad I want to say. One, fresh, clean greens are essential to a good salad. If you don’t have a salad spinner, I think you should invest in one. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on it and you will notice the difference in the way the greens of your salad turn out. Two, dressings, as I have said before, seem to be a personal choice. You don’t even need a dressing for this dish if you don’t want one (Many times we don’t use one). For this salad, I think just about any dressing is a great addition, although something creamy like a ranch, a blue cheese or a creamy garlic might be the best. There are lots of good brands available that you might like, or feel free to send me a message and I would be glad to supply a recipe for one to you. Third, I love a salad with croutons. Homemade croutons taste far better than anything you will buy at the store, and the store-bought ones are usually loaded with preservatives anyway. Besides saving money by making them yourself, you can add whatever spices you like to them for extra flavor. Here is a recipe for some simple garlic croutons.

Garlic Croutons

3 tablespoons olive oil (it really does taste better if you can use olive oil for this one)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups (1/2-inch) bread cubes (I don’t think it matters what kind of bread you use for this, as long as you cube it to a uniform size)

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the oil, garlic and salt together in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and toss until thoroughly coated. Spread the bread onto a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the croutons to cool at room temperature before serving.

Like the salad, you can add lots of things to the taste of the croutons, like chili powder, rosemary, thyme, oregano, Parmesan cheese, paprika, whatever you might like to taste.

That’s all that’s to dinner tonight. Light, healthy and quick, just the way we wanted it to be. Tomorrow I really am going to the fish market to see what I can get, so it’s kind of a mystery as to what I’ll be cooking (just don’t think of it as the Manager’s Choice that used to appear on the lunch menu in school). We’ll also be laying out the meal plan for next week tonight, so I will post that as well if you’re interested. If you’re interested in using the meal plan, here it is if you want to print it out:family_meal_planner. As always, if you have any questions, comments (good or bad, I’m not sensitive, I can take it) or just want to say hello, please feel free to leave a comment or a message. hopefully you’re enjoying the recipes and can use some of the ideas for your own cooking. Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening and try to stay warm if you’re here in the Northeast. Might be a good night for hot cocoa, or an Irish coffee!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on January 26, 2012 in Dinner, Equipment, Lunch, Salad, Vegetables

Tags: boneless chicken, boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken salad, croutons, dressing, greens, salad, salad spinner, warm chicken salad

Kitchen Prep 101

14 Jan

So you’re back for day two, which makes me glad to know that I am not just writing for myself. Before I get into meal plans and what’s cooking, I thought today I would take some time to mention a few things that I think are important to have to make your life cooking a little easier. With some items I may recommend specific brands that I have used with some good success in the past, but please feel free to use what’s best for you and your budget. If you think you have a better idea on something, I encourage you to pass it along here so we can all use it.

There are a few essential pieces of equipment I think everyone needs to have in order help make your cooking experiences better, easier and more successful. For me, everything starts with having three good knives: a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a serrated knife. I use my chef’s knife all the time, and you can use it for just about everything from chopping and dicing to carving. My personal chef’s knife of choice is a Wusthof Classic 7″ chef’s knife. It’s available on the web, many cooking stores or department stores. Wusthof knives are great, but the can be a little expensive and there are cheaper, good alternatives. Victorinox (the maker’s of the Swiss Army Knife) has some great knives at really affordable prices, like this 8 inch chef’s knife that gets good recommendations and is only $26.00 :http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-40520-Fibrox-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000638D32. They also make inexpensive paring knives and serrated knives, so you could round out your knife set for under $60 just using their three. The paring knife is great for the small jobs that a chef’s knife may be just a little large for, like slicing garlic. The serrated knife is necessary for bread slicing. Whatever you choose to get, make sure the knife feels good in your hand and is comfortable for you. I recommend getting a knife sharpener or steel to sharpen your knives and sharpen them often to keep them in good shape. And don’t use your essential knives for things like screwdrivers or pry bars; Chances are you’ll just break the blade or ruin it and the five minutes it would have taken you to find the right tool for the job just cost you money.

Once you have your knives, you need a cutting board (no sense ruining those counter and table tops). I personally prefer wood, but I have plastic as well. The plastic is great because they are dishwasher safe and easier to clean. The wood needs a little more care (I oil mine once a week with mineral oil to keep it from drying and cracking) and has to be hand washed, but I feel I get better and more controlled cutting using a wood board. You don’t need a huge, heavy board for every day use. The one I use every day is an 11″ square butcher block and it works great and doesn’t take up a lot of space. I leave it on the counter every day because it’s used constantly. I do have a large plastic board for carving larger birds and roasts. Again, you can spend a little or a lot, depending on your budget, but I recommend having one to provide you with necessary workspace.

Okay, you have your knives and your board, now how about some pots and pans. While there are dozens of sizes and types, I have found you really only need to use 4 or 5 to do the job. In my opinion, instead of spending $100, $200, or more on a set of pots that won’t last long and you won’t use half of them, buy yourself 3 or 4 really good pots that you will use all the time and will last. First, you need a skillet, and you need a large one, I would say 12 inches. I have two – one nonstick and one stainless steel. The nonstick is great for foods that regularly stick and is super easy to clean (just make sure you don’t use metal utensils on it, it will scrape off the surface), but the stainless steel is great for searing, browning and pan-frying and you can throw it in the oven as well. Having several sizes of skillets to me doesn’t make much sense. You won’t use them much and they just take up space. Get 1 or two big skillets and you’ll be fine.

Next is the dutch oven. I probably use mine just as much as I use the skillet, if not more since we make a lot of soups and stews. They are ideal for soups and stews, perfect for boiling pasta, searing meat, or braising. Again, I would make sure to get an all metal one that you can throw in the oven. After that, all you really need are 2 or 3 saucepans, a large (4 quart), a medium (3 quart) and a small (2 quart) to help out with smaller cooking projects like sauces and gravies. Saucepans can also be expensive or inexpensive, depending on what you choose and can budget for, but there are several moderately priced brands that work very well.

After these items, a couple of rimmed baking sheets are probably used the most in my house. They are very versatile, great for roasting meats or vegetables. if you can get one with a rack in it, even better, because this is great for things like draining fried chicken or making a meat loaf, allowing the fat to drip off and not have the meat sitting in it. (Sean will also tell you they are essential for french fries and tater tots). There are 3 other types of pans I use: a baking dish, a roasting pan and pie plates. A baking dish can be used for just about anything you would need to put in the oven, from vegetables, to casseroles, to small poultry or meat. A 9″x13″ seems to work best for me, giving me enough room to do what I want. I have a large roasting pan with a rack for larger birds or meats. It’s great because it allows for drippings to collect for gravy or sauce, or you can place vegetables around for roasting. Also, in the long run I think it’s cheaper than buying all those foil roasting pans you buy for the holidays. Pie plates, of course are great for pies (one of the few things I actually bake, but that’s for a later post). I actually use pie plates more for breading stations for chicken or fish than anything else, and the glass ones work great because you can use them for warming by just throwing them in the oven (and they’re relatively inexpensive too.)

There are a few other things I find essential as well, such as:

Dry measuring cups

Liquid measuring cups

Measuring spoons

An instant read thermometer (essential for meats and chickens)

A whisk (I prefer metal)

Wooden spoons (Get them at the dollar store)

Rubber spatula

Tongs

A box grater

A colander

A vegetable peeler

Some small glass bowls – great for holding prep work

Parchment paper – I find myself using this more lately, it’s great for lining and seems impervious to grease and moisture.

There are lots of other things that you may not use as often (Like a potato ricer, loaf pans, etc.) they are not as essential, to me, as the things I listed. I also didn’t list any small appliances, but we do get a lot of use out of our food processor (great for making bread crumbs, pureeing soups and sauces) and standing mixer (a Kitchen Aid for baking). I am not a big fan of the microwave, although I do use it to cook bacon and to melt things like butter or chocolate. other than that, I find they dry things out too much and don’t cook evenly. Now if you have any suggestions of things you need for the kitchen, let me know! I may find that I need them too. Tomorrow, I am going to talk about some pantry items I use a lot and then Monday we can get down to some cooking!