Joe Siclari has a lot to answer for

[gerisullivan]

The subject line isn't news to those who know the fan. It's now 3+ years since I lived at Fanhihall for 4 months and I'm still thankful for the habits and courage I picked up in 4 months of watching Joe cook and thoroughly enjoying the results of his creative, adventuresome approach to the process.

My original plan for Saturday night dinner was to stuff the rotisserie basket full of chicken breasts, but when elaine_brennan, geraty, and I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some vegetables, I succumbed to the lure of summer. I came home with a watermelon, cherries, and steaks. Yes, Elaine and I picked up squash, asparagus, and broccoli, too.

I fired up the grill for the first time this year...and I'm not at all certain I used it more than once last year. Hmmm...must grill more often. The steaks were delicious. But that did leave chicken breasts that needed cooking.

I was out shopping again today. Something about washing machine hoses that decided to start leaking rather profusely -- while I was watching them, as luck had it! Yep, time to replace those. And pick up that water softener salt, and, well, I had quite a list by the time I headed out the door.

The chicken was on my mind as I shopped. Hmmm...chicken salad sounded good. Okay, so I've never made chicken salad before. It really couldn't be that hard.

I stopped by the deli counter at the grocery store to ask about the ingredients in their chicken salad. I could see the celery, but the 5 or 6 different forms of sugar came as a surprise. I picked up some interesting onions -- cipolline, red pearl, and shallots -- plus some celery and a remarkable amount of other groceries, and headed home. One might think I had more company coming or something.

Much to my surprise, all 4 of the breasts fit into the rotisserie basket that I thought would only hold a pair. I had one for dinner tonight, and prepped the rest of the chicken for the salad I plan to serve for lunch [Bad username or site: deb geisler @ livejournal.com] on Monday...and most likely for another lunch with Susan the next day.

Deb gave me some ideas for sweet and savory salads. A quick Google search turned up some others. I didn't make any of them.

The flavors are now blending on my own 3-onion chicken salad with curried, herbed mayonnaise. I went with scallions rather than the shallots, wanting the Italian and red pearl onions to have center stage on the onion front. The salad already had some zip to it -- I think it's going to be pretty tasty by the time Deb gets here.

The curried, herbed mayo just kind of happened. It's a very Joe sort of thing -- reach in the cupboard, pull out some spices, and put them together with curiosity and confidence. I wasn't that daring -- savory, thyme, and dill plus the curry powder, all in amounts sufficient to make their presence known. Which means 3-4 times as much spice as I ever used without a specific recipe before those 4 months of watching Joe.

I suppose it's possible that the salad will turn inedible overnight. I doubt it, but if it does, I'm going to regret that Auntie Cathie's Bakery and Roadside Stand is closed on Mondays.

Comments

[jamesb.livejournal.com]

Auntie Cathie's Bakery and Roadside Stand

makes me think america is a place I need to revisit.

j

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

You're thinking right, my friend. Toad Woods Awaits. It's full of memories and good times past, present, and future, and it needs you to share them with in person, not just through the electrons.

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Being somewhat allergic to "hot" spices, I'd start by halving the amount of curry powder you probably use. (Actually, being ...well... lazy, making mayonnaise is problematic, but if I were to do it....) I'm unspeakably blessed by the presence, in the shoddy little strip-mall five blocks away, by a small mom&pop Japanese restaurant called "Anjo". (Well... mom, pop, two teen-looking sons (& sometimes the c. year-old child of one of them), maybe a niece, and perhaps a couple of cousins or an aunt in the kitchen.) Someone in there has a background in French cuisine, quite possibly Cordon bleu -- there's the occasional dish that's just a bit richer than is traditionally Japanese.

Last Thursday I had dinner there with some friends and (among the various kinds of sushi) there was a plate of (I'm going to have to find out what they call it, and when I might hope for them to have it again) a light coating of home-made mayonnaise (richer than commercial brands, with just enough mustard to leave no doubt that it's there) covered with thin strips of raw salmon that had been rolled in dill (seeds & chopped leaves) before slicing, and drizzled lightly with a good olive-oil. It was Japanese, and French, and Swedish, and one of those memorable-for-years delights.

This was the first time in my whole life that I've considered that mayonnaise could be Really Important. But then, I've never been in France, or Belgium, and only rarely use (commercial) Mayo. Although I have been consuming a lot of it recently -- a volunteer "heritage" tomato plant in the back yard is producing several pounds of vine-ripe tomatoes every few days, and they really need some kind of moderating dressing, even though my cardiologist might look pained if I told her about it.