Mango-Jalapeno Curried Chicken Salad

The PTA at my son's elementary school holds an appreciation luncheon for teachers about once a month. Newsflash - I love to cook - so I take these opportunities to make things and have fun in the kitchen and share it with these well-deserving faculty members. 

This month the theme was sandwiches and salads. I signed up to take a batch of chicken salad. I love chicken salad. And, while I make quite a few variations of chicken salad, a few ingredients are constants: oven-roasted chicken breast meat, chopped celery, and chopped onion. From there, the variations are endless. This time, I decided to change it up a bit and toss in some of the fabulous Mango-Jalapeno sauce that I've previously mentioned here. It is an amazingly versatile sauce that just about goes on anything....and makes it better. If you haven't made it yet, you absolutely should. Follow this link to get the recipe to make a batch. Once you do, you can make this rendition of chicken salad.

(Mea culpa: this post was not really on the docket of things to do today, and therefore, there are no photos of said salad - imagine, if you will, a really moist and interestingly delicious-looking chicken salad.)

Mango-Jalapeno Curried Chicken Salad

• 3-4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts - baked in the oven; method of your choice ( I like to put a little olive oil and garlic on mine and cook at 400 until internal temp is 165F)
• 3-4 ribs of celery, chopped as fine or chunky as you choose
• 1/2 small onion (I tend to stick to sweet onion or purple onion); chopped on the fine side
• 1 can water chestnuts, chopped
• 1/2 C mayo (just an estimate as I go by level of moistness - you can make it as moist (or gooey) or dry as you like)
• 1/4 C of mango-jalapeno sauce (recipe here) or Fischer-Wieser makes a mango-habanero sauce and I'm sure there are other purchased sauces out there that would fit the bill
• 1 Tbsp curry powder (again, suit your tastes)
• 1/4 C golden raisins

1. Cook chicken, allow to cool, Remove skin and remove meat from bone. Shred or cube chicken meat. (Can you use boneless skinless breasts? Yes, you can do whatever you choose. But, the meat won't be as moist and flavorful.)
2. In a big bowl, mix chopped chicken, all dry ingredients. Add mayo and mango sauce and curry.  Mix well. Chill well and serve.

 I like to serve this with crackers or potato chips. Makes a great sandwich (especially on those little Hawaiian rolls) and also is fabulous as the filling to a lettuce wrap.

Happy Cooking!

sld

Leftovers {Udon Noodle Salad with Mango-Sesame Grilled Chicken}

While I love to cook - a lot- I do appreciate a good leftover. I especially love when the leftovers are used as a component in a totally new dish. This is a way to use things up without "leftover" becoming a dirty word.

My cooking club met the other night and the menu focused on Asian-inspired flavors. We made the pork dumplings discussed previously here, and featured two entrees: Hoisin Glazed Skirt Steak with Red Pepper Slaw and Mango Marinated Grilled Chicken and Vegetables. These are two dishes that my family loves and are rather quick to prepare and as the cooking portion of each dish takes place on the grill, they are perfect Summer dishes - keeping the kitchen cool and keeping El Syd busy as Grill Man. 

In addition to the good company, conversation, meal and wine, cooking class provides some tasty leftovers. So, for lunch the following day, my dear daughter and I whipped up this noodle salad using some of the grilled chicken and the marinade/dressing.  What resulted is a light, summery, cold salad that is a perfect lunch selection.


Udon Noodle Salad with Mango-Sesame Grilled Chicken(adapted from Bon Appetit)

Mango-Sesame Dressing 

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup Mango-Jalapeno sauce (see here for recipe)
• 6 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 6 3/4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1. Combine all ingredients in a deep jar, or bowl. Blend well with immersion blender until smooth. (Alternately, you can use a standard blender if you like to deal with all that mess - or don't have an immersion blender - but if you don't, you really should.)

Note- This can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for one week. Also, if you haven't made the Mango-Jalapeno sauce (you should) you can use 3/4 of a cup of Major Grey's Mango Chutney and add 3 cloves of garlic, peeled & 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes.

Grilled Chicken 

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pounded to even out thickness, but not pounded super thin)
• 4 Tbsp Mango-Sesame Dressing

1. Brush chicken breasts with dressing and allow to marinate at least 30 minutes (at room temp) or overnight (in the fridge)
2. Prepare grill to a med-high heat. Grill chicken until cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Let chicken rest 5 to 10 minutes so that the juices can redistribute. (Chicken can be wrapped and chilled at this point for use in the salad later.) 

Udon Noodle Salad with Mango-Sesame Grilled Chicken

• 12 ounces snow peas, strings removed 
• 1 8- to 9-ounce package fresh udon noodles
• 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
• 2 grilled chicken breast halves, cubed
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Mango-Sesame Dressing
• Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1. Cook snap peas in boiling  water until crisp-tender about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
2. Return water to boil. Add noodles. Cook until tender but firm,  as directed on package. Drain; rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to large bowl.
3. Toss the noodles with the sesame oil to keep them from sticking together. Cut noodles with kitchen shears to shorten. Add peas, chicken, and green onions; toss with enough dressing to coat (You won't need the whole cup of dressing - I actually did more of a drizzle over the individual servings, but you can choose depending upon the particulars of how you're serving.)  Top with toasted sesame seeds, if desired.

This would be a great way to use any leftover grilled chicken or even store-made rotisserie chicken and if you don't have any leftover, go ahead and grill some up  - it only takes a few short minutes to make it happen.

Happy Cooking!

sld

The Mighty Clone {Hot and Crunchy Chicken and Avocado Wraps}

El Syd and I are pretty passionate about our interests. He is a big NY sports fan (Jets, Knicks, Mets, thankyouverymuch); he collected (and uses on a daily basis) fountain pens; he has (in recent years) become quite knowledgeable about wine and pairing them with foods; he also has an amazing catalog of a wide variety of music.  I love antiquing and junking (especially collecting silverware and unusual serving items from the Victorian era like salt cellars and castor sets); I enjoy a good cultural or history museum; I love all forms of dance; and like El Syd, I, too, love music. 

It is this shared love of music that motivated us to initially attend the ACL Music Fest during its second year (El Syd will want you to know that the only reason we didn't go the the first one is because we didn't yet live here.) 

The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas, Zilker Park. Each year, the ACL Festival brings together more than 150 acts from all over the world to play rock, indie, country, folk, electronic and more on eight stages. Approximately 75,000 fans attend the festival each day; 225,000 over the entire weekend. 

Although I do threaten that each and every year will be my last, we haven't missed a year since our first visit.  We were there for the dust bowl year. We were there for the year of the rainstorms on day one, followed by mud pits on day two. We were there in 108F heat with me being five months pregnant (that was the year I was thiiiiiiiis close to saying never again and really meaning it). We were there for a fire. We were there for a herding, scary crowd of too many people to count trying to get to see The Lumineers last year. Every year there is something a little different to make the hallmark of that particular year, but one thing that has remained constant over the years is our my love of the Mighty Cone. 

What is a Mighty Cone, you ask? Well, I'll tell you one thing, it ain't your usual festival fare. No turkey leg in site. No giant sausage on a stick (although, I do like those every once in a while.) A Mighty Cone, my friends, is a study in all things delicious. Brought to you by Jeff Blank, chef at Hudson's on the Bend, start with a usual, everyday flour tortilla and use it to line a paper raspa or snow cone cup. Then, add a little dollop of the tastiest Mango-Jalapeno coleslaw right in the bottom. Next, add a crispy fried chicken tender or shrimp or avocado that has been dredged in a delectable,  sweet and spicy corn flake crust. Top all of that with a drizzle of Ancho "paint" and you have a taste sensation the likes that the typical fest has never seen. They are so popular that a food truck devoted to them was spawned and is located at 2512 Rio Grande St. in Austin.

So, when Memorial Day was on the horizon, I was looking for something different than the usual cookout suspects and with the ACL fest lineup for 2013 having just been recently released, I wanted to make these at home. I'd been calling it the Great Mighty Cone Recreation Caper, but after eating them, El Syd has deemed this endeavor "The Mighty Clone" 

This is another of those dishes that requires a bit of component preparation and then once everything is ready, you build your wrap. I'll describe what I did and as we go along give some ideas for how you might shave off some of the work if you're not up to following along with fidelity.


Mango- Jalapeno Sauce (yields close to 1 quart)

• 1 lb mangoes - peeled, pitted and diced (1/4in dice) (frozen will work too)
• 11/2 C white sugar
• 3 oz. white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp garlic
• 3 Tbsp purple onion - diced
• 2 jalapenos (lg.); seeded and sliced
• 1/2 Tsp salt

1. Combine the mangoes  sugar, vinegar, garlic and onions over moderate heat until you get a good simmer going. Lower heat to keep a low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.
2. Add jalapenos and salt and stir well; simmer an additional 3-5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and cool to room temp. Using an immersion blender (or pouring into your regular blender), blend until you have a chunky sauce.
4. Chill well in fridge before making the aioli.

Notes: 

This sauce is absolutely divine on its own and would make a fabulous accompaniment to pork tenderloin grilled or pork medallions sauteed. It is also spectacular poured over cream cheese and served with crackers. Sauce will stay in fridge for 7-10 days or can be processed/canned for longer storage. I've not frozen it, but I think that would work as well.

 If you're not up to the task of making it homemade, Hudson's on the Bend sells the original sauce and Fisher & Wieser sells a mango habanero ginger sauce that would be a good substitute. 

Mango Jalapeno Aioli (yield approx. 2 Cups of sauce)

• 2 limes juiced
• 1 bunch cilantro rough chopped
• 1/2 C Mango Jalapeno sauce (made as above or use purchased)
• 2 cloves of garlic - minced
• 11/2 Cup Mayo

1. Combine all ingredients and chill at least 4 hours or over night.

Ancho "Paint" 

• 1/4 C of Ancho pepper puree (2-3 large ancho peppers soaked for at least 30 minutes in about 2 cups of hot, hot water. Puree the softened peppers in the blender with a bit of the soaking water.)
• 1 lemon - juiced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1 C mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. (I attempted to use my immersion blender for this with fair results; the real blender is probably the better way to go here.) 
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Note: I suppose as a sub, you could mix a Mexican style hot sauce (like Cholula) mixed with some mayo.

Mango Jalapeno Slaw

• 1 1/2 quarts of cabbage - shredded (about 1/2 of a large cabbage)(or packaged slaw mix)
• 1 C carrot (coarsely grated or julienned)
• 2 C Mango Jalapeno Aioli

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl; the slaw will be (and should be) very moist.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Hot and Crunchy Breading

• 1/4 C almonds (slivered, blanched)
• 1/4 C toasted sesame seeds
• 2 C corn flakes
• 1/4 C white sugar
• red chili flakes (to your taste; I used about 1/2 Tbsp and it was a bit too spicy for the tender palates in our family)

You can dredge chicken tenders, peeled and deveined shrimp or peeled, pitted avocados (cut into 8ths) or any combo of those. (Start with avocados and then follow with protein(s) to avoid contamination)

1. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined into a coarse meal (do not over process; you want a bit of chunk to the breading) 
2. Set up a dredging station in 3 similarly sized pans:
1. Pan one: 2 C flour
2. Pan two: 2 eggs whisked with 3/4 C milk
3. Pan three: crunchy breading mix
3. Breading steps:
1. Dredge the item in flour first, until well dusted, then shake off excess flour.
2. Dunk the dusted item into the egg wash, wetting it entirely.
3. Place in the breading mixture and cover, pressing lightly. Remove and shake off excess. Set aside on a dry sheet pan until all of the items are breaded.
4. Cooking:
1. In a large, heavy saute pan, heat 5 Tbsp peanut oil (or canola oil -anything with a fairly high smoke point) Heat to about 325 F over medium heat.
2. Lay item in the hot oil and saute for about 3-4 minutes per side (less for shrimp) It should be a golden, crunchy brown if the pan is the right temp. Turn item only once.
3. Place on a warm sheet pan in a warm oven until all of the items are fried.

Final Assembly

Use a paper drink cone (if you have it; if not, these make great standard tacos); insert a warm flour tortilla into the cone followed by your hot and crunchy item ( we did one tender and one avocado wedge per cone) Add cold slaw and then a good sized dollop of ancho sauce. 

These things were delicious. Everyone loved them (except my son whose tender palate thought the breading was too spicy). My dear daughter commented "you know, I usually get tired of leftovers but I could eat these everyday." And, it makes such a big batch that we did just that for the better part of a week. 

Happy Cooking!

 sld