Simple and Oh So Tasty - Hal's Chicken Salad

My good friend Hal is a good cook. One of my favorite recipes of his is his chicken salad. It's a very simple recipe, what makes it so good is the ingredients he uses. He introduced me to this tinned chicken he buys from Cost Co. It comes in 12.5 oz cans and is sold in shrink wrapped sets of 6. It's just delicious!

Now Hal loves to travel and his wanderlust has afforded him the luxury of Micronesian pepper. This is his other secret ingredient for the chicken salad. I don't have that luxury, so I just use fresh ground pepper in mine. Here's his recipe:

You'll need:

Two cans of Kirkland chunk chicken breast
3 Tbs mayonnaise
Fresh ground pepper
Kosher salt
Salted cashews for garnish

Begin by draining two cans of chicken and putting the chunks in the bowl. Crush the chunks with a fork until they're shredded. Add the mayonnaise and mix thoroughly. Season with the fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Serve on a plate garnished with a lettuce leaf and sprinkle the salad with salted cashew nuts.

This is a delightful light lunch dish. The cashews give the salad a sparkle and crunch that adds to the flavor nicely. Because the dish is so simple, it's important to make sure that your ingredients are top notch. You can substitute sea salt for kosher salt if you wish, and if you find a source for Micronesian pepper let me know!

Those are my linen tablecloth check napkins up there with that salad. They're great for summer entertaining.

04-02 Not Just Small Potatoes - Potato Salad with a Kick

Hi people! This week we’re featuring my recipe for potato salad. It’s ever so easy to make and I know you’re going to enjoy it.

You’ll need:

10 – 12 boiled red bliss potatoes
1 cup halved cocktail olives
1 cup sliced scallions
3 Tbs. mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces, then combine with the olives, scallions and mayonnaise in a large bowl and mix well. Add the curry powder, salt and pepper and taste. Adjust seasonings. Serves 6 as a side dish.

#03-09 The Salad Bar - Easeful Entertaining During Domestic Demolition

Hello people, Brini here with another episode to help you with life’s little problems. This week we’re discussing entertaining in the midst of renovation. The key is to keep it simple! For me that means a salad bar with an easy dressing.

For the basic salad we combined butter lettuce, radicchio and alfalfa sprouts. We then created a “bar" consisting of two kinds of olives, hearts of palm, cold cut pin wheels, artichoke hearts, turkey breast, sliced avocado and sliced hard boiled egg.

I made a simple dressing in the blender. Here’s the recipe:

1 cup olive oil
3/4 cup vinegar
2 marinated roasted peppers

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend on high until completely liquefied. Pour over salad.

This is a simple one dish salad that’s perfect for entertaining while your home is in chaos. With all the gourmet ingredients and that luscious dressing it seems quite posh.