Honeymoon & Chicken Salad

Hey folks!  We're back from our honeymoon, and I've just successfully completed my first week of work at my new part-time office job - woohoo!  I also catered a wine n' nibbles reception for my client last night, which went off without a hitch.  So satisfying!  I'm finding that the balance of mental work there at the office and physical work in the kitchen is even more ideal than I had expected.  It's tough getting back into the swing of things, though, after such a fabulous honeymoon with my honey :)

Looks pretty terrible, huh? 

Now, let's talk food:  I think I've perfected the chicken salad, since my client has been asking that I make it for his lunch.  My big secret?  Homemade mayo, and keepin' it simple.  So I call this...

5-ingredient Chicken Salad
(makes about 3 cups)
Note: the key to making good mayonnaise is to use a strong blender on the highest possible setting (usually it's something intense-sounding like "liquefy").  Without that crazy blending action, you won't get an emulsion - that's dorky kitchen talk for a mixture of two or more liquids that is virtually un-blendable.  Think salad dressing that will never, ever separate into oil and vinegar.  Cool, right?  Most important of all, be fearless.  It's only mayo, no big deal!

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1 cup blended oil (half canola or grapeseed, half olive oil)

2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1.5 pounds)
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine in the blender the lemon juice, egg, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 cup of the oil, and whir on high speed for a whole minute.  With the blender running, carefully drizzle in the remaining oil, very slowly at first and more steadily as you go.  Continue to blend on high, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides, until the mixture has become a paler yellow and is totally homogeneous and thickened.  Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside in the fridge.

Set the chicken in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Pour 1/4 cup of water into the bottom of the dish and cover with foil.  Place in the oven and let it steam, tightly covered, for about 30 minutes, until the juice runs clear when you prick it and the internal temperature registers at 160 degrees F.  Remove to a plate to cool.

Once the chicken is cooled, remove the skin, tear it off the bone, and cut it into 1/2-inch chunks.  Add the chicken and chopped celery to the mayonnaise and mix well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, or keep in the refrigerator up to five days.

The spread at the party I catered last night

My mayo revolution

Folks, I say this with total sincerity: this is one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. Light, lemon-laced, velvety, homemade mayo. And I don't even like mayonnaise! (At least not the stuff from a jar.) But this has changed everything for me. And, if you have a food processor at hand, it's very easy to make. Even if you don't, some people will swear that making mayonnaise by hand, with a whisk, produces the most perfect product. So it just might be worth it...

Homemade Mayo - adapted from Mark Bittman's "Basic Mayonnaise"
(makes about 1 cup)

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grapeseed oil
pinch of cayenne
salt and white pepper

1. Put the egg, mustard, lemon juice and zest, and 1/4 cup of the oil into the bowl of a food processor and give it a whirl. While the machine is running, slowly drizzle in the remaining 3/4 cup of oil through the feed tube.

2. Season to taste and enjoy! Will keep in the fridge for a week.


And now, here's the first thing I decided to do with my melt-in-your-mouth mayo:

Sandwich!!

Tunafish Salad
(makes about 1 pound)

3 (5 oz.) cans white meat tuna
1 small red onion, finely chopped**
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons homemade mayo (see above)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sumac (optional - found in most Middle Eastern groceries)salt to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, chill, and serve plain or on some toasted multigrain bread with crisp romaine lettuce. Yum!


** If you are as gadget-obsessed as I am, and you happen to have a mandoline slicer (see image below), I find the most painless way to really finely chop onions is to first slice them using my mandoline, and then chop the slices with a big chef knife. This makes light work of an unpleasant, and often tearful, task.

"What can I eat my mayo with today??" I ask plaintively, peering into the fridge at 10:30 A.M.