Chinese Chicken Salad

In my youth, my mom used to joke about spaghetti's origins saying that the dish was from China. I asked, How so? She replied, because a Chinese person made it. Although, noodles did originate from China and this pretext has nothing to do with the post.

Despite not being an authentic Chinese dish and having its origins in California, this salad makes its summer-time rounds at restaurants and picnics alike. I wouldn't skimp out on the sugar. Part of the appeal this salad has over others is its sweet and savory dressing. It's roughly 1/2 c. cooked chicken per serving, so adjust the recipe accordingly to accommodate more people.

Serves 4. 

The basic salad

CCS uses romaine lettuce and/or napa cabbage leaves as its salad base. You could use other types of lettuce, but they simply won't hold up against the dressing over several hours. You'll want to use a lighter-tasting vegetable oil, so olive oil or coconut oil have to sit this out. You could chop or shred the lettuce leaves. Home cooks tend to shred the salad (like how cabbage for coleslaw is cut), and most retail packages have 1" pieces of lettuce leaves--largely this is so that the salad has a longer shelf life.

1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded or cut into 1" pieces

1/2 head romaine lettuce leaves, shredded or cut into 1" pieces

2 c. shredded or cubed cooked chicken breast

3 stalks green onions, thinly sliced

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

The dressing:

3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 c vegetable oil (grapeseed, peanut, or canola)

Optional ingredients:

fresh snow peas, trimmed
mandarin orange slices, fresh or canned
deep fried wonton skins (cut into 1/4" strips and deep fried in 375 degree F oil)
toasted sesame seeds
toasted sliced almonds
crunchy noodles
fresh bean sprouts
bean thread noodles or thin rice noodles, cooked and drained

Kitchen Notes: brewing a good cuppa joe

Let's face a basic fact about coffee. Call it what you want, java, cup of Joe, mocha, mud, or battery acid; your body simply does not care how it gets its daily caffeine fix. Your taste buds, on the other hand, seem to care a lot if the coffee tastes good and isn't weak, bland, burnt, or stale. 

The beans:

Affluent coffee drinkers (and Food Network chefs) will tell you that you should skip the convenience of instant or pre-ground coffee for a DIY grind and brew. This is awfully time-consuming and why alternatives exist.

The grind:

fine - drip-styled, unbleached or gold mesh filters
medium or coarse - French press

The method:

Most electric coffee filter machines recommend 1 level tablespoon (i.e., that plastic spoon that comes with the machine is just that) per 6 oz of finely ground coffee. It's a good start, but if you grind whole beans for this purpose, you may find that this ratio produces a pretty weak cup of coffee.

Today I am drinking a medium grind cup (8 oz) of coffee created from 16 grams of whole roasted coffee beans (Stumptown house blend) plus 1 tsp organic granulated sugar and about one ounce of organic whole milk. Basically, a cup of coffee with milk and sugar. To me, this tastes about right, or what I would expect from a medium roast at a coffee retailer.

Corn Pudding in a Cast Iron Skillet

I made this for a "camping food" themed potluck on Saturday. To make this, you first need a completed batch of cornbread. This recipe comes from the "Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook".

Ingredients

1 batch of cornbread, cubed
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. half and half (or 1/4 c heavy cream + 1/4 c milk)
3/4 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs
2/3 c. fresh or frozen cut corn
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Cut the cornbread into 1" cubes and place in a single layer in a 12" diameter cast iron skillet.

2. Whisk together until combined: eggs, sour cream, half and half, salt, black pepper and corn kernels. Pour mixture on top of cornbread.

3. In a small sauté pan over low-medium heat, brown and caramelize onions.

4. Scatter onions and grated cheese on top of cornbread.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the mixture has set.

Seasonal Ingredient Map

Epicurious.com has an online tool that allows you to select a “month” and “state” from a U.S. map. Once a location has been selected, a list pops up of all the produce that’s in season.