Italian Chicken Salad in Lettuce Cups

Didn't get the lighting very pretty in this photo, but don't let that fool you into thinking this recipe is blah. It's almost a misnomer for this dish to be called a "chicken salad". It's kind of like that, but not creamy. It uses a vinaigrette instead of mayo or whatever is normally used in typical chicken salads. I serve this a lot at showers since it's hearty but light...perfect "lady food". I've served it in lettuce cups, as Giada suggests, open-faced on toasts, and most recently on croissants, sandwich style. Whatever the presentation, it usually receives great reviews and many "can you send me the recipe?"s.

Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis via Food Network

Ingredients

• 10 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken(from about 3 purchased roasted whole chickens)
• 2 cups roasted red and yellow bell peppers, drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups paper-thin slices red onion
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/2 cup drained capers
• 1 1/2 cups (about) Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 24 butter lettuce leaves (from about 3 large heads)
• 1 (4-ounce) piece Parmesan, shaved with vegetable peeler

Directions

Toss the chicken, bell peppers, onion, parsley, almonds, and capers in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Season the chicken salad with salt and pepper, to taste.

Arrange 1 large lettuce cup and 1 small lettuce cup on each plate, overlapping slightly. Spoon the chicken salad into the lettuce cups.Drizzle more vinaigrette over the salads. Sprinkle with theParmesan and serve.

Do-Ahead Tip: The chicken salad can be prepared 4 hours ahead and refrigerated. Just before serving, spoon the salad into the lettuce cups.

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup olive oil

Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in ablender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil and blend until emulsified.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Ina's Perfect Roast Chicken

When I grow up, I want to be Ina Garten. Is she not so fab?? Everything she touches is gold, and I have yet to meet a recipe of hers that doesn't kill. One of my go-to recipes of hers that I can always, always count on is her Perfect Roast Chicken. It's worth doubling, if only to reserve the meat for a future use. I have bags of shredded, deboned chicken in my freezer, ready to go for all kinds of recipes that call for it. Rotisserie chicken on sale at Sam's? Snatch it up, shred it, freeze it. Throw it in quesadillas with pesto and mozzarella, make chicken enchiladas with it, use it for chicken salad, etc, etc. But I digress...

One thing that You might wonder about is the fennel. Girl. It's the best part. If you have not tried roasted fennel, you are missing out. Roasted fennel is so sweet and it perfectly compliments the onions, carrots (or potatoes if you wish, as I did in the photo above). If you're like, "I wouldn't know a fennel if it hit me in the head," let me introduce you:

If you're like, "how the heck do I cut into that ugly thang?", here's a lovely tutorial from bon apetit. So there. No excuse not to at least try it. If yo're not a fan, then pick around it and don't use it next time. Now on to that chicken....

Ingredients

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges or slices
• Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Portabella Fromage Poulet

This fancy shmancy french translation means "Chicken Cheese Portabella" and it is E-A-S-Y!!! 


Makes 2 servings; simply double to make 4 servings.


Ingredients:
-2 large (4-6" diameter) portabella mushroom caps
-2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
-1 cup parmesan cheese
-1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
-1 bottle Lawry's Herb and Garlic marinade - you will use about 1/2 bottle
-8-10 asparagus stalks
-olive oil
-McCormick "Perfect Pinch" Basil & Garlic seasoning (see here)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees.
2. Place chicken breasts in glass dish, cover with marinade.
3. Scoop and dispose gills from mushroom caps (see here), and cut off stalks if present
4. Brush portabella caps and asparagus generously with olive oil, place in separate glass dish from chicken
5. Mix 1 tsp Basil/ Garlic seasoning, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella in small bowl
6. Generously cover inside of caps (face up) evenly with cheese mixture
7. Bake chicken for a total of 25 minutes (do not drain marinade)
8. 10 minutes into baking chicken, place mushroom/ asparagus dish into oven, and bake for 15 minutes
9. Arrange ingredients as you wish