Recipe 3 Hot Chicken Salad on Hoe Cakes

I am not only trying new to me recipes, but I am also trying to use up a lot of the bits and pieces I have in the freezer, and trying my best to shop first from home. Consequently, we are having some interesting, possibly less than stellar meals. This weeks new recipe is from a blog I found called Retro Housewife. She has tons of recipes from the 40's-60's and very few of them require exotic ingredients. I had cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs in the freezer, and nearly everything else The only thing I had to purchase for the hot chicken salad was celery and it was just because I was out of it anyway. I have literally copied and pasted her recipe. I don't feel too bad about doing it since she credits it to "Generic Housewife Betty 1954".  At the end of the recipe I will tell you what changes I made.

Hot Chicken Salad in Corn Meal Tulip Cups

Chicken Salad:
3 cups cut-up cooked chicken
2 cups chopped celery
½ cup chopped blanched almonds
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
2 tablespoons minced onion
¼ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup grated Swiss cheese
Combine ingredients for Chicken Salad.

Tulip Cups

3 cups sifted enriched flour
1 cup enriched corn meal
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup shortening
2/3 cup water
Preparation Instructions
 For tulip cups, sift together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water a little at a time, until dough will just hold together. Turn out on lightly floured board and knead gently a few seconds. Divide dough in half; roll each half out to form a 10 x 15 inch rectangle, Cut into six 5-inch squares. Place squares in custard cups shaping dough against the sides of the cups and allowing corners to hang over. Fill each pastry-lined cup with chicken salad; place cups on cookie sheet and bake in hot oven (400° F.) 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 12 tarts.

First I will tell you I had no intention of making the corn meal tulip cups. I figured the hot chicken salad could bake perfectly well in the oven in a baking dish (it did), cornbread pancakes would be a perfectly acceptable delivery item (they were) and I was just not willing to put that much time into something that was just going to be a simple supper. (So, I didn't)

I am sure it would be adorable and probably taste very good so if it floats your boat to make them by all means, have at it. Just don't judge me for believing a recipe is just a suggestion for me to play with.

I made the chicken salad recipe more or less, except for a main dish where measurements are not critical I eyeballed the ingredients. I know I was close but not exact. Though I had almonds, mine are raw and I did not want to toast them and skin them, so I left 'em out. I did the same with the pimento even though I had a jar in the pantry. I have 3 packages of cheddar cheese left from the holidays and I had rather make pimento cheese than have the pop of red in the chicken dish. I also added about a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and the zest of 1/2 of a lemon to the chicken. When I read the recipe it just sounded to me like it needed something bright to compliment the earthiness of the curry powder. I also did not mix the cheese with the salad mix. I had about 1/4 lb of jarlsberg cheese which I grated and sprinkled over the top of the chicken salad once it was partially baked.

Mix all the chicken stuff except for the cheese. Put into an 8x8 oven safe pan and bake at 350 until it is hot and the celery has softened (about 30 minutes) Throw the cheese on top and return to the oven until it melts. Serve on top of hoe cakes.

You can call me out on this if you wish. I had a package of corn bread mix in the pantry (one of those that only needs water added) and I essentially made cornbread pancakes on a stove top griddle. Yes it is a cheat and I should feel ashamed but it was just dinner and just for the two of us, so I felt no shame at all. I made the pancakes, put them on a small breakfast plate, scooped out the hot salad and called it done. I meant to serve it with broccoli, but forgot to cook it so we had a bowl of bagged salad on the side instead.

The verdict: It was tasty, uninspiring, and a good way to use some of the frozen chicken. I might or might not make it again. There was nothing objectionable to it, it had enough flavor (and yes it definitely needed the pop of citrus). There was just no wow to it and we do tend to eat more extreme flavors than this, but it really was perfectly fine. Maybe if I had made the bloomin' tulip cups and they were prettier we would not have noticed how basic it really was.

Music is Best Shared

I have been trying to expand my horizons this month and one of the things I have been doing is listening to types of music I generally don't listen to. I am a huge jazz fan and tend to listen to it All.

Of. The. Time.  I would not call myself in a jazz rut since I do love it, but there is nothing wrong with listening to different sounds. Each day I am listening to a different genre (well at least in the mornings I am, but confess I generally go back to jazz in the evenings) and today is my R & B day.  I started with a little Luther Vandross, then some Barry White and of course some Aretha, but then I had to play my favorite R&B song over and over and over.

I make mixed CD's for my car (yeah I don't have Mp3 capabilities in my car and still have to rely on "Old School" methods, even though I am old enough to remember 8 track tapes and actually had a car once that had only an AM radio) This summer Son3 was here visiting with GF3 and we were driving to a family reunion with the Cd player on. Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" came on and Son3 asked me my inspiration in including it on the disc, which was an extremely diverse compilation of tunes.

I told him I thought it was one of the most musically beautiful songs of the modern age. I love the instrumentation, the vocals, the spacing__in fact, I think the song is nearly a perfect piece of music. Amazingly, since this summer, Son3 calls me with that song playing in the background all the time.  He was not terribly familiar with it and GF3 had never heard it before but they both love it and listen to it all the time now. Since they are both musicians they play various background parts while the song is playing.  I love that I could sneak an "earworm" into their lives.

Incidentally there are 2 more songs on the Cd that they are listening to regularly, not because they are perfect songs but just because they are fun.  I am including them also.

                 I don't know why I like this one so much except the energy of it makes me happy.

                                          Grand Funk Railroad "Foot Stompin Music"

This one I love because of the last verse. When it plays in the car everyone sings along at the top of their lungs. Even people who don't know the song can find some places to easily sing along.

                                David Allen Coe "You Never Even Called Me by My Name"

Recipe 2

I had about a cup and a half of scrappy ham leftover from Christmas that had been stuffed in a plastic bag and set in the freezer. I also had 8 less than stellar small potatoes so I knew I wanted to make something from them. I am trying had to spend little this January, reduce our food storage inventory and keep food waste to a minimum.
I had no idea what I would come up with and then I saw this recipe. Believe it or not I have never made chowder before. I am not a thick soup lover, preferring broth based soups and since I am the one who does the cooking my preferences tends to rule. But tonight I had all the ingredients handy, including a couple of ribs of almost wilted celery that had to be used tonight, so the die was cast and, well, chowder! What was the worst that could happen? I wouldn't like it so TheHub would have to eat it all for various meals? It was worth the gamble.

Ham and potato chowder

1 1/2 cup ham bits and pieces, chopped fine
8 smallish potatoes, peeled and diced(ish)
1/2 onion chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 quartish broth (I had simmered the ham bone so I used ham broth. Chicken  or veggie broth would work as well)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 small can drained whole kernel corn
1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste (I used little salt and a lot of pepper)
chopped cooked bacon for garnish

Chop the ham, dice the potatoes and set aside. Put the onion, celery and butter in a large pan and wilt the veggies. Add the flour and stir like a crazy woman until the flour is blended with the butter and  it turns a light brown color. (Beige really) Immediately add the broth, stir well, stir well some morel and toss in the potatoes and ham. Cook until the potatoes are tender, adding a little more water or broth if necessary. Add the milk and the heavy cream along with the drained corn, parsley and salt and pepper. Cook through until everything is blended, semi thick and hot. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle crumbled bacon in the center of the soup.

Why have I never eaten this before? I don't know what I have had against chowder all my life, because this stuff was pretty darn good. I told TheHub next time I would make it without the corn because I thought it added nothing to the soup or the flavor. TheHub disagreed totally. He loved it.

Score, using leftovers and less than perfect veggies! And to think it only took me this many decades to decide chowder was pretty good after all. (In all fairness the only chowder I have ever eaten is Campbell's condensed clam chowder and it is just not good. I can't believe I based my disdain for chowder on the condensed stuff, but I did.)

Obnoxious Me, Sorry Almost

                               It's late and my heart rate has just returned to normal.

And the First New Recipe Is___

I have decided to try 52 new to me/us recipes this year, which will mean an average of one a week. I know it seems like a lot, but even a new salad dressing recipe is a recipe, so it is pretty doable, especially if I don't get hung up on the actual 7 day week and am willing to fudge a little if I try 2 different recipes only 6 days apart. Like Jane at Crabapple Landing said today, Life is Messy, and I am not going to strangle myself with self imposed rules.

Shortly before Christmas I bought 3 large packs of boneless skinless chicken things and then promptly forgot about them. The result was me having to cook all of them at once so now I have 3 large packs of cooked boneless chicken. I froze some and have used about half of it for meals recently, chicken pot pie, chicken noodle soup, and tonight, chicken croquettes. I have never made them in my life and nothing beats a recipe that uses what I need to use,  plus it is brand new to me. Win all the way around!

3 boneless chicken thighs, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup mayo
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 egg
1/2 small onion minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dried parsley
additional bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix well the chicken, bread crumbs, mayo, dijon mustard, egg, onion and seasonings in a bowl. Form into thin patties and dredge in additional bread crumbs.

Heat oil in a shallow non stick pan , put the croquettes in and cook until brown on one side. Flip them over and brown on the other side. Serve piping hot.

I made a sauce of a white wine/white wine vinegar reduction, butter and a little milk (because I had no cream.  Don't use milk, the vinegar causes it to curdle.  Use cream instead)

1/4 cup white wine. 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar. Heat and reduce by half. Cool briefly and add 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Slowly stir in 3 tablespoons butter. Serve over the croquettes add a heavy sprinkle of parsley.

This was very tasty and a great way to use cooked chicken, but the sauce is what really amped the flavor. TheHub really enjoyed it. I may or may not make it again cause it is heavy on the fats which in turn adds more fat to me!

Return of the Joy

I used to post a monthly joy list which I really enjoyed. I would think of things that I believed would give me joy throughout the month, list them and systematically either do them or move them to the next month. It was never intended to be a task list, just things I thought would bring me joy during the month. I have missed it and honestly I think having it made me focus on joy more often, so I am beginning it again this year. I might keep it up or I might not, but at least this month I am going to post it once again.

These are in no particular order and of no importance, they are just things to being joy to my everyday life.

1. Expand my horizons
a. Listen to at least one different genre of music every day (I listen to a lot of jazz)
b. Read at least one biography this month (I never chose those to read)
c. Try one new recipe per week.
d. Try a new beverage (adult or otherwise) each week.
e. Learn some obscure or arcane fact each week



2. Be present around friends and family more. Really listen to what they are saying.

3. Learn a new(to me) song on the piano.

4. Have guests for dinner at least once.

5. Contact some long neglected friend. (Ouch, it hurts to write that.)

6. Meet someone new.

7. Make something for Christmas next year. (Can be a gift or can be a craft)

8. Volunteer somewhere.

9. Do at least one thing for someone expecting nothing in return. (anonymous would be best)

10. Make an effort at a more spiritual beginning to my day.

11. Get rid of 31 items (one for each day of the month).

12. Anytime, when  possible, choose happiness.

13. Watch a documentary.

14. Go to a movie, with or without popcorn!

15. Take the time to watch both a sunset and a moon rise.




There may be more and I might add to the list as I think of more, but this is enough for right now. Hope you fill your month with some joy also.

Show of Hands Please

Today is New Year's Day and we sill start the new year like we do every year, with a meal of ham, black eyed peas cooked with hog jowl, collard greens and cornbread. It is supposed to be a lucky meal and I suppose I would eat it even if I did not like all the components, but I am a traditionally raised southern gal and really do like all of it. On New Year's we call it our good luck meal, other days we just call it dinner.

How many of you have a traditional meal to usher in a new year and if you don't mind share what it is.

Also do any of you know the traditions origins? Mine is just because I grew up with it.

This is not a photo of our actual meal. I won't be cooking it until later this evening so this is just a random picture, but it looks much the same minus the corn bread. Oh and for  the sake of disclosure our iced tea will be sweet but our corn bread won't!