Salad Recipes

Although the summer is over there are many supper salads that we can enjoy all year around. Chicken is the most versatile of any compound mixes. You can do so much with some poached chicken pieces. Many people will not poach a whole chicken anymore but will rather buy some "easy pieces" and use these for salads. In most restaurants when you ask for a cold meat or chicken salad you get the pieces of meat with a blow of mayonnaise or Marie-rose sauce and dry salad. Maybe this has to do with the customer wanting just a dry salad with no dressing or the chef being afraid to risk a compound salad being returned because the customer does not like one or more of the ingredients in the salad. Having lived in Florida for a while I really became accustomed to fabulous salads. Salads came in all types, and mixtures. I remember my Mother-in-law visiting and getting a salad served up in a bread bowl, she thought that this was hilarious serving the salad in a bread bowl the size of a fruit bowl here. The idea is to use good ingredients that complement one and other and be adventurous. Dare to be different. Wraps and different salads and breads are all the rage just now. Here are a few ideas for chicken salads

Chicken salad Valencia

A salad with valencia oranges .

Zest and juice an orange add this to some mayonnaise.
You can use low fat mayonnaise if you prefer.
Add some diced cooked chicken and some orange segments.
Dress on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce serve with tomato segments and some hard boiled egg.

Chicken salad Carolina .

Again using some diced cooked chicken add some seeded and halved black grapes.
Some diced celery and some mayonnaise, season and mix well.
Dress as above.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Crunchy Chicken slaw salad.

Using some cole-slaw, orange juice, a little fresh basil, peanuts, sunflower seeds.
Diced cooked chicken , cottage cheese and some low fat mayonnaise, a small amount of cooked pasta curls.
Mix all ingredients together well and season with salt and white pepper, dress on a bed of salad leaves.

Chicken salad princess:

Again with diced cooked chicken a little fresh tarragon chopped, blue cheese, mayonnaise, bacon bits and spinach leaves{ raw baby leaves washed well} and some hearts of palm or chopped water chestnuts, mix all ingredients together and season.
Dress on a plate with tomato wedges and hard boiled egg.

The most popular salad of all was a fresh fruit plate with either cottage cheese or sorbet. Many forms of the famous caeser Salad were on offer usually topped with a grilled fish or perhaps Cajun or Jamaican jerk chicken.

Medleys of Salads were also popular where you get to choose perhaps three types of compound salad on a plate of dressed leaves, salads such as our seafood salad mixes or various tuna, prawn, shrimp or crab salads were combined to offer a tasty meal. Hopefully this will whet some taste buds and get you to try some simple salads.

Enjoy Joe