Good evening and welcome to the What's for Dinner Café, a place to share recipes and culinary traditions and discuss good food with cyber friends on Saturday evening.
This is not your usual chicken salad. You can serve this dish as a lunch, a dinner, or a side. It just depends on how much you serve. Use as much lettuce and chicken as appropriate. The dressing proportions below will satisfy four chicken breasts.
I found this recipe in a Frugal Gourmet cookbook. Jeff Smith, the author, claims that his inspiration for it comes from Harry's Bar in Venice, which is famous for inventing the Bellini cocktail.
Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, bone in, lightly poached, cut into strips
iceberg lettuce, shredded taco style
The Dressing:
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method:
1) Lightly poach the chicken – about 20 minutes. Don't add any salt because that will draw out the moisture from the bird.
2) Cool the meat. Remove and discard the skin and bone. Cut into strips.
4) Mix the dressing ingredients.
5) Make a mound of cold shredded lettuce on a plate. Top with chicken. Pour the dressing over all and serve.
This is super simple to prepare and it's a nice light, healthy dish that tastes great. Feel free to add your own special ingredient, or favorite garnish to make it your own dish.
And since we've been transported to Harry's Bar, let's have a Bellini cocktail too and imagine for a moment that we're sitting along the Grand Canal taking in the sights and sounds of Venice, perhaps reflecting on our visit to the Accademia.
Legend has it that the unusual pink color of the drink reminded Harry's Bar founder Giuseppe Cipriani of a toga worn by a saint in a painting by 15th century Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini. And, so it was named.
Bellini Cocktail
1 part chilled peach puree
3 parts chilled sparkling wine
Pour peach puree into a chilled champagne flute. Next, slowly add sparkling wine. Stir gently.
Note:
Traditionally a Bellini uses Prosecco for the wine and white peaches for the fruit.
I hope this gives you another way to look at both salad and chicken. And, you'll find that this cocktail is always a hit at a warm weather get-together. Just remember that using fresh peaches is mandatory.
Now it's time to discuss what you're having for dinner tonight. Go get a beverage, put your feet up and stick around a while. Feel free to ask about cooking and baking problems that might be haunting you. We'll do our best to steer you in the right direction.
Bon Appetit!