Hot Chicken Salad

 From The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library, Card #27 of Seasonal Favorites - Winter, Holiday Leftovers, Recipe: Hot Chicken Salad

A chicken in the kitchen brings good luck, I've heard, so when I was decorating my first apartment, I bought a milk glass candy dish shaped like a chicken on top of a nest. Of all the chicken decor I could have chosen, I chose that because my aunt had one when I was growing up. She had an oak hutch in the dining room showcasing her best dishes and collectibles, and the chicken dish roosted there. In addition to the chicken candy dish, she had one in the shape of a rabbit. Those were my favorite pieces in part because they sometimes had candy in them, and in part because I adored any cute animal whether it be a live cat (which she also had), a plush toy, a ceramic figurine, or a dish in the shape of a chicken.

I never thought about the origins of the lucky kitchen chicken until now, though. It seems that the lucky creature is more specifically the rooster, and I can't find a definitive origin story. It must be that all chicken related questions have no real answer, much like, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" 

There are, however, a couple of fascinating stories relating to particular countries, such as Italy. Evidently, one member of the famed de Medici family, Giuliano, had a target on his back. His would-be assassins were thwarted by roosters. Yes, that's right, roosters. In the dead of night, the assassins had to cross a yard of roosters to get to Giuliano, and I guess they weren't very stealthy assassins because they woke the roosters who then began to crow, thus alerting Giuliano de Medici and his guards. From there, it seems rooster shaped pitchers were commissioned to be given as gifts to the peasants as a symbol of good luck. The tradition has continued from there. 

This is where I discovered the story if you would like a few more details 
https://www.italianpottery.com/2015/08/29/history-of-roosters-in-italian-ceramics/

The rooster as a symbol of good luck, good health, and prosperity has associations with the Chinese Zodiac, France, and even Christianity. The internet is your oyster if you want to learn more.

But this article isn't about oysters, it's about chicken -- leftover chicken from your big holiday meals. 

Betty Crocker's Seasonal Favorites - Winter, is divided into two parts: the first part of winter being about January-March, and the second part of winter being roughly November - December. The January cards are the low numbered cards, 1, 2, 3 etc. and the November/December cards are in the high twenties. Only, I didn't know the seasonal section was divided as such. I thought all the winter recipes would be together. As luck would have it (must have been luck from the milk glass chicken dish), I discovered the late winter recipes after Christmas. I'd missed out on candy cane shaped cookies and wassail, but was still able to benefit from the leftovers card. 

Technically, the only leftover I used was my mother's cranberry chutney, but this recipe is equally suited for leftovers or fresh ingredients.

I subbed out the chicken for extra firm tofu tossed in soy and hoisin sauces. I warmed the tofu through on the stovetop just to seal in those flavors a little more. Anything could be used as the cooking sauce, though. For a spicy kick, use a hot sauce like Frank's or Sriracha.  For a sweet flavor profile, a maple glaze could be used. Whatever the choice, the purpose is to give the tofu flavor. Tofu is a good source of protein, and quite versatile. It can take on the flavors of whatever marinade or sauce it is prepared with. On its own, though, it's a bit bland. In this recipe, the tofu might have been fine even without a sauce since the mixture turned out to be rather flavorful. When I make it again, I'm going to try a hot sauce to simulate a buffalo chicken/tofu. While I do think the tofu would be fine without a cooking sauce, the sauce added a depth of flavor, as they say in the cooking shows. Speaking of spicy, I for the potato chip crumble, I used mango habanero potato chips instead of plain. I hadn't planned on doing this, but when I saw the chips at the store, I thought I'd give it a go. The chips on their own were spicy hot, and I won't buy them again just to snack on, but as a crumble, it added a little oomph which I enjoyed. The recipe is fairly easy to make which is a bonus at any time, but especially after the holidays when the cooking never ends. 

The photo on the recipe card shows the other recipe, Turkey Divan, and in the background there are what appear to be canned pears topped with cranberry sauce. As I mentioned, I did have left over cranberry chutney, so I bought a fresh Asian pear, hollowed out the core with a cookie scoop and used that as the base for the chutney from my mother. I'd give you her recipe, but I don't know it. It wouldn't be as good anyway. Mom's recipes can never be exactly reproduced. Just ask my cousin who got my mom's Hawaiian ham recipe. Not the same. However you get your cranberry, whether homemade or Ocean Spray, this side dish is a tasty, easy way to use those leftovers. The freshness and crunch of the Asian pear were nice contrasts to the creamy, rich, hot chicken/tofu salad. The sweet-tart and smoothness of the cranberry were a good match for the crisp pear. I would recommend fresh fruit over canned in this case. Anything with some crispness would be ideal -- an Asian pear, a Bosc pear, or even a Granny Smith apple.

I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you the very best part!

This recipe calls for croutons. I had some white bread which I had purchased for another recipe, and I thought I would use the rest of it to make croutons from scratch. In keeping true to Betty, I went to her website for the recipe. You can find that here:

https://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/how-to-make-croutons

I'd never made croutons from scratch before, but I will do it again. And again. And again. One of the reviews says the hardest part is not eating them all right off of the baking sheet, and never have I seen a truer review of something in all my days. 

I didn't follow this recipe exactly, but used it as a base to guide me. I tossed the bread cubes in a combo of butter and avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and the Pampered Chef Rosemary Herb Blend. You could use whatever herbs you like. I love rosemary. I baked as per instructions. I started with a soft white bread (even though Betty suggests a firm white bread or whole grain, this is what I had on hand) and the results were so good. The croutons were not too dense, and they had a soft crunch rather than a hard crunch. Store bought croutons have a hard crunch. These homemade croutons give you the satisfaction of a crunch, but with an almost melt in your mouth finish. Delightful. 

Here is a picture of my results, complete with chicken candy dish as prop. Again, I'm working on both improving these and remembering to get photos of the filling, too.

Croutons by Betty via Suz's alterations: 5 red spoons!

Hot Chicken/Tofu Salad: 5 red spoons!

Chocolate Pots de Crème

From The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library, Card 13 of International Favorites: Rich Chocolate Desserts

I chose this card while sitting in bed, tired and reading by a poor light source. I was choosing based on the picture alone, not the recipe on the back. I thought I was choosing a hot chocolate drink. I thought that would be a delicious and comforting winter beverage. Truth told, I thought it would be an easy undertaking. When I did look at the recipe more carefully, I decided to go along with it, even though it would be none of those things.

 
This is another recipe card with multiple recipes on the back -- pots de crème and chocolate crème. I chose pots de crème for two reasons:

1. I don't want to buy brandy for one recipe and then have a whole bottle sitting around. I don't drink many Brandy Alexanders.

2. I had made pots de crème before with sweet success using another recipe. Like the first successful soufflé, I had not made the pots de crème since.

I dug out the ramekins, gave them a wash, and began. I've picked up bits of culinary knowledge here and there over the years, mostly from watching cooking shows and rarely from personal experience. However, in addition to the ramekins, I also dug out (of my brain, this time, not the pantry) my experience making chocolate candies in ninth grade home-ec class. I remembered something about using a double-boiler to melt the chocolate more evenly and reduce the chance of scorching. As it happened, I had a double-boiler, brand new with tags on, sitting around. This was another good deal my mother found, presumably at Meijer. And lo! It worked! (For anyone keeping track, I did remove the tags and wash the pots, first.) Smooth and creamy melted chocolate with no scorching. I also remembered (this time from cooking shows) to temper the yolks very slowly. The recipe instructs to gradually beat the chocolate into the egg yolks, but I remembered to start with just a couple tablespoons or so, whisk it up, add a couple more, and so forth. And lo! No scrambled eggs! Victory was almost mine. Almost.

I had a vague recollection (as I often do) that when I made them before, I used a bains-marie and put them in the oven. Maybe Betty's method was a faster, easier way. I'm totes fine with that! Next, Betty says to pour into demitasse cups. However, the mixture was very thick and there would be no pouring. Dolloping, sure. Scraping messily while my hand cramped up holding the glass bowl over the ramekin, definitely. But there would be no pouring. In regards to those demitasse cups: if you want the 6-8 servings the recipe says it yields, you must need to use espresso sized cups, not small ramekins. I was only able to fill four ramekins to the half-way mark. After a few hand stretches to loosen the cramp, I moved the little pots of chocolate into the fridge, as per instructions. 

While we wait for them to cool, I'll tell you some other things I remember about home-ec class. I was in ninth grade, and while I had no real plans to pursue the domestic arts as a form of self-expression, I didn't want to take Spanish or shop or art. I might have liked art, but I didn't like that teacher. I opted not to go with Spanish because my dream was to learn French and that wasn't available until sophomore year. They called shop something else, I can't remember what, but it was basically shop, so whatever. I had taken a quarter long version of it in seventh or eighth grade, and still have the wooden key holder I carved. While I did like making it, particularly the sanding element, I didn't see myself liking it so much for an entire year. 

Wooden key holder, shaped like a key, made in "shop" class in 1988. Look how finely sanded!

So home-ec it was! I had a natural talent for making eggs, it turned out. This was a bit weird, as I really, really didn't like to eat eggs back then. In fact, I'm still only so-so about them. I was also good a baking cakes, as I recall. And the candy making! That was pure joy. I liked it so much I asked my mother if we could get candy molds and make some candy at home, too. What I don't remember is why I enjoyed it so much. Was it the novelty of having a chocolate lollipop in the shape of a Christmas tree? Was it because what I made was so beautiful, wrapped in colored cellophane and tied with a red ribbon? Was it the mere act of engaging in something creative that was so satisfying? I don't know. And if even now, some thirty years later, I remember how happy I was making those, why did I never make them again after that?

That loose-ended existential crisis gets us up to speed, so now for the tasting of the pots de crème.  More fudge-like in consistency than custard. A bit bitter. The recipe called for cooking chocolate and I failed to see where it said sweet cooking chocolate. In fact, I failed in that regard so poorly, it is only as I was writing this post and referring to the recipe that I finally saw it.

Lessons for Suz to Learn: don't just look at the picture, read the recipe, read the recipe again very slowly. That accounts for the bitterness. The consistency is another matter.

I looked up the recipe I made before, Claire Robinson's Chocolate Pots de Crème with Cherry Whip. You can find it here:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/chocolate-pots-de-creme-with-cherry-whip-recipe-1948610

Immediately, I see Claire has called for more cream (and it will be pourable!) and there will be a bains-marie and oven time, as I thought. Nothing to do but go ahead and make Claire's recipe, too. Texturally, night and day. Of course, sweeter, too, but that was my own fault, not Betty's. Claire's was more pudding like, custard-y, if you will. Smoother and creamier and all around better.  More work, but most of it was inactive time, so not too problematic. Sorry, Betty, but this round goes to Claire. 

Shown here is the Claire Robinson recipe, though the Betty Crocker recipe actually looked the same from the top. Either way, it isn't much to photograph, though in retrospect, I could have added some little flowers for color or even put it on a more colorful background. Instead, here you find the chocolate pot de crème atop a copy of The Little Prince, French edition. Yes, I made sure the dish was super clean, and no, I don't normally put food on my books. I was quite desperate to get some kind of picture, my previous attempts having been even worse!

Betty Crocker's recipe: 2 Red Spoons

Claire Robinson's recipe: 4 Red Spoons

Blushing Pink Soda

The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library is divided into several sections. Seasonal Favorites, American Classics, Entertaining on a Shoestring, International Favorites and so many more. One such category is called Recipes Children Can Make, and I had initially thought to start with that section. If it was a recipe meant for a child to make, surely I could have success, too. I had, after all, taken a home-ec class, albeit some thirty years ago. I had, after all, cooked and prepared foods to some extent. I had, after all, watched a lot of cooking shows. That's knowledge and experience gained, friends.

Card number one isn't a recipe, but rather some useful general kitchen tips about measuring, safety, and good manners in the kitchen. It provides excellent tips such as wear an apron, wash your hands, and read the recipe all the way through (good call, lesson learned the hard way here). It also says to ask you mother when you can try these recipes and to be sure your mother is in the kitchen when you cook. We can leave this gender stereotype in the past, but generally speaking, having an adult around is probably a pretty good idea.

When I first lived on my own and had culinary questions, I'd call my own mother or my aunt or my cousin asking random things like, "How exactly do you make mashed potatoes?" or "Do you use milk or water in tomato soup and which is best?" or "Can you please just make me some cookies?" They were all very kind and obliging. I had a few cookbooks, sure, but no computer or internet access at home. One of my cookbooks contained recipes all based on pre-packaged ramen noodles, one was a tome of vegetarian recipes often requiring kitchen tools I didn't have such as an expensive food processor (I didn't even have a cheap blender), and another vegetarian one with ingredient lists a mile long with specialty items I couldn't find in the local grocery store.

So, yes, whether a mother, father, aunt, grandpa, your bestie, or Tyrion Lannister, having someone around who knows things is very helpful.

I learned a few things through trial and error, though. For example, I learned a few things about choosing cookbooks:
1. Look for ones (as a single lady) with recipes not geared for a family of six.
2. Look at the ingredients for several different recipes from several sections. Could I get those at the grocery store I frequented or would I have to go across town to the specialty market every time I wanted to make something from the book?
3. Are there twelve million ingredients in each recipe? And of those twelve million, how many would I use for other things going forward? I'm all for trying new things and buying some items outside my wheelhouse, but I was collecting a lot of things I had no idea how to use in anything else. It was a lot of money and material wasted.

(PS one of the first cookbooks I had multiple successes with was
Claire Robinson's Five Ingredient Fix: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8266754-5-ingredient-fix
You can find this online or at your local bookstore. I got mine at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Rookwood. https://www.josephbeth.com/
I measure success not only in how a finished product tastes, but also in if the mental and physical energy required was proportionate to those results. With Claire's recipes, I didn't ever feel exhausted or confused and any amount of work put in was absolutely worth it in the end. Usually, these recipes are approachable with limited, generally accessible ingredients and clear instructions. Would recommend.)

I learned a few other things, too.

I learned that a sharp knife is critical to easy preparation.

I learned about keeping a few pantry staples on hand.

I learned that opening a window is useful for letting the smoke out of the apartment.

I learned that my friend Amy is a really good cook. Like, she doesn't even need recipes. She has a genuine culinary gift. She can imagine something and bring it to fruition. And it's tasty. Back when we lived closer and worked together, she was so nice to give me food. She once made me a breakfast sandwich using veggie sausage, and for the life of me, I had never even considered that I could make a breakfast sandwich until she gave me that one. Thanks, Amy! I still make these sometimes!

I also learned that I mostly liked to eat out.

And so I find myself here, in my forties, debating on if I can make recipes geared for children to prepare.
Card number 2: Chicken drumsticks, oven fried. What kind of kid makes chicken drumsticks oven fried!
Card number 3: Cranberry pancake supper. Pancakes, in my experience, also not easy. Also, not a big fan of pancakes.
Card number 4: Cube Steak Haystacks. Steak! I once tried to boil some beef for my ailing dog and failed. Meat is hard to cut, and apparently thick pieces will cook on the outside pretty quickly and remain raw on the inside. Boiled beef will stink up the house for days, too, apparently. Friends, I really love my dog.

I did not start with Recipes for Children. If you've been following from the beginning, you may recall I started with a salad. I needed to have some success right out of the gate to bolster my self-esteem and motivation.

Finally, I have returned to Recipes for Children with Card #27, Sparkling Sodas. It had three recipes listed and I chose the Blushing Pink Soda.

To kid me, this would be absolutely magical. Strawberry soda with fresh strawberries and pineapple and ice cream and more soda and more ice cream. Sign little Suz up right now!
Adult Suz says this was a fun little treat tasting of nostalgia in the form of fruit flavored soda, which actually tastes nothing like the fruit it claims to represent but is somehow still delightful.
From a visual perspective, I liked the different textural elements which could be seen through the glass goblet. It's fun to drink out of goblets on any occasion, and I highly recommend it.
I followed the recipe as shown, but where it says crushed pineapple and crushed strawberries, I really didn't know what that meant so I wazzed them up in my NutriNinja blender. I think my biggest issue with this wasn't a taste issue, but rather a textural issue. You know how when you get a strawberry milkshake, there are chunks of semi-frozen strawberry jamming up the straw? And then the bits that go through interfere with the smooth creaminess you have become accustomed to? It's like that. The strawberries were fresh, but I took a fair amount of time taking the picture, so I think they froze up a little being on the ice cream. Maybe a little better if I had consumed it right away.

Little Suz would give this 5 Red Spoons because Little Suz really liked junk food and sweets a whole lot.
Adult Suz says 3 Red Spoons for her personal taste, but 4 Red Spoons overall. It was fun and tasty, and I can see where others, especially children, might really enjoy it. Little Suz is evidently a lot more generous with the Red Spoons!

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

Welcome to 2021!

May this year be filled with happiness, good health, and prosperity for all of us.

The New Year often signals a time to reflect on lessons learned in the old year and focus on hopes for the new. I have a few goals for this year. Pertaining to this blog, I have two:
1. Continue learning how to cook by experimenting with recipes from the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library
2. Improve my food photography.

I worked predominantly as a photographer for almost fifteen years, and then part-time for another five. I still do portrait photography but have cut back significantly on event photography and commercial work. Food photography was never my area of expertise, but I did pick up a few tricks and tips tangentially. The food in photography is rarely cooked as it would be if you were to eat it, and there is good reason for that. For example, in this stew, Betty Crocker shows vibrant orange carrots and green peppers. I can tell by looking at those peppers that they are only slightly cooked and have likely been hand-placed in the bowl. If they were cooked to recipe instructions, they would not have that vibrant color or maintain that shape.

In commercial food photography, the goal is to present the food as it "might" look at its best. It doesn't need to be made according to recipe. It doesn't need to be edible. It doesn't even need to be made of the same ingredients. As long as the shot represents the best version of what the consumer might get, anything goes. For example, a fast-food burger can be staged with a garden-perfect red tomato, dewy lettuce, crisp bacon, and a fluffy bun. The burger you get will contain those ingredients, but the tomato might be pale pink, the lettuce wilted from the heat of the burger, and the bacon, a limp, fatty strip. However, all the components will be there. That beautiful scoop of ice cream might be made of vegetable shortening, but it looks like the ice cream you will eat and holds up longer under photo lights. Fries are never fully cooked and have likely been sprayed with hairspray for a nice sheen. All those hearty vegetables in the soup have risen to the top because there are marbles in the bottom of the bowl.

But I am making these Betty Crocker recipes to eat and I don't want to waste food just so I can get a better picture for my blog. I do want the food to look good, though, so I hope that learning more about lighting and staging for food will help compensate.

Meanwhile, here is my less than stellar looking "beef" stew. I don't have a soup tureen. I will sometimes go up to St. Vincent to see what dishware I can find, but a soup tureen takes up a lot of space for something I may or may not ever use again. So here are my mismatched dishes and utensils. That's not even a ladle. It's just a long-handled spoon.

I subbed button and shiitake mushrooms for the beef, but I did prepare the mushrooms in the same way as the recipe, coating them with flour, salt and pepper and browning them before adding the other ingredients. I did this only because I thought the flour might be in part a thickening agent for the stew. In addition to this flour coating, I added garlic for flavor. I once heard Jamie Oliver say that mushrooms and garlic were best friends and have remembered that tidbit for years. If I were to make this again, I would skip the flour coating here and simply sauté the mushrooms in avocado oil, garlic, salt and pepper and then add a little butter to finish. The next step calls for simmering the meat for two hours. Naturally, mushrooms don't need to be simmered in the same way meat does, so being a vegetarian can save you some time, it turns out. I did add the slurry at the end because at the last minute I decided I wanted a thick stew to pour over rice. I used three tablespoons and were I to make it again, I would use two. I think even without the flour from the coating of the mushrooms, two would be plenty. It's easier to add more than to take away. I would also reduce the tablespoon of salt (the additional salt the recipe calls for, not the salt for sautéing the mushrooms) and instead add just a teaspoon of salt and other herbs such as rosemary.

I was disappointed in the results in terms of how it looked, but it tasted fine. It wasn't anything special, but it was fine. I've learned an important lesson over the past few recipes, though. Halving a recipe when testing it for the first time might be the way to go. There was way too much stew here, even after I gave some away.

Rating: 3 Red Spoons: A basic stew, good for cold winter days.