Our Book Club Salad Supper

Our salad supper

We all have our favorite recipes that we use again and again. Today's post is about several of those recipes that go together really well. I'm documenting this combination so that when I need a supper plan again, I'll have this list ready. (I've linked each recipe title to the previous blog post if you want to see better photos, or read more about the recipe.)

Surely I have mentioned our book club here before—a small group of friends gather most weeks to chat, to catch up on the news, to knit, to share a meal...and occasionally we talk about books. This book club has also done pool walking, hula hooped and hiked. We are a versatile group. 

We take turns providing supper. Sometimes it's an adventure—like making açaí bowls. Supper has also been as simple as frozen pizza. It doesn't really matter as long as we get to eat together. I'm so sorry I didn't make photos of last week's meal. It included the best key lime pie for dessert. All I know is that Joanne needs to make one again so that I can get a photo and share the recipe here. And we would get to eat it again! 

Last night it was my turn. As I was setting out the food, I overheard someone saying, "The hardest part about bringing the food is deciding what to make." That's usually the case with me, but this time I knew exactly what I wanted to bring. All of these recipes are favorites of mine. All are easy to make. And all are served cold, so I could pack it all in coolers and not worrying about transporting hot foods or heating things up there. Even though these are favorite recipes, I don't think I've ever served them all at once. But I did love how these dishes went together.

I prepared the bean salad the day before so that the flavors could blend. And I cooked the chicken the day before, too. I told Carol I felt like I was guilty of "recipe appropriation" because we all think of the bean salad as "her" recipe. So happy she shared it with all of us years ago.

CAROL'S MARINATED VEGGIES

1 (15.5 oz.) can light red kidney beans

1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans

1 (6.5 oz.) can mushroom stems & pieces

1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts (I cut into smaller pieces)

1 (2 oz. ) jar diced pimento

frozen white corn (amount about equal to the kidney beans)

frozen green peas (amount about equal to the kidney beans)

1 bag frozen shelled edamame beans, cooked according to package directions

1 rib celery, finely chopped, optional (I used this)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2  to 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Drain and rinse canned vegetables. Cook and cool edamame beans. In a large bowl, mix drained beans, pimento, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. 

Combine oil, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. When cool, pour over vegetables and refrigerate. Vegetables will keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Yes, you add the corn and peas frozen. No cooking. I did cut the slices of water chestnuts into smaller pieces. I'm sure if there is something that you don't like here, you can leave it out. 

The next morning (day of the supper) I mixed up the orzo salad first. The hardest thing about making this is chopping the baby spinach. I like to take the large stems off and that can be done while the water comes to a boil and the orzo cooks. Then it's just all stirred together. My usual recipe, posted here, is actually half a recipe. This time I doubled everything since I was feeding more than the two of us. That might have been overkill, but we will happily eat leftovers for the rest of the week. 

ORZO SPINACH SALAD

1/2  box (16-oz) orzo, cooked according to package directions
1/2 bag (5-oz) baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/3 cup chopped red onion (use the amount that you want)
4-oz. container crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I used a few grinds of fresh pepper)

While orzo is cooking, mix the dressing--oil, vinegar, basil, pepper. Set aside.
Drain orzo thoroughly when done. Stir in chopped onion, spinach and feta. Whisk dressing again. Pour dressing over the pasta and mix to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

After I put the orzo salad in the refrigerator, I chopped the chicken for the chicken salad. There are hundreds of ways to make chicken salad. And I've never had one I didn't like. I've made several versions, including a hot chicken salad. The yogurt version on the blog is delicious, too. But this time I just made the one I make most often. Because I make it regularly I can mix it up in a hurry. When I'm in a big hurry, I use a 12-oz can of chicken breast, well drained and broken up. It's surprisingly good. It makes great sandwiches. Make the celery, apple and cheese match the amount of chicken.

CHICKEN SALAD

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (that's 1 package at my store)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt (I just give it a good shake)
1 large rib celery, diced fine
1 medium red apple, diced (I leave the peel on for color)
1/2—3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
sprinkle of salt
a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
enough Duke's mayonnaise (or other good quality mayo) to make it spreadable

Cook chicken in water with seasoning salt added until tender, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool in broth, until cool enough to handle. Chop chicken medium-fine. In a large bowl, add in celery, apple and cheese. Add in enough mayonnaise to make it spreadable. I start with 3 or 4 big tablespoons full and stir and then add more, one spoonful at a time, until I get the right amount. (Because chicken breasts and celery and apples are different sizes, it's hard to be precise with a mayo measurement.) Stir until well blended.

Cheddar Beer Bread

Before lunch, all the salads were done with plenty of time to chill before I packed it in late afternoon for travel. After lunch I decided to stir up some cheese bread. If you say "but I can't bake bread" this recipe is for you. It stirs up like muffin batter. No yeast. No kneading. No rising time. And it's so so good. 

CHEDDAR BEER BREAD

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese, divided 

1/4 cup melted butter, divided

1 (12-oz) bottle or can of beer

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray an 8-1/2-inch loaf pan with PAM (or similar) cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the beer and stir well. Batter will be sticky. Pour batter into loaf pan.

Top with remaining shredded cheese and drizzle with the remaining butter.

Bake bread for 45-55 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

General rule is to check the bread at the shortest baking time and see if it needs more. All ovens are different.

I used my favorite set of nesting bowl to serve everything. These are melamine bowls with lids so they are perfect for packing. Because I was determined to use all five bowls, I put lettuce leaf cups for the chicken salad into one and found a box of gluten-free cheese crackers (Good Thins, Three Cheese flavor) to put in the tiny one. A well-known restaurateur told me years ago that food service is all about presentation. He was right. I really think that supper last night tasted better because of the pretty bowls. It's the first time I've used them all together. 

NOTICE:  If you subscribe to this blog by using the email widget on the sidebar (I have removed it,) that feedburner service is being retired in July 2021. It is not being replaced. There are other ways to sign up for an RSS feed. I do not know how to do that, but maybe you (or a grandchild) know how. If I can find someone to help me migrate the email list of over 1200 to a different service I'll do so. But at the moment, that is way above my skill set.