My Chicken Salad (or my attempt at Stanley J's Chicken Salad)

There's a little place in KY that I love called Stanley J's. It is a family owned deli that sells yummy sandwiches on Great Harvest bread, desserts, soups, dips, potato salads and the best, best chicken salad. It is simple, tasty, and no weird fruits or nuts.

The problem is, "There WAS a little place in KY that I LOVED...they USED TO MAKE the best, best chicken salad..."

Ahhhhh...so sad! Stanley J's closed in the fall and all they left me with were delightful memories...a vague list of ingredients from the container and my own observations of the chicken salad's physical appearance.

             "Very finely shredded chicken (Maybe food processed?) chopped fresh
              parsley, fine chopped celery, chopped green onions"

So! I set about recreating this delicious dish! Here it goes! (I'm not going to share it today, but whenever I make chicken salad I also make chicken noodle soup. It's crazy to waste that delicious broth and a lot of the ingredients overlap.)

Ingredients
2-3 lbs of chicken (bone in breasts or whole chicken, with or without skin, if you buy a
                                  large value pack, just cook all the chicken  together and use it for
                                  other recipes or soup)
2 stalks of celery (with leaves, etc..)
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped (with skin,etc...)
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 T dried basil
1 T whole black peppercorns
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried dill
2 bay leaves
1 T dried tarragon
1 tsp sugar

1/2 c of homemade stock (strained)
good quality mayo (start with 3/4 c then more if needed)
1/4 c lemon juice
3 green onions, chopped
1 stalk of celery diced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1T of fine chopped fresh parsley (just use 1/2 tsp of dried unless you already have fresh around for another recipe)
salt and pepper to taste


1) Cook the chicken. We are going to take this opportunity to add tons of flavor and make a whole big batch of chicken stock that you can use right away for soup or freeze for another time. In a large stock pot, bring about 5 quarts of water to a boil with  the chicken and the first 11 ingredients on the list above. Throw in all the carrot peels, onion skin celery leaves, etc... Cover and simmer for about 2 hours. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

2) Transfer the chicken to a cutting board (strain all that lovely stock and keep it for later, reserving about 1/2-3/4 c for use now), pull the meat off the bones and chop it finely. You should have about 4 cups.

3) Add the stock, mayo, lemon juice and 3-4 T of the diced celery to the chicken. Pulse in a food processor or use an immersion blender like I did (although this was a little challenging) until you get the consistency of a spread.  Add more mayo and/or stock by the Tablespoon if needed.

4) Add the rest of the diced celery, the chopped green onions, parsley, onion and garlic powder and stir to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. (I sometimes add another dash of lemon juice and even a tiny sprinkle of sugar at the end.)

It looks really simple but it packs a huge punch of flavor! Now all I need are thin slices of a summer ripe tomato from my garden and a couple pieces of Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat to make it absolutely perfect.

Yummy, yum!!

The weekend!

Oh my! We had a wonderful weekend! My in-laws came to visit and we always have fun.

W and I spent some time poring over the tour guide to find some new restaurants and interesting things to do (besides the general fun and hanging out that we always do).

Saturday morning was begun with a pot or three of coffee at home (Starbucks Costa Rica Tarrazu!! finally carried at Winn Dixie). Then we hit the road and drove across town to Faubourg Marigny/ Bywater area to a little diner called Elizabeth's Cafe, a locally owned place in an old house.

I have only two words for you: Praline Bacon.

I didn't take a picture, but it was amazing! Crispy, salty bacon drowned in ground pecans and brown sugar syrup. In the words of Uncle Jessie, "Have Mercy!!"

I ordered the "Elizabeth" which was two perfectly toasted slices of french bread topped with bacon, a beautiful poached egg and some incredible hollandaise sauce with a side of cheese grits. I also need to mention the Irish Coffee with Bailey's...my new fave brunch beverage! Ashley, Brittany and Sarah, we are going there when you visit!

We had a relaxing afternoon, several naps, then took a nice walk around Audubon Park  with P on his tricycle. After that we went for an early dinner to Jacques-Imo's Cafe. I know I sound like a broken record, but it was absolutely to die for. When you walk in the front door you're in a bar--the entire ceiling is crowded with framed paintings, it looks so cool! Then the hostess gets your info and leads you THROUGH THE KITCHEN. Literally, you walk through the kitchen where they're cooking up the food you're about to eat, into the dining room. Lots of small tables, close together, dim atmostphere, the walls are painted with murals. The one in our room was a forest, and the tree limbs continued up the wall and onto the ceiling. I ordered Salmon with black beans and ginger cream sauce. It sounds like an odd combo, but I promise it was the best thing I have eaten since I've lived in New Orleans. I can't wait to go back! We had P with us and it was the perfect noise level and relaxed atmosphere so that he didn't bother anyone else. I can't wait to go again!

This little guy can't talk yet but he can still run the show. He just points his little finger and we all run to see what he's pointing at. Here it was a lake and lots of interesting ducks.

It was a wonderful weekend with family, we are so fortunate!

Miscellaneous Monday

(Yes, I know this is posted on a Tuesday, but it should have been Monday)

1) Don't read Paris to Die For by Maxine Kenneth. I was completely sucked in by the intriguing description and interesting cover (I was shopping for real, paper books at Barnes and Noble, by the way). It was one of those books where you're sitting there thinking, "How in the heck did this get published?" The dialogue was terrible, the plot went nowhere, just bad, bad, bad.

2) Do read The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison. I've read a few of her books and there's something about them that I just really like. They do have a bit of fantasy woven throughout, but it's not over the top and I'm usually really hooked by the plots and characters. I started this at about 7:00 on Sunday night and didn't stop until I was finished at almost 1 am.

3) I'm such a Gilmore Girls fan! I just want to watch them all the time and memorize the lines and be friends with Lorelai and Rory and live in Stars Hollow...Anyway, I saw that a new show is coming out called Jane by Design on ABC family by the same executive producer as the Gilmore Girls, I don't have hopes that it will measure up, but...maybe the witty dialogue and endearing characters will carry over? A girl can dream.

4)  Moving to NOLA has been really great, but one thing that is sadly lacking is Panera. The closest one is an hour away and it hasn't been built yet. :( I really miss the bagels and the coffee and it was such a nice place for a quick, casual breakfast. Well, I was a little homesick Saturday morning (when W is home on Saturdays, we would often go to Panera for breakfast) and crying and moping around the house, so we decided to get in the car and find a good breakfast place. Driving...driving...no luck, close, just beignets, yuck, fast food, $$$$$$, when suddenly we see a little place called La Madeleine. W makes a quick left turn and we are rejoicing to see "Coffee, Pastries, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner" when we see the blue lights behind us. We've made an illegal left turn. Awesome! Thankfully, W has a good record, we still have our KY license plates and the police office let us off with a "Watch what you're doing, sir." This morning could only go up from here, so we walk into La Madeleine and it's soooo cute! Country french decor, yummy looking pastries and muffins, fresh fruit, omelettes and more! It's casual too, you can either order at a counter or order from a menu and sit down. The coffee was just ok, the NO'ians tend to put chicory in their coffee (more on that later). It could be our new Panera, but with crepes!


 5) I know I already mentioned breakfast, but here is another little place we found that we looove. It's actually not just breakfast, they have a great lunch menu too and lots of creole and cajun options. It's the Broken Egg Cafe, about 30 minutes away in Mandeville, so it's kind of a special occasion place.  Can't wait to go there with girl friends when they come to visit :)

My friend Hannah and her incredible looking (and low fat/sugar free) stuffed french toast.

Baby P was mad here because the little half 'n' half cannister he'd been
chewing on, popped open in his face. It was very, very funny.

Super cute inside, it's an old house just a little ways up the street from Lake Pontchartrain.

My eggs benedict!!

Some things I love about fall and one thing I hate...

1. This soft, blousy plaid shirt I found at Old Navy for $8.00! It's double lined so there's blue gingham inside when you roll up the sleeves. What says fall more than plaid?!

2. Corduroy Skirts: I found one in this style at Old Navy in plum corduroy for $5.00! Perfect with my brown leather boots! I love plum and pockets!

3. Fall Nail Polish: Deep, rich colors that you can't pull off in the warm weather. This is called Miami Beet, a great color and a vegetable pun. Ha!

4. I love Thanksgiving and this cute, funny long-sleeved onesie I got for Baby P today! The turkey is felt and corduroy.

 5. Stew. Like this one that I'll share with you tomorrow! Bistro Beef Stew. Readers: (i.e. Ashley, Sarah, Brittany, Caris ) It will knock your socks off!

6. Fall foliage, of course, and that fall smell of wet leaves, crushed acorns on the ground and chilly air.

7. Fried Green Tomato BLT's at Stella's with friends. 'Tis the season for green tomatoes and they were amazing breaded and fried with delish bacon, mayo and lettuce.  

8. Halloween: I love Halloween candy. I've had a bowl on my coffee table for two weeks in preparation for trick or treaters. Seasonal candy (like Christmas, Easter, Halloween) is always better tasting than normal. I love costumes on little children. Are you looking forward to Baby P's costume unveiling?!

9. Fall tablescapes: Cornucopia, mini mums, silver pheasant (a wedding gift), an owl candle (Thanks, Sally), apples, pomegranates, magnolia leaves and cones, and last year's runner from Pier 1 found on clearance.

 

 10. Outside fall decorations like this wreath. I love rootling around the basement for it and sticking it on the door.

11. My flower chair. In the summer that bucket is full of colorful impatiens, last year I put out a potted mum, this year I didn't want to deal with watering so I rolled up my fall garland from Michaels and stuck it in. It's fake, obviously so no maintenance but I love the colors.

12. My fake pumpkin. It's made out of some real things like twigs and pine cones, but has fake acorns and leaves. I've also used this on the dining room table before, it's very cute.

NOW FOR THE THING THAT I HATE. I HATE THE PSYCHO, DESTRUCTIVE SQUIRRELS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. HERE ARE THE CHARGES :

1) Two years ago they ate my carved pumpkins. They ate the big, chunky teeth right out of their goofy pumpkin faces, but did stop there.

2) Last fall they destroyed the beautiful Indian corn I put out...dragged it all over the porch, nibbled off all the kernels, made a huge mess...

3) This summer I got a package in the mail from one of W's co-workers. It was on the porch for a couple of hours. I went outside and the entire corner of the box was gone, a bag of chocolate chip cookies was open and mostly eaten and a baby outfit was pulled halfway out of the chewed hole. WHAT kind of squirrel chews through a cardboard box and pulls things out to reach its goal?! They were good cookies (there was another untouched bag, I don't eat after squirrels).

4) Remember those beautiful pumpkins we carved in September? Within a day the designs were completely gone and the pumpkins collapsed in a pulpy mess (they were thrown in the trash before I could photograph, sorry). Sick!

5) So, after the pumpkins were destroyed, I thought I'd be smart and stick with fake decor. Good idea, right?! Freaking squirrels!! Take a closer look.

What kind of nutso squirrel (haha, nutso) eats styrofoam berries? They don't even look like something you'd find in nature! There are berries all over the floor today and they haven't stopped trying to eat them.  

My poor, cute little pumpkin! Dang squirrels ate the fake acorns on top. What? That's all I can say. What, what, what?!

Ok, I'll be heading out now to pick up a pellet rifle. Squirrels are going down.

WEG

             So, this weekend, I went to watch the cross country event at the World Equestrian Games with my Mom and some friends. The weather was gorgeous, really chilly in the morning but sunny and 70's with a cool breeze in the afternoon. I love the fall! There are about 25 jumps and they were all spread out across the Horse Park. We didn't see all of them, but it was neat to be in an area where there were 2 or 3 in a row. Like this:

            I always forget how amazing and beautiful and huge horses are, even though we had them and rode all growing up. Made me miss it! Although not the mucking stalls or breaking ice on water buckets on frigid winter mornings...

and he's gone...

              You can't even imagine how impressive these horses are, and they have to be really tall and in amazing shape because the course is soo long and challenging. Some of the jumps were like 4-5 feet wide. Like this one...

Craziness... this one was taken by a friend that came with us.

 Here's the same jump and horse taken by me, can you even imagine?

What if he didn't have enough momentum?!?

                 The jumps were all named after Kentucky places or things you might find on a farm or in nature. The long series of pics at the top is Fort Boonesborough, the one above is Hayfeeders and the one below....I don't know the name, but I'd definately expect to find it in nature.

I think that might have been the squirrel that destroyed our beautiful pumpkins. (more on that later!)

                  It was really interesting to see all the horse people from different countries and the wide array of clothing. There were people in athletic gear (like running tops, shoes and stretch pants--probably Americans). There were people like us in jeans and medium dressy shirts and comfy shoes for walking. There were serious horse people in riding clothes, vests, boots, etc... and then there were the dressed up people--jeans with blazers (probably foreign or own a big horsefarm). It wasn 't what I expected after going to Keeneland and seeing the Derby and all that, but very fun! There was a really neat shopping area with fancy horse stuff, Kentucky crafts, food (not great) and other things. I'm totally amazed at what the organizers had to do to get ready for an event with this many spectators and competitors (horses, horse accomodations, riders, handlers, owners, trainers...). I know some people who've been planning for the past 3 or 4 years for this, they're having a party and planning a long vacation after this week!

           We had a good time watching the events and visiting with our friends. Overall a really different and fun way to enjoy the lovely fall weather!