"The" Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad and When In Rome

We are now at the end of April and someone please tell me how 4 months of this year have already gone by.  Summer is upon us (or trying to in Colorado that is).  Our weekend Farmer's Market has opened up and all the farms around us are blossoming with beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables.

On those weekends when we are snowed in, a good movie is always in order.  "When In Rome", has to be in my top ten list...I know, I have about 100 movies in "my top 10". 

When In Rome is positively hilarious.  Quick witted silliness that will have you laughing until you cry.  In the beginning of the movie there is a classic line from Kristin Bell..."when you broke up with me in the Applebee's".  Ever since we first saw this movie it stuck..."the" Applebee's.  You have to see the movie to appreciate the line.

At any rate, it reminded me how much I love "the Applebee's" Oriental Chicken Salad.  Our Applebee's closed here, but thanks to the magic of internet surfing, Epicurious did a beautiful take on recreating the copycat recipe. 

I love, love this salad, especially when I get to hit the farmer's markets and load it up with all fresh ingredients!  My daughter not only had a second helping for dinner one night, she made it again for her lunch the next day.

"The" Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Oriental Dressing:

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbl dijon mustard

Salad:

3 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 cup red cabbage

1 cup Napa cabbage

1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded

1 green onion

1 Tbl sliced almons

1/3 cup "Fresh Gourmet" wonton strips

Chicken:

Tyson Frozen Southern Breast Tenderloins, baked to package directions and diced

(you could make your own chicken from scratch, if you have the time and desire)

Blend together all the ingredients for dressing in a small bowl with an electric mixer.  Put dressing in refrigerator to chill while you prepare the salad.

In a very large bowl, prepare salad by tossing the chopped romaine with the chopped red cabbage, Napa cabbage, carrots, and diced cooked, green onions, and cooled chicken.  Toast almonds in a small skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light brown.  Sprinkle toasted almonds over the salad, and toss with prepared dressing.  Plate the salad and top with wonton strips.

Enjoy!

One Year Ago: Bundt Pan Chicken

Two Years Ago: Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

Three Years Ago: Mayan Chocolate Cookies

Four Years Ago: Pizzette and Soup

National Picnic Day with Loaded Baked Potato Salad

It's National Picnic Day...where do you like to picnic?

I have a "National Day" Calendar that has the most fun and unique, actual "National" days on them and I have had more fun with these themed days.

Since I have not been planning volleyball banquets or high school graduation parties this year, I have had some extra time on my hands.  This past year, I have been helping out some friends with their start-up company and photographing for them.  Their product is called The GaterTop.  One of the coolest, versatile outdoor tables!  You can check them out at www.thegatertop.com.

What is more outdoor than a picnic, so for National Picnic Day, I staged a picnic on their table to photograph for their website and social media.

Since I needed a potato salad for the shot, I thought it would be a perfect time to try out this new recipe...it was a win-win for the photo and dinner for us that night!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad Recipe

Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine

5 pounds small unpeeled red potatoes, cubed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

8 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 sweet onion, chopped

3 dill pickles, chopped

1-1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

2 to 3 tsp prepared mustard

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper; bake uncovered in a greased 9  x 11 baking pan until tender, 40-45 minutes.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Combine potatoes with next five ingredients.  In another bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard; pour over potato mixture, tossing to coat.  Refrigerate until serving.  

One Year Ago: Bundt Pan Chicken
Two Years Ago: Pesto Cheesy Chicken
Three Years Ago: Lemon Orzo Shrimp and Asparagus
Four Years Ago: Mediterranean Meatballs

3rd Annual Masters Champions Dinner...Spanish Style

It's springtime and you know what that means...The Masters!  This year Sergio Garcia hosted The Masters Dinner at Augusta...Spanish Themed!

I look forward every year to hear and see what the previous winner's traditional dinner is going to be.  I think I am more excited than a child at Christmas, breathlessly waiting for the announcement.

For our what is now becoming an annual event with our friends, we decided to have it at their house.  I planned the menu (well in actuality, I guess Sergio planned the menu), and I assigned everyone their course.  Bless their heart, they recorded the final day's game and played it during the entire evening while we dined, drank, laughed and enjoyed a wonderful evening.

We started our evening off sampling some wonderful Spanish wines that paired beautifully with the menu.

My husband talked me into taking the evening one step further....personalized menus at everyone's table setting.  I have to admit, they did turn out quite fun and everyone loved them.

One of our couple friends took on the challenge to make the empanadas from scratch!

I have never tasted anything so delicious!  I would have been perfectly happy to sit down and eat their entire platter of these beauties...and not apologize for it!

Bird's eye view of our Masters table setting.

Every last detail accounted for.

Paella with Seafood, Chicken, and Chorizo

Adapted from Tyler Florence

2 chicken thighs

2 chicken legs

1 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbl sweet paprika

salt

freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Spanish chorizo sausage

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Spanish onion, diced

1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed

1 cup Spanish rice, short to medium grain

1 tsp saffron threads

3 cups warm water

4 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off

2 lobster tails, split

1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed

Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Lemon wedges for serving

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat them dry.  Mix the oregano and paprika with some salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Rub the spice mixture all over the pieces of chicken; marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan or wide shallow skillet over medium-high heat.  Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs.  Add the chorizo and continue to cook until the oil is a vibrant red color.  Remove the chicken and sausage to a platter lined with paper towels.

Return the pan to the stove and lower the heat to medium.  Make a sofrito by sauteing the garlic, onion, and tomatoes; cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld; season with salt and pepper.  Fold in the rice, stirring to coat the grains  Stir the saffron into the rice.  Pour in the water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid.  Do not cover or constantly stir like risotto.

Add the shrimp, lobster, the reserved chicken, and the chorizo.  Give the paela a couple of good stirs to tuck in all the pieces and just let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, about 15 minutes.  Scatter the peas on top and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the paella looks fluffy and moist.  Allow to rest, off the heat for 5 minutes and garnish with parsley.  Serve with lemon wedges.

One Year Ago: Creamy Rosemary Potatoes
Two Years Ago: Torta Rustica
Three Years Ago: Cambozola Platter
Four Years Ago: The Masters Pimento Cheese Sandwich

White Trash Cookies

This month we are having to say good-bye to one of our co-workers.  He has decided to go back home to his roots and start a new career.  We are very sad to see him leave, but completely understand.

I tried these cookies out a couple months ago to see what they would be like.  I divided the completed batch into three.  1 bag for the house, 1 bag for my husband's office and 1 bag for my office.  It had unanimous results across the board...all three bags were gone by the end of the day.   Yes, they are that amazing!

A few days after I delivered the first batch to my office, I was having a conversation with another co-worker.  She was sharing with me all the planning that was going into her daughter's upcoming Quinceanera later on this summer.  I thought last year's high school graduation event was big...nothing compared to the months and months of preparation that goes into these.  It's really quite remarkable all the details that go into the planning.

As she was telling me about the various dessert tables, before I knew it I had just volunteered to make 1,000 of these cookies for her guests table favors.  Yes, you read that correctly and it was not a typo...1,000 cookies.

I think I'm going to need to brush up on my math skills to figure out how much of everything to buy!

White Trash Cookies

Adapted from www.plainchicken.com

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 eggs

2-3/4 cup Bisquick

2 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup toffee bits

1/2 cup chopped pretzels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together brown sugar, white sugar and butter until fluffy.

Mix in egg, one at a time.  Add Bisquick and vanilla.

Stir in white chocolate chips, toffee bits and pretzels.

Using a 1" cookie scoop, scoop dough onto baking sheets.

Bake 9-1/2 to 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

Our co-worker loved these so much, I thought they would make the perfect care package.

All wrapped up in a little bow.  Safe journeys and Godspeed.

One Year Ago:  Bobotie

Two Years Ago: Mastering The Art of Desserts

Three Years Ago: BBQ Chicken Fiesta Salad

Four Years Ago: Mushroom Soup