Curry Chicken Salad

As I have mentioned before, I am always searching for new lunch ideas. It is important to me to be able to keep lunch at the office somewhat exciting. I love making various salads (tuna, chicken and egg) at the beginning of the week and then being able to quickly grab some in the morning to eat with crackers, on top of a salad or in a sandwich. This curry chicken salad is easy and quick thanks to the pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. If you are not a curry fan, omit the curry powder altogether and just make good ole' regular chicken salad.

You Will Need:

• 1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 2 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 3/4 cup fuji apple, diced
• 3/4 cup seedless red grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup miracle whip or light mayonaise
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• Place first six ingredients into large bowl
• Add miracle whip or mayonaisse and mix together with wooden spoon
• Add curry power and continue to mix
• Serve atop a bed of lettuce or with bread

Happy Feasting!

Happy Hour Friday : Champagne Punch

This weekend is supposed to be gorgeous and that is great news since Saturday is the Foxfield Races. These horse races have taken place for over thirty years and there is always a huge turnout. From children to adults, it is a  favorite of many in Charlottesville. There is tailgating galore with a wide variety of BBQ, deviled eggs, ham biscuits, salads and fried chicken. And what tailgate would be complete without an ample supply of beer, wine, mimosas and bloody marys?

This recipe for champagne punch looks so refreshing and delicious. The addition of fresh fruit mixed with champagne and simple syrup sounds like the perfect cocktail for spring, summer and warm weather in general. Whip up a big batch of this and have some friends over for brunch, a pre-dinner cocktail, or to watch the royal wedding today!

Source: Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart

You Will Need:

• 1 thinly sliced peach
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup simple syrup
• 1 bottle champagne or other sparkling white wine

Here We Go:

• In a pitcher, combine ice, peach, raspberries, blueberries, lemon juice, and simple syrup
• Slowly pour in champagne or other sparkling white wine

Serves 6
Happy Feasting!

Orange Scented Blueberry Muffins

I was in the mood to bake this weekend and thought I would make my staple blueberry muffins that are about as basic as you get yet still seem to be a crowd pleaser. I was about to settle on making these good ole' muffins when I remembered that I had seen on one of my favorite food blogs, A Sweet Pea Chef, a recipe for orange scented blueberry muffins and her pictures alone made my mouth water. I had never thought of adding orange zest to a blueberry muffin, but I decided that a little orange zest and some crumb topping might be just what my muffin recipe was lacking. You all will be pleased to know that these might be the best blueberry muffins I have ever eaten (bold statement I know).

You Will Need For the Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3/4 Tbsp freshly grated orange zest
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and de-stemmed
• softened butter to grease muffin tin

You Will Need for the Crumb Topping:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Here We Go:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and butter muffin tin or line with muffin liners and set aside
• Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and kosher salt in a medium mixing bowl
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine vegetable oil, egg, milk and orange zest
• Add above mixture, all at once, to the dry flour mixture
• Stir until just moistened (Note that the mixture will be lumpy & thick)
• Gently fold in the blueberries to the wet mixture
• To make the crumb topping, combine 1/4 cup sugar, brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cubed butter & ground cinnamon in a small mixing bowl
• Spoon muffin batter into the buttered (or lined) muffin tin, filling until almost full
• Generously sprinkle the crumb topping over the tops of each muffin cup
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffin tops are golden brown
• Remove from heat and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes 

Makes 12 Muffins
Happy Feasting!

The Elvis

While I was living in New York one of my favorite things to do was go out for any meal. Dinner, lunch or brunch- it didn't matter what meal it was, it was just the fact that we lived in a city with so many incredible restaurants and I wanted to take advantage. There are many "stand-outs" in my mind...the lobster ravioli from Cornelia Street Cafe, the truffled bechamel croque monsieur from Bagatelle, the devils on horseback from Freeman's...the list goes on and on. There was, though, one simple sandwich from a cute little place called Peanut Butter & Co. that I loved and continue to recreate quite a bit for breakfast on an english muffin or for lunch-The Elvis.

 

You Will Need:

• 2 slices of bread or an english muffin
• 1-2 Tbsp peanut butter (I prefer Jif)
• Honey
• 1 small banana

 

Here We Go:

• Toast bread or english muffin to preference
• Spread peanut butter on both sides of bread or muffin
• Slice bananas about 1/4 inch thick and lay on sandwich
• Drizzle a light layer of honey over bread or muffin

Happy Feasting!