Chinese Chicken Salad

As I’m sitting here looking out my window at the rainy weather, I’m having a hard time believing what a beautiful day it was yesterday.

Les and I were invited to a wine tour and tasting at a local winery.  We have some lovely wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but I often forget about them, and think we need to travel to Napa or Sonoma for wine tasting and tours.

Our hosts, Beth and Scott rented a van for the ten of us who were going on the tour, so we could taste the wine without worrying about driving home on the winding roads.

We all brought a contribution for lunch, and we purchased wine and gourmet mustards from the winery to enjoy with our lunch. The weather was sunny and warm with a light breeze, and we spent most of the day laughing and enjoying our friends.

Lunch was delicious.  I am always amazed at the potlucks this group of friends puts together.  Everything always goes together beautifully.  For lunch, we had cheese, fruit and crackers, sandwiches and delicious desserts.  My contribution to lunch was a Chinese Chicken Salad.  I’m not sure the salad was a perfect match for the Pinot Noir, but no one complained. 

Chinese Chicken Salad
Adapted from Ellie Krieger Food Network
Printable Recipe

Dressing
1 cup rice wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons soy sauce (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
2 large carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)
¼ head of red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into chunks

I package ramen noodles, broken into small pieces

In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. 

In a large bowl mix together the green cabbage, carrots, red cabbage, onions cilantro and chicken.   Toss the chicken and vegetable mixture with the dressing (you might have a little extra dressing, so you might not want to put the dressing all on at once). Top with the crumbled ramen noodles, and serve immediately.

Black Bean Soup

Here is the recipe for my black bean soup, as promised.  I have been searching high and low for a good black bean soup recipe.  I had a delicious bowl in a restaurant, and have been searching ever since.  A friend of mine served me her recipe, and I liked it, but it didn’t have quite the flavors I was looking for.  I’ve tried other recipes that were just too smoky with the amount of bacon they used.   I didn’t think I would ever find a recipe for my “perfect” black bean soup.  

I was craving soup on Saturday, and decided to make my own version of black bean soup.  This one is a keeper (if I do say so myself).  My black bean soup is slightly spicy with a subtle smoky flavor imparted by both the chipotle powder and the bacon fat.  Now, if you don’t drain your bacon fat into a small mason jar and keep it in the refrigerator, you can use olive oil, but you might want to add a little more chipotle powder or try some smoked paprika to add some smoky flavor (I didn’t test the recipe that way, so no promises).

Both the kids loved this soup, and wanted seconds, so I consider this a soup success.

Black Bean Soup
Printable Recipe
1 tablespoon bacon fat (or olive oil)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
½ sweet red pepper, chopped
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
4 14oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
Salt to taste

Heat the bacon fat or olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and red pepper and cook until softened.   Add the cumin and chipotle powder, and heat for a minute, or until the spices are fragrant.  Add the black beans and the chicken both and bring to a boil.  Add the cilantro.  In a blender or using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until it’s smooth.  Add the lime-juice and salt (I added a ½ teaspoon of salt).  Serve garnished with sour cream, minced sweet red pepper, and cilantro sprigs.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Happy Halloween!

Sorry it's been so long since I blogged last.  I've been busy...blah, blah, blah...I've been lazy...blah, blah, blah...I've been unmotivated....blah, blah, blah.  Now that I've explained myself, I can show you the hostess gifts I made for the Halloween parties we were invited to.  I got the idea for these cute little ghosts from an old copy of Taste of Home magazine.  I also used the same technique for snowmen last Christmas.  It's not really a recipe, but I can tell you, you need two bags of 14oz. white candy melts to one package of Nutter Butters.  And, when I melted the candy coating, I added a teaspoon of vegetable oil to keep the candy smooth.  My son added the mini chocolate chips for the ghosts' eyes.  I wrapped the bowl up with some clear cellophane and tied it up with some orange curling ribbon.

I will be back soon.  I made some yummy black bean soup yesterday that I have to share with you!