Chicken & White Bean Salad

When I started posting recipes I had no idea I'd end up with so many salad recipes. And really, until the past couple years, I was mainly just your basic potato salad-type of person; can't recall many others that I ate. But for whatever reason, I now seem to eat a lot of them! This one's from Cooking Light. I add the tomatoes in very gently at the end so they don't disintegrate.

Whisk together the following for the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt & pepper

Drizzle vinaigrette over the following and gently combine:

2 cups coarsely chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken

1 cup chopped tomato

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/3 cup slivered fresh basil

2 16-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Chinese Chicken Salad

Is this really Chinese? I mean besides the soy sauce & sesame oil? Whatever...I fall for almost anything with sesame oil. Generously adapted from a Food & Wine recipe. The original recipe calls for the meat from a 2.5 pound rotisserie chicken, which would certainly be good. But I often buy several chicken breasts at once and then just quickly roast them. As long as you're careful to take them out just when they're cooked through--and not cooked to death--they are still quite juicy.

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar (or more, to taste)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon sriracha, or other hot sauce (again, to taste)

1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced (I used Savoy--use whatever you like)

3 scallions, thinly sliced

2-3 carrots, julienned (or shredded, I suppose)

3/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (or more) roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Sprinkle chicken breasts liberally with salt & pepper. Bake at 400 degrees until just done, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Mix next 7 ingredients for dressing. Adjust seasonings--it will need to be strong to cover all the salad! Dice or shred chicken and add to the vegetables and peanuts. Pour over half the dressing and toss. Add more dressing until salad is coated to your liking. Serve on lettuce or as is. I often end up just eating it right out of the bowl!

Curried Chicken Turnovers

For some reason I think of this as a spring recipe--though it's hard to believe spring is really here! Don't skip the dipping sauce; it goes perfectly with the savory filling. Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled & minced

4+1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon flour, plus more for dusting

1+1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup plain yogurt

4+1/2 teaspoons tomato paste

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup heavy cream

salt, lemon juice

4 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, lightly beaten

Cucumber Dipping Sauce (see below)

Rub chicken breasts with salt & pepper and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. (The original recipe calls for simmering the breasts in salted water for approximately 12 minutes. I thought baking would be better than poaching, though actually I have no idea!) Let chicken cool, then shred with a fork into 2-inch pieces or smaller.

Heat oil in a large skillet and cook onion, garlic & ginger over medium to medium-high heat until golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in curry powder, cumin and flower; cook one minute. Whisk in stock and bring to a boil. Stir in yogurt, tomato paste and applesauce. Boil one minute, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Stir in peas and chicken and let thicken a bit, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream and season with salt & lemon juice (I'd start with about a teaspoon each). Let mixture cool.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay a pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 squares. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto each square, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush edges with egg wash and fold over edges to a make a triangle. Press edges to seal. Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce. (Unbaked turnovers can be frozen, wrapped in plastic and foil for one month; thaw before baking.)

Cucumber Dipping Sauce (this is very similar to a Tzatziki sauce, but without dill or mint)

8 ounces English cucumber, peeled

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Finely dice cucumber (which I prefer), or grate. Press between paper towels or a dish towel to remove as much water as possible. Combine with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate any leftover sauce.

(Not-very-authentic) Paella

First, I cut this out of GQ or Esquire magazine years ago as a "date meal" men could easily make...so not a very authentic source for this traditional Spanish dish! Second, I have liberally adapted it to suit my tastes...really it should have lots of seafood, maybe some peppers and peas. This is a more tomato-y version, the combination of tomatoes, olives and capers almost like an Italian puttanesca sauce. Hard to go wrong with that trinity, in my opinion!

1 cup rice

2 + 1/2 cups chicken broth

8 ounces chorizo, sliced

5 tablespoons butter

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks

4 teaspoons dried oregano

1 medium onion, minced

2+ cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

3 tablespoons capers

2 bay leaves

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 ounce chipotle pepper, sliced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup chopped parsley

lemon wedges

Combine rice and 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until rice is almost done. Remove from heat. Saute chorizo in a skillet until edges get a little charred. Remove from pan and drain on some paper towels. If pan has excessive grease, drain--though it's fine to leave a little in the pan for the chicken. Add 1-2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Sprinkle chicken with oregano, salt & pepper, and saute until just cooked; set aside.

In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic in remaining butter over medium heat until soft. Add olives, capers, bay leaves and tomatoes. Mix in chicken, rice, parsley, cilantro and chipotles. Adjust seasonings and add some chicken broth if it seems dry. Remove from heat and let sit for one hour so flavors can combine. Reheat and serve with lemon wedges. (Lemon seems to enhance almost any tomato dish!)