I love to cook. I love to eat. and I love...love. and trying new recipes. But, in this age of technology, most of my recipes have ended up on my computer in Word documents and emails and I often have my laptop open in the kitchen while I'm cooking. I got the idea from my bff to blog them and I decided this might be the best way to get them all in one convenient place on my computer and make it even easier to share them with my friends and family.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Famous Chopped Chicken Salad
This is a salad they serve at an Italian restaurant at the Mall of America called Tucci Benucch. It has been one of Quenton's and my favorite restaurants since we were dating...17 years ago! We've gone for Valentine's Day in recent years. Q always orders this salad. I usually order a pasta dish and then we share both. It's so good, I've been making it at home for years. I'm always trying to perfect the dressing or find one at the store that tastes like the mustard vinaigrette that they use. I'm sure I will keep tweaking it and editing this post accordingly until it's perfect! For now, this is as close to the real deal as I've gotten at home just a little less romantic.
Ingredients:
Salad:
mixture of hearty lettuces such as: Iceberg, radiccio, romaine, and/or leaf lettuces
diced tomatoes
chopped scallions
crumbled crispy cooked bacon
gorgonzola or blue cheese crumbled
1/4 lb. tubetti pasta (optional)
cooked chicken chopped
Dressing:
MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
1 1/2 teaspoons Colman's dry mustard
1/4 cup sugar
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons red wine and
1/3 cup champagne vinegar
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
dash crushed red chilies
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup corn oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. For the chicken you can use leftover roasted chicken or you can grill up chicken breasts or cook them in the oven or on the stove top. whatever your preference.
2. cook the bacon set aside to cool.
3. cook the pasta according to package instructions (if using) and set aside to cool. on the menu at Tucci it's called Tubetti but I found the pasta at Super Target and it is called "Ditalini"
4. Assemble the salad ingredients
5. for the dressing: put all of the ingredients in the blender except the oils. blend first then add the oil in a steady stream while the blender is running.
6. Pour over the salad and toss.
Serve with crusty Italian bread or a vegetarian soup such as Parmesan Corn Chowder
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