.
Here is a delicious, refreshing menu that will come together quickly for summer entertaining. It is almost too hot to cook these days, so when making the chicken salad recipe, take advantage of time-saving pre-cooked or pre-grilled chicken strips from the market. The flavorful chicken salad can be served as an entrée or buffet item for a summer brunch or dinner.
The chicken takes on the tang of the vinaigrette dressing: orange juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and Dijon mustard. Gorgonzola or blue cheese adds a nutty flavor. Serve this dish with corn muffins and raspberry mousse pie for a complete dinner.
Orange Balsamic Chicken Salad
1 package precooked grilled chicken breast strips (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup orange balsamic vinaigrette dressing (recipe follows)
1 yellow bell pepper, cut in 4 large pieces, seeded
1 bag pre-washed salad greens mix (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 large tomato, diced
Place cooked chicken breast strips in large bowl. Cover with ¼ cup vinaigrette dressing, toss well to coat and marinate at room temperature for one-half hour. Reserve remaining dressing for salad. Preheat broiler. Place pepper pieces under broiler and cook, turning, until beginning to char, about 3 – 4 minutes per side. Remove from broiler, cool and slice into strips.
In serving bowl, combine chicken strips, pepper strips, lettuce leaves, Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and diced tomato. Toss very well to mix. Add additional salad dressing and toss again to coat. Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette: In small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/8 cup orange juice, 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Serves 4.
.
From the Six O’Clock Scramble
Nutrition Information, Per Serving:
350 calories; 24 g fat; 4.5 g saturated fat; 9 g carbohydrate
Aviva Goldfarb’s Six O’Clock Scramble is a weekly email newsletter that provides five family-tested dinner recipes and a corresponding grocery list to its subscribers. Most take 30 minutes or less to prepare and have fewer than ten ingredients.
.
Raspberry Mousse
1 pint fresh raspberries or 1 (10-oz.) package frozen whole raspberries, without syrup, thawed
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup vermouth
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
Place raspberries in a blender or food processor until they are smooth. Sprinkle the gelatin over the vermouth and let it soften and dissolve. Add the gelatin-vermouth mixture and the sugar to the raspberies and cook the mixture slowly, stirring occasioally, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost at a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside until the puree is completely cool. Then fold in the whipped cream, place the mixture in a serving bowl, and refrigerate until set. Serves 6 to 8.
.
Decoration: Top each serving portion with a dollop of whipped cream, a few fresh raspberries and a sprig of fresh mint.
.
Recipe from The New Carry-Out Cuisine by, Phyllis Meras and Linda Glick Conway Houghton Mifflin Company
.
Cook’s Note: You can substitute triple sec, Chambord or even water for the vodka. Mousse can be served in individual wine glasses. For special occasions, spoon mousse into small molded chocolate cups.
.
Read the State Newspaper today for more chicken recipes from food writer Allison Askins.
.
Recipe and photo courtesy of the National Chicken Council and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
Leave a Reply