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Junior's Chicken Salad

celery leaves (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large whole or 4 lg halves)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 cup celery, diced
1 T snipped fresh dill
Dressing:
3/4 cup mayonnaise (Hellman's regular recommended)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Fill large saucepan half full with water. Add celery leaves and salt & pepper and bring to a boil. Add chicken and simmer about 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to colander and rinse with cold water. Pat dry and cut into 3/4" chunks.

Place chicken in bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and toss well. Add celery and dill and toss again.

Mix all dressing ingredients in small bowl. Spoon over chicken mixture and stir until all of chicken and celery are coated. Serves 6 to 8

source: Recipezaar

How about an angel food cake? Slice into two layers. Make real whipped cream for your "frosting" and add fresh fruit in between layers and on top.

Yikes - this thread brought backsome awful memories of seeing the real deal in dumpster divers. Many years ago I worked on a political campaign in Anchorage, The office was behind a mall that had a restaurant in it. One night as I was leaving our office I heard a rustling noise, turned and saw a man dragging a boxtop filled with table scraps into the shrubs by the dumpster. There were shelters around town providing food so who knows why people resorted to climbing into those smelly dumpsters for food. I can still see that food piled high in the boxtop, food that had been scraped off plates before being put in the dishwasher.

I've always liked his cooking show (especially grilling on the deck). But Throwdown is a show I now avoid, ever since the program about a restaurant in VT that is famous for its lasagna. The owners, employees and customers were so friendly and welcoming to Flay and so proud of their very popular lasagna. When he won the throwdown, the look on their faces was unforgettable to me and made Flay's enjoyment of his win quite offensive. IMO the show is rude and condescending to those creative cooks, chefs, bakers and their happy customers around the country.

I agree with all the suggestions of using those already made crusts (either found in the freezer or in the cake/flour aisle). So easy and tasty and less stress. This is called Key Lime but I use regular limes and think they're very good (and a lot easier to get the juice out of!).

Key Lime Pie
1 (9") crust (ready to serve) (Keebler shortbread or graham crackercrust)
Filling:
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp lime zest (grated very fine)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 6 regular limes)
Topping:
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream, chilled
1/2 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
1 T confectioners' sugar (or more, to taste)
In electric mixer with whisk attached, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at a high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3-4 minutes. Lower speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes or until the filling has set. Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. (Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before adding whipped cream and serving).
Topping: Whip the cream and the sugars until nearly stiff. Spread over pie. Serve.

Sorry...but IMO there's always been something caveman-ish about that style of utensil use (fork in left hand, knife in right hand...throughout the meal!). And piling up all the various foods on one's plate onto the fork? Not pleasant to watch.

I just started making this salad this past week and am addicted to it. The first time I made it I used bacon but found its presence to be annoying (if food can be annoying!) The dressing is delicious and so refreshing. And I use orange flavored Craisins - they go perfectly with the orange juice vinaigrette. You could serve it on mixed greens - doesn't have to be arugula.

Cape Cod Chopped Salad

8 oz thick cut bacon, such as Niman Ranch (I omit bacon now)
8 oz baby arugula
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
½ cup toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped*
½ cup dried cranberries
6 oz blue cheese such as Roquefort, crumbled

For the dressing:

3 Tbsps good apple cider vinegar
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 Tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice
2-1/2 tsps Dijon mustard
2 Tbsps pure maple syrup
Kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the bacon slices on the rack. Roast the bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese.

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1-1/2 tsps salt, and the pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Chop the bacon in large pieces and add it to the salad. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with ½ tsp salt and toss well. Serve immediately. Serves 4 or 5.

Friday night I grilled Ina's herb marinated pork tenderloin - it was the best! Also made dill potato salad with marinated cucumbers and radishes. On Sunday afternoon I made crockpot chicken tortilla soup. I made a vow this past summer that I'd start making a lot of the recipes I've been copying off the internet or out of library cookbooks and it's been fun and tasty!

First, buy your shrimp from a reputable seafood store or supermarket. I'd buy a pound and use this recipe (adjust ingredients accordingly) to see if you like shrimp. (if you don't want to use this recipe, buy a can of Old Bay Seasoning and follow the brief directions on the back for making steamed shrimp - easy to do and you just buy a pound of large shrimp).

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
- serves 6 to 8 -

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten.

Ingredients
For the shrimp:
2 pounds (12 to 15 count) shrimp
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:
1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce
1/2 cup Heinz ketchup
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2.Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them in one layer. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

3. For the sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.

The only store-bought stuffing I use is Stovetop Herbal Stuffing Mix and I add minced fresh Italian parsley. But I mostly use it on top of chicken casserole, not inside a turkey, and I let it bake until that topping is crunchy -yum!

I have to make these two since I love the Cranberry Sauce and my husband loes the Relish:

Cranberry Sauce

1-1/2 cups water
1 bag of cranberries

Bring water to a boil. Add cranberries and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until berries pop.

Add:

2 cups sugar
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 seeded orange, separated and chopped
2 Tbsps grated orange rind
½ cup orange marmalade

Simmer mixture for 20 minutes. Let cool. Add ½ cup walnuts.

Makes 5 cups. Source: Farmers Almanac

Cranberry/Orange/Apple Relish

18 oz fresh cranberries (1 bag and a half)
1-1/2 whole seedless oranges, including rind
1/2 sweet apple (like a Macintosh)
1 cup sugar

Cut up orange and apple and place in food processor with cranberries and sugar and process only so that it's of relish consistency (not pureed). Do in batches so that processor can properly handle contents. Place in bowl, cover with saran and place in refrigerator overnight (so that flavors blend and the fruits "juice"). Add more sugar if desired.

To cut down recipe: use 12 oz cranberries, 1 whole orange, 1/2 apple and 2/3 cup of sugar or to taste.

I haven't made these yet but when I do, this is the recipe I'll use. The last time I had a Black & White (down here in metro DC...what do they know??), the frosting wasn't right and that's because they used granulated sugar. This recipe calls for confectioner's sugar which will have a smooth texture, not grainy & that's what I remember about B&W cookies I loved while growing up in New York State.

Black & White Cookies

Zabar’s recipe (from the New York Cookbook)

Cookies:

1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp lemon extract
2-1/2 cups cake flour
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Frosting:

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 to ½ cup boiling water
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 375. Butter 2 baking sheets.
2. Cookies: in large bowl combine sugar and butter and mix by machine or hand until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and lemon extract and mix 'til smooth.
3. In medium bowl combine the flours, baking powder and salt and stir 'til mixed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches stirring well to combine. Using a soup spoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough 2” apart on baking sheets. Bake 'til edges begin to brown, 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
4. Frosting: Place conf. sugar in large bowl. Gradually add enough of boiling water to sugar, stirring constantly, 'til mixture is thick and spreadable.
5. Remove ½ of the frosting to top half of a double boiler set over simmering water and add the chocolate. Warm the mixture, stirring 'til the chocolate is melted and the frosting is smooth. Remove from heat. With a brush, coat half the cookie with chocolate frosting and other half with white frosting. Makes 24 cookies.