Weekend, complete with recipe!

[jlh]

Great weekend, spent sitting around talking with wordplay and attending an afternoon tea on Saturday and a baby shower on Sunday because, as I told Carrie's DH, "there is just too much girlyness to be contained in one day!" I made cucumber, ham salad and chicken salad tea sandwiches because other than scones, which Carrie made, they're my favorite part. So due to popular demand:

Lemon Chicken Salad

2 lemons
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
1 small white onion, or 1/2 of a med onion
Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
2 T cream

Zest the lemons. (You'll only need 1 T zest, but lemon zest is useful so you can freeze the rest.) Cut in half and squeeze the juice of both lemons into a small bowl. Place the lemon husks into a pot with cold water and the chicken; bring the chicken to a gentle simmer and poach until cooked through. Drain and cool. Meanwhile chop onion and place in the bowl with the lemon juice to soak while the chicken is cooking.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred (or chop if you prefer) into a large bowl. Scoop the onion out of the juice and add to the chicken. (Don't be fussy about completely draining the onion, as a little bit of juice should get into the salad.) Stir in as much mayo as you prefer, then add 1 T lemon zest and the cream to "loosen" the mixture slightly. Makes 4 generous sandwiches.

I find that I still hate flying, or really, I hate the process of flying; once I'm in the air I'm aces. But I hate airports, hate tying myself into a knot for security, hate having to buy overpriced food and water, hate schlepping myself to the airport (because in almost every city the airport is a bit out of town), just hate all of it. I flew because I scored some super cheap shuttle tix, but it reminded me why I strongly prefer the train.

Last night saw The Painted Veil, which was eh, and in so doing completely missed the Globes though I'm sure Bravo is rebroadcasting them at some point. I'm oddly uninterested in awards season this year, possibly because I haven't seen many films or just because they all seem to be blending together, or I don't even know what. Something.

Comments

[longtimegone]

Mmmm that chicken salad sounds yummy! *copies into recipe book* I can be picky about chicken salad, but I generally love any that is mayo based and doesn't have grapes or pecans in it.

[blackholly.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with what you hate about flying. That's why I am really starting to love trains and why I always love driving.

Delicious sounding chicken salad - does it make good tea sandwiches. Maaaan, I miss a good old high tea.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I like putting chicken salad on wheat bread, and then I put the cukes on white and the ham on rye. I was sold on ham salad as a tea sandwich by the high teas they used to have in college at Lowell House every Thursday afternoon; I also always add diced pickles to canned deviled ham, and I bet capers would be as good or maybe better. I also like a cheese fruit thing on pumpernickel but I didn't get around to making that.

The lemony-ness of the chicken salad goes nicely with the tea and lemon is sort of like vanilla in that it makes cream taste creamier somehow. It also feels womanly, like a shower that also includes cakes in fondant. (That said, I don't especially care for fondant.) You could add parsely or cress to it and I bet that would be good. I use onions because I don't like celery, but when I look at it I like it because it's all pale white with the white onion, and then the lemon juice soak mellows out the onion.

I like driving a lot, and it's the only way to go to Maine, not only because it's the easiest and best way but also because then I don't arrive at my mother's house annoyed from public transit. Just like you like driving at night to avoid traffic, I like leaving early in the morning when there's no one around. Trains I adore but $180 round trip to DC is crazy talk. I don't know, trains are just more civilized, at this point.

[misscake]

Mmm, thanks for the recipe and I'll testify to the tastiness! Also, it was great to meet you!!

[dramawench.livejournal.com]

Oh man, that sounds absolutely delicious! You always have such great recipes.

I know what you mean about the Golden Globes. I used to try to see as many nominated movies as I could, but I just can't keep up any more.

[shewalksonroses.livejournal.com]

Dear lord, but that chicken salad sounds yummy. I love chicken salad, but so often it's spoiled by the presence of celery!