Cook Crook on Vacation

The Cook Crook is going to Los Angeles for the rest of the week and plans to return with many stolen goods!!!

Spicy Chicken Salad

Sometimes a yummy meal comes from stealing an ingredient from another dish. Case in point: I have already discussed how I will spice, cook and cut up chicken to freeze for later meals. Sometimes, however, the dish I planned to use it for doesn't quite hit me as what I want to eat. My husband, however, is less a slave to his hunger instincts. If the menu says, chicken nachos, chicken nachos it is.

One evening, after thawing out a package of particularly spicy (I used a new Mexican mix that had a little more kick) sliced chicken for said nachos, I realized I really wanted a sandwich. Husband was amped for thsoe nachos though so I had half a package to work with to appease my stomach's whim. A sandwich sounded good but I really wasn't interested in just a regular grilled chicken sandwich. Then, it occurred to me that chicken salad would hit the spot.

I cubed my portion of the chicken, added the mayonnaise, some diced celery and a small squeeze of lime juice. Served on a whole wheat baguette, it was apparently exactly what my stomach needed...and hubby still got to enjoy his nachos.

Chicken Tenders Part II

I usually reserve experimenting with food when my husband will not be having dinner with me. I suppose it's also good practice for a cook to try things out on herself before she subjects her family to it!

Background on this experiment: We keep tortilla chips in the house at all times and inevitably the broken chips and crumbs at the bottom of the bag get thrown away. I have said to myself many times: garnish for soup or chili! or use in a casserole! Then after my post on chicken tenders it occurred to me I hadn't thought about using them in place of breadcrumbs. Sure, i have eaten many things at restaurants with the phrase "tortilla encrusted" but never got out there and did it on my own. Then by chance, reading a copy of Rachel Ray magazine, I cam across her fun tip of the day: "try using crushed tortilla chips in place of breadcrumbs." so with the blessing of the chef who coined the term "Yummo!" I set my sights on something simple: chicken tenders.

I didn't want to just bread tenders and be done so I went back to some staples and favorite flavors. First I seasoned the tenders with my favorite Mexican seasoning. Next my "wet" ingredient was ranch dressing. Then I placed them in a plastic bag with the finely crushed tortilla chips and fried them in a skillet until golden brown. I think they would do very nicely if baked and I think next time I may increase the spices a little more because the salt from the tortilla chips can overwhelm the flavor in some bites. However, the chicken came out extremely moist and since I had some leftovers, they were fed to and got the husband seal of approval when he returned from work travel last night.

Crab Cakes and More Panko Love

I made crab cakes the Thursday before Easter because a local grocery store was selling a pound of lump crab meat for a ridiculous price and the husband loves crab cakes. This was actually my first attempt at the crab cake mainly because I used to live near a gourmet market that would sell them fresh for cheaper than I thought I could make them, and I would just take them home and cook them for my salivating other half.
But the urge to make them struck me and I made a traditional from the red and white Betty Crocker binder version substituting the ground mustard with Old Bay.
As you can see they turned out nicely (I kept them warm in the oven using the cooling rack on the cooling rack trick) and hubby loved but the breading was a little heavy for my taste. I never liked the saltines cracker version my great-grandmother made either so I made a mental note to ease back on the breadcrumbs for next time.
Imagine my delight when I was at Emeril Lagasse's demonstration at the Culinary expo yesterday and he prepared for us a crab cake coated in my favorite....you guessed it, Panko! This indeed solidified my feeling that Panko Japanese breadcrumbs are making a comeback. Granted that crab cake I ate yesterday came from Emeril himself (or at least his recipe and his very capable Sous-chefs) but the lightness of the exterior was exactly what my previous foray into the crab cake needed.
Have you tried Panko yet? I'd love to hear how you've used in the past or in a new way!