The Triumph of Chicken Salad
The POV:
A pandemic-era metaphysical crunch had me side-lining my three decades and 10,000+ kitchen hours; the cooking, baking, chocolatiering, hosting, writing. My published cookbook. The whole deal.
I “questioned “my judgment in devoting the better part of a decade to my culinary novel Cook/book; And while I love Roxy’s Mom-to-Martha trajectory and the recipes and menus that took her there, the world is yet to be convinced. I wrote the book I wanted to read as a Food-centric. I was still hungry, after imbibing the Dish du jour, -cookbooks, foodie mags, blogs. However, there are bright and delicious tidbits that r you can take a big bite out of. It fills the craving I wrote Cook/Book in that spirit.
The Rub:
Unfortunately we are in a particularly cruel social media moment, where the prevailing attitude is if you don’t have a worthwhile* following you don’t deserve to be heard.
*not sure the exact number but definitely more than 226
The Culinary Analogy:
My life’s work was really just a collapsed soufflé. Lofty with promise, but ending in a messy oven spill.
The Plan:
What to do but hire a Social Media Coach? A kind of Instagram evangelist who made me believe that the only thing that stood between me and a book deal was faith and $2500 paid in full.
A social media micro-course:
post original content consistently to stories, reels, and post
come up with a signature style
follow and interact with similar accounts
Let the positivity shine through
Pay $2500
The un-surprising anti-climax
I was unsuccessful in peddling in likes and follows.
The flaming question that emerged:
What is it that the world needs?
I suspected it is not another glossed up food stylist. Nor is it serving up another perfect image of filtered culinary fantasy accompanied by glib captions or clever food puns.
Meanwhile, on Earth:
At some point iin the flavorless malaise between Christmas and New Year 2022, I went to a wedding. A good-old-fashioned-love-will-find-a-way-IRL- wedding! It had been so long since I had participated in that kind of mass festivity I imagined I had stumbled into aan 80’s MOvie- the Holiday scene..
ANECDOTE:
I spent so much time at the bar in that crammed function hall that I actually secured the bartender’s family recipe for fried flounder served with cocktail sauce, I was inspired by her enthusiasm, and had a vague memory of feeling that way about a special occasion dish.
BUT WHAT ABOUT COVID?
The wedding was fun and It was definitely worth the Omicron strain that I contracted. It wasn’t so bad after all. My symptoms were exhaustion, and it was wonderful to sleep all the way through the night for two solid weeks.
HERE’S WHERE THE STORY PICKS UP:
I used Covid-time as an excuse for a book buying binge, where at last the algorithm gods smiled upon me when they recommended Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin.
In Praise of Laurie Colwin:
Real-ness can be the antidote to the gaping soul hole of instagram. Laurie described a real world of sinks filled with dirty dishes, and a hospitality that didn’t require a doormat quality of the hostess. She insisted that the enjoyment of the cook/host was as important as that of the guest. She gave permission to not be perfect, not be professional, not to be adept. That one could be flawed or even amateurish and still be excellent. She reminded me that there is adventure in cooking, and that missteps and disasters are rarer than a well-cooked dish, I mean honestly, how many times have you encountered a straight-up kitchen disaster? It totally goes against the whole instagram ethos. The good parts are the messy get togethers the delicious food and the hungry friends
I sopped it up, like a saltine in a bowl of soup.
The Result:
After reading the chapter “how to throw a party” a plan unfurled in my imagination. A party plan? An imagination?
There was undiluted joy in discovering food writing that offered me sustenance. Great writing pairs so well with great cooking, it describes and portrays that edible scene and culinary situation irresistibly; it makes the reader say to themselves I want to do that, and a really great writer can make the reader believe that they CAN do it.
I invited Amy and Shelly over for lunch.
The Menu:
Corn bisque- Since soup always needs a day or two to develop, I began the process early in the week by simmering the taut pale yellow corn kernels in a substantial thud of buttermilk so the flavors had adequate time to meddle and settle, the morning of the luncheon I blended the flavors together and then strained out the translucent kernels, and what remained now had tarty grace notes,. It was a rich smooth textured bright yellow soup, that I served in an oversized coffee cup with Ritz crackers for dunking.
I was particularly fascinated by Laurie’s description of Chicken Salad, amused and delighted by her opening sentences where she compared it to a Little Black Dress. Her “ambrosial” chicken salad was a minor project that I curiously undertook.
Was it worth the effort? Did I manage to maintain the “smile” level of poaching liquid for two hours? Yes I did. And what came out of that chapter was a moist tender chicken salad that was almost velvety in texture, paté-like really, also homemade aioli mayonnaise assisted with that.I’m sure. And chopped herbs added fresh vegetal flavor and vibrancy.
I love a great self-serve situation so I served the chicken salad in a big bowl placed in the center of a well appointed table, with the option of plating it as a salad or sandwiching it between toast.
Laurie writes about salads and is an advocate for an easy vinaigrette for a simple salad. I took further inspiration in her crisp descriptions of exotic lettuces and hardy greens.
On the table: Torn butterhead lettuce doused in mustard vinaigrette, sliced avocado, crispy-fried turkey bacon, chopped shallots, and two choices of bread: rye and whole wheat sour dough.
Dessert: I wanted to make the most of seasonal options so I made a mixed berry galette. To be honest I believe that galettes are the refuge of the sloppy, but so what? My vegan pie dough is pretty sturdy, but pies require some kind of artistry or at least a bit of craft, you know what I mean if you’re on foodigram. A galette is a charming mess, delicious in its messiness, and mine was bleeding its rich jewel tones j all over the place.
A food analogy for the fashionable:
If the chicken salad is an LBD the galette is a colorful caftan- simple, chic, thrown together.
THE END:
We sat in my kitchen at a sun-drenched spot, ate delicious food, traded a few juicy nuggets, and life was glorious for about an hour. And I had something to write about.
The Hopeful Post Script:
Cook/Book will find a way…but it probably won’t be through Instagram
Laurie Colwin’s “Ambrosial” Chicken Salad: I love the way she writes her recipes. They’re more like friendly suggestions, or snippets from a conversation
"First of all, the chicken breasts (bone in) must be poached very slowly and tenderly. The water must not boil but smile, as the French say, for an hour and a half or more. The result is chicken that is tender and almost custardy. It is never stringy or chewy.
The meat is skinned and taken off the bone and put into a bowl. Some of the broth is ladled over the meat. The bowl is covered and put in the refrigerator. The next day the meat is removed, the chicken jelly is scraped off and the meat is cut up. The chicken is moist and slightly gelatinous.
Then you make a mayonnaise of one egg yolk, three quarters cup of light olive oil, a quarter teaspoon of dried mustard, a very small clove of garlic minced, a pinch of salt and enough lemon juice to thin it.
Add to this finely chopped fresh tarragon, scallions and thyme*—it is pointless to make this if you don’t have fresh herbs. Pour over the cut-up chicken.
The result is ambrosial.”
Home Cooking, page 158
* I used parsley, chives, and dill.
