Sunday’s Cadence, Wednesday’s Song

I love a cozy Sunday supper, even when the weather is (supposedly) turning warmer. I really love a hearty salad, even when the weather is (supposedly) staying cooler. Salads are a wonderful way to use leftovers that cannot quite stretch for a full-blown meal. Just yesterday evening I whipped up a colorful plate of greens to eat with a pizza dressed with pesky leftover butternut squash that had been sitting in my freezer for almost 2 months.

Peppery baby arugula teamed with a diced Pink Lady apple (one-quarter hungrily devoured by yours truly), two tablespoons of toasted walnuts, and half of a leftover pork chop, sliced. Sweet and tangy maple dressing brought out the grassy undertones of the arugula, and is there any kind of pork that does not work well with a good douse of both apple and maple flavors? Thick slices of butternut squash, caramelized onions, and goat brie pizza flecked with fresh thyme accompanied the light salad, and I can now relax knowing I’ve successfully cleaned from my fridge and freezer lingering leftovers.

However, at times I purposefully make more than enough meat, vegetable, etc. at one meal just so I can whip up a “leftover” salad later in the week. In this respect, chicken is a salad chameleon. Not only is it standard for walnuts/pecan, raisins/grapes/apples/, green onion/red onion, curry/traditional, mayonnaise-based chicken salad. Chicken also stars in club salads, Cobb salads, and, in its processed counterpart, chef salads.

Starting with a base of baked chicken, boiled potatoes still in their skins, and romaine lettuce, I let my refrigerator’s contents strut their stuff in this part chef, part chopped, all tasty salad. Here are the ingredients that made the final cut:

3 boiled red-skinned potatoes, whole, in their skins
1 six to eight ounce cooked chicken breast or thigh, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
5 radishes, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped (good for optional crunch, however, I’m not allowed to use celery in Shane’s salad)
2 small shallots, thinly sliced
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola
¼ cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 ½ bunches romaine lettuce, finely chopped

Dressing (from Gourmet February 2008):

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon mild honey (*I used 2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut potatoes into 1 ½ inch cubes and roast in 425 degree oven until browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Mix dressing ingredients, and add salt and pepper to taste. Once potatoes have cooled a bit, mix the remainder of the salad ingredients together and dress with 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey mustard dressing. Serve immediately.