Chicken Salad and Chocolate Chess Pie
A light chicken salad plate with a small pimento cheese sandwich, fresh fruit, and a chocolate dessert is so beautiful and refreshing in the summer. I like to center a scoop of chicken salad on curly lettuce and surround it with strawberries and cantaloupe cut into bite size chunks. Add a pimento cheese sandwich that the crust has been removed and a slice of chocolate chess pie. You know, pimento cheese is so Southern and it has become very popular. Pour yourself a cold glass of sweet tea and enjoy this Southern luncheon.
Chicken Salad
4 chicken breast, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
4 eggs, boiled and chopped
3 tablespoons sweet pickle cubes
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup Bama mayonnaise (more if necessary)
1/2 cup halved red grapes
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Cook your chicken and chill. Mix everything together and chill. This is pretty and so delicious!
Andy’s Note: I enjoy making chicken salad and all of my family loves for me to make it. I am a little “funny” about how it is made. I want my chicken breast cold (usually cooked the day before) and put in the food processor. I want my celery, onion, sweet pickle cubes, and boiled eggs also to be put in the food processor. I love the flavor of celery but do not like to see it chopped in anything. I have heard my daughter say that mother does not put celery in her chicken salad. Yes, mother does! wink! wink! I halve my red grapes, toast my chopped pecans, and add my dried cranberries last. I also love chicken salad on toasted bread. Everyone has their own method but I just wanted to share mine with you.
Chocolate Chess Pie
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
dash of salt
1 (5 ounce) can Pet milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked deep-dish pie crust
In your mixer, combine sugar, cocoa, and margarine. Beat well. Add eggs and beat with mixer. Add salt, milk, and vanilla. Mix to blend. Pour into a shell and bake at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Always chill a chess pie and then slice.
Andy’s Note: Chess pies are so good and so easy to make. I have made this pie for years and it is really pretty with a spoonful of Cool Whip topped with a red cherry. Chess pies are not very attractive; so you have to decorate them just a little with fruit or nuts. I feel like a dish of any kind is not complete unless it has been decorated in some way. Almond bark, fruit, nuts, Cool Whip, parsley sprinkled on top of casseroles, and even bought sprinkles, are great to use to decorate. Most people of all ages love chocolate and this makes a nice dessert.
Summer Luncheon Menu
Chicken Salad with cranberries and pecans
Seasonal fruit, strawberries and cantaloupe mixed
Pimiento cheese sandwiches
Chocolate chess pie
Sweet Southern tea
I have a new muffin recipe that I want to share with you next week. I made it this weekend and my family gave me a “thumbs up.” Doug even carried some to Goodyear and I got their approval. Of course, they approve EVERYTHING that I send.
I am still checking my mailbox and email for recipes. So many of you have wonderful recipes that I know we would all love to add to our collections.
Happy Cooking and stay cool,
Andy Bedwell