It's Been a While!

Welcome back everyone...we're up and running. :)

Ina Garten (aka "The Barefoot Contessa") is somewhat a folk hero among Food Network devotees. I happen to be one (because really? It's food porn.) and even though I don't have as much time as I used to, I still try to catch Ina when I can. She lives in a gorgeous home in the Hamptons and has parties with all her adorable gay friends. She puts exhorbitant amounts of butter, mayonnaise or alcohol in everything she makes. And there's always a homey recipe underneath all the glitz and glamour of chocolate ganache and candied violets.

I have a few of her other recipes here on Spoon!...namely her lemon cake, orange chocolate bundt and the insanely dreamy coconut cupcakes.

I made her Curried Chicken Salad last weekend for the Scottish Festival picnic and it was SO good. In fact one person said "I think this is good and then every bite I take it just gets better and better." So here it is in all it's glory.
(The amounts in the dressing have been adapted a bit from her recipe in the cookbook because it makes TONS of curry dressing. Way more than you'll ever need unless you're going to cook a lot of chicken.)

Ina's *FABULOUS!* Curried Chicken Salad

2 and 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney (I couldn't find this ANYWHERE, so I used Patak's Sweet Mango Chutney, which I believe is the same thing.)
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 cup medium diced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or chopped green onions
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup roasted, salted cashews (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place the chicken breasts on a foil lined pan and rub with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Roast for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is just cooked through.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
6. Once it's cool, dice the chicken into bite size pieces.
7. For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, chutney, curry powder and salt in a blender or food processor fitted with the steel blade.
8. Process until smooth.
9. Combine the chicken with just enough dressing to moisten. Add the celery, onions and raisins and mix well.
10. Refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight) to let the flavors blend.
11. Add the cashews just before serving if you're using them. It's lovely on a croissant! Serves about 10? It makes a lot. :)

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I was thinking about ways to change this up, since curries are as numerous and different as the stars...so I think next time I make it I'm going to swap out the vinegar for coconut milk and the chutney for apricot or mango preserves. I might cut back on the curry powder to maybe 1 tablespoon as well to make it a bit milder. My hope is it would be more like Korma...YUM! I've also heard that you can use plain yogurt in place of the mayonnaise to lighten it up with great results. Another time I'll try changing the curry powder for Garam Masala...so many possibilites!