Thursday, August 04, 2011

When Food Is Either-Or

I don't know whether this is old-fashioned ladies' lunch or some boundary-breaking new discovery that fills the void of El Bulli's closing.
Let's put it this way: it would satisfy either crowd.
It is embarrassingly summery. Sweet, savory. Filling, too. No mere ice pop here.
As soon as I tell you what it is (stalling for time,) you will not even need a recipe. That is, if you want to try this at home. Some of you more macho types will probably turn up your nose, although my live-in macho type liked it very much.
OK, I can't drag it out any longer.
It's cantaloupe chicken salad, with cucumbers, sweet onion, tiny smear of mayo with a dab of Dijon stirred in, salt, pepper and tarragon.
I know. That will either sound divine or squicky.
Take it or leave it. Fair warning, though: eat it and love it.

19 comments:

cookiecrumb said...

WOULD YOU FLY WHILE THE FAA IS SHUT DOWN?

Anna Banana said...

The thing is, I've had this trip planned since last October. I'm going to Transylvania, FAA or no FAA. Your salad looks good btw.

cookiecrumb said...

Anna: Aw! Of course you're going. I'd go too, probably, if I had a trip like that planned. At least half your takeoffs and landings will be handled by fully staffed departments. Good luck, and have fun.

EB of SpiceDish said...

A- that sounds fantastic actually
B- Hell yeah I'd fly. By the seat of my pants baby!

cookiecrumb said...

EB: Well, I guess I've got no vote here. I haven't flown since 2000. Haven't needed to. By the way, looks like FAA is about to reboot. Safe travels, baby!

Hungry Dog said...

I'm down with this. I love chicky salad and I love cantaloup, why not together? I always make my salad with some kind of fruit --apples or grapes--if I have them. Melon works too.

cookiecrumb said...

Dog: You are correct. So many chicky salads have a whisper of fruit. The cantaloupe is so SUMMER. (It's a little wet, though, be forewarned.) Whee!

Greg said...

The melons have been so good lately. I'm thinking you have a winner there.In my macho opinion :)

Zoomie said...

I'm kind of a tomboy - does that count as macho? In any case, I'm taking your idea for dinner tonight, so thank you very much!

Kris said...

Oh who has time for a vacation anyway these days? Esp after what happened to my already pitiful retirement fund in the market today!
I'm all about melon in salads, and I might sub grilled shrimp and see how that works. I recently made a grilled watermelon salad with feta & arugula, which would have paired well with chicken, had there been any in the house...

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: I know you, and you qualify as a macho man. Please enjoy this salad, dude! xoxo

Zoomie: No, it was the macho types I feared would reject it. I'm thrilled you're giving it a try. Tell me how you liked it.

Little Pots: It pleases me to discover what a great cook you are, beyond tarts. Nice ideas.
Hey, look. At least you have a retirement strategy. I hope you aren't too hurt. We skittered out of the stock market in the last couple of months; all's not too bad. Sigh.

kudzu said...

Ah. This reminds me of a dish I had at Left Bank recently where bay scallop ceviche was served with melon (canty) and cucumber gently tarted up with citrusy vinaigrette. Very fresh, a combo I would not have thought of (the melon and cuke).

kudzu said...

PS I refused to think about your FAA statement until after I was sure my chickens had landed safely on Kauai today.

cookiecrumb said...

Kudzu: Last year we grew Armenian cukes (I think) and they got devoured by slugs. The seedling lady said they are related to melons, and slugs will do a whammy on melons. But isn't it cool they're related? They go together.
Blessings on your little island chickens. Kauai might be the one reason I'd have to fly.

Kris said...

I just read a review of a resto near us doing a similar salad with crab (decadent!). At the end of a long day of tarts I'm still in charge of dinner at ye ole unmowed lawn/heaps o'laundry homestead. I guess that makes my retirement (and potential housekeeper) strategy as keep making the tarts!
It could be worse, I'm not furloughed from the FAA...

cookiecrumb said...

Little Pots: Just goes to show you can't invent anything new. I'm kinda liking the idea of seafood better than chicken, now, so thanks.
I hope Mr. Pots helps with the heaps o' laundry! xx

Ms Brown Mouse said...

I'll take it, yum :)

cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: You're in the depths of warm lamb meals...

cookiecrumb said...

I GOT THE FAA BACK UP AND RUNNING. YOU'RE WELCOME.