Recipe Swap! Chicken Salad, Theme: Paninis/Sandwiches

This week I hosted the recipe swap. And boy am I ever mad at myself! I was so consumed with my toddler's party that I didn't think about the fact that tonight (4/18/11) is the FIRST night of PASSOVER. So my Jewish friends are fasting from bread & leavened products & I choose to make paninis & sandwiches the topic? Dumb-me. I apologize to all of my Pesach following friends. I am very sorry. I will say that my recipe I am blogging here can be eaten alone OR on matzoh though! YUMMM, matzoh is so delish! We have a case of it in the house.

Mayo-y Goodness

Back to the blog... I got my friend Feisty again over at Tales From the Mad Men Kitchen! She supplied Emeril's Chicken Salad with Fresh Herbs from Food Network Magazine.

I was happy to make it since it is very close to how I make my own chicken salad. I followed Emeril's closely for this swap only making slight changes- I traded out the cayenne pepper for sweet paprika & I used half the mayonnaise.  And let's face it- Emeril's avocados are "optional" because it's doubtful they are even part of the recipe. Me thinks they are there to make the chicken salad look better. Because, no matter what way you pose it, it STILL looks like, well, my picture- Lumps of stuff covered in mayo ;)

Also I have to say I COMPLETELY disregarded the very first direction of "Rinse the chicken briefly under cool running water"! From everything I have read, this spreads the threat of salmonella more than not washing it! Just pat the chicken dry & carefully discard the paper towel. 

But, like I said, it's similar to my recipe- I roast my chicken fully with dry herbs de provence (for this, since it's "Fresh Herbs" I used Parsley & Dill) & I don't put in red onion... so when I asked my observant hubby what he thought of it, especially in comparison to mine, he said, "it's good. I can't remember how you make yours." Ummmm, thanks ;) Ha! I still like mine without the onion but this came in a good second!

Thank you Feisty for a change of pace! Oh I shared my Graceland Eggplant Panini. YUM. And this is my friend Kelly's, from Running Mama Cooks, take on it: Link.

Happy Pesach, my Jewish friends... And try this on Matzoh! You'll be happy :) And that is my Lishie tip.