Chicken Dinners

You asked me for chicken salad and I have been trying to think of what else I could combine with it to make a substantial post. First the chicken salad. Again, I am not a person who does do the same thing the same way twice. But I will give you groundwork on how to make a basic chicken salad, and you can take it from there.

List 'o ingredients

• Two chicken breasts cooked (store bought rotisserie is great!)
• Mayo
• Grapes (optional)
• Apple (optional)
• Pecan (optional)
• Relish (optional)
• 2 Eggs (optional)
• celery (optional)
• red onion (optional)

With almost all the ingredients optional, not much of a recipe.  Well, yes it is. Here is why. First, you do not need all these ingredients to make it taste good. It depends on what you like and do not like. Let's analyze what the different options bring to the table.

The grapes of course bring color, texture and sweet flavor. The apple provides more color contrast, more texture and a different layer of sweetness. Pecans, walnuts or cashews add crunch, and a unique flavor, and even a sweet undertone. The next two are more "traditional" salad ingredients, the eggs and relish. The egg in salad acts as a filler and binder.Do you need it chicken salad ? No. It is how I learned to make it from your grandma. The relish is another filler, and it adds a sweet crunch, and a little texture. You could add eggs relish, mayo and chicken and call it chicken salad. Celery adds big flavor and big crunch in a salad, whether it is tuna or chicken salad. Mandatory, no. Delicious, yes. Finally, red onion can add more color, flavor and stank. So I would proceed with caution on the red onion. It can be very strong sometimes, and other times it can be mild. You could use a little bit of sweet yellow, which would add flavor, but no color.
There you have it, chicken salad in less than 550 words(I think)

Bonus recipe:

Flaming hot chicken

I like hot foods, even more than your brother believe it or not. I just do not get a chance to express my true affinity to all things spicy because the rest of your family are chumps, yeah I said it. So here is how I would fix chicken wings if there was anyone else but me to eat it.

Here is what we need:

• bag of wings
• bottle of Louisiana hot sauce
• fresh jar of cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
• seasoning salt/pepper
• frying oil

Ok here is where the fun begins. You are going to marinate the chicken wings in hot sauce. It has to be Louisiana because it has a higher cayenne to vinegar ratio than Frank's, hence it should make your scalp tingle. You need to poke hole in the chicken wings with a fork so the hot sauce gets to the bone. Be generous with how much you put on there. I would let it sit for a few hours, but not overnight. The acid in vinegar begins to cook or breakdown things that soak in it. Soggy chicken is not my thing.

Next, after it has stewed in hot sauce juices for awhile...let's fry these bad boys up. You are going to season the flour with the cayenne, salt/pepper and garlic mixture. Coat the chicken well, and fry the wings until golden brown. If you were feeling super freaky, you could dip the cook chicken in another hot mixture, but we will stop here for now. Let me know if you are brave enough to try it.