Asian Chicken Salad

This past weekend I went to my cousin's 16th birthday party. As always there was tons of delicious foods and dessert, but one thing stood out for me. The Asian chicken salad. My aunt used to make this all the time for many family parties and recently when she was talking about what to make for this one, the salad was mentioned. We agreed that it should be made and then I forgot about it until I arrived at the party. I had quite a few servings. This is one of my favorite things my aunt makes. I decided that I needed more of it this week and didn't take any leftovers home, so here is my aunt's recipe, which I believe is taken from The Pillsbury Chicken Cookbook.

Ingredients & Directions:

1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C water
1 whole chicken breast (cut into thin crosswise strips)
1 8oz can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 C julienned carrots
1/2 C diagonally sliced scallions
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C oil
1/3 C white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 C finely chopped red cabbage
1 C chow mein noodles

Bring soy sauce and water to a boil in a large skillet. Add chicken , reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Drain and cool. Combine water chestnuts, carrots, onions and chicken. In small container combine sugar, oil, vinegar, and ginger. Shake well. Pour over salad. Toss in cabbage and chow mein noodles just before serving.

When you are cutting the scallions try cutting them at a diagonal. They just look better in the salad that way!

To keep things simple you can always buy carrots pre-julienned too. It may cost a little more, but it will definitely save time.


You can make the dressing ahead of time if you want to and let it sit in the refrigerator to chill.


If you want to keep the chow mein noodles crunchy, add them just before serving.

One of the great things about this salad is that it is easy to make ahead of time (great for parties, dinner, or lunch) and it even tastes better as it sits. The salad also looks pretty and will be sure to garner compliments.

Grilled Pizza

Barbecues are one of my favorite things about the summer. I love getting together with family and friends, cooking food on the grill, and eating too much. This past weekend I went to a bbq with a group of friends that enjoy cooking and eating as much as I do. Everyone took a different part of the meal to prepare and cook; I prepared the appetizers.

As with most barbecues there is a lot to get done before hand. I prepared everything to bring to the barbecue and put it in plastic containers. The potatoes were boiled and baked, scallions chopped, onions caramelized, and bacon fried.

Once at the barbecue location, I grilled the pizza dough for a about 5 minutes on each side on a low flame. You need to watch the dough to make sure it doesn't burn (there's nothing worse than burnt pizza dough). I usually pop the bubbles too, which makes the dough a little flatter and easier to use. For this barbecue I made two kinds of grilled pizza: a potato skin pizza and caramelized onion & feta pizza.

I prepared both pizzas and then put them both back on the grill until the cheese melted. Again, cooking them on a low heat so the crust would not burn.

Ingredients & Directions:

Grilled Potato Skin Pizza

• Pizza Dough
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Scallions
• 3-4 Small Red Bliss Potatoes
• 1/2 package Bacon
• Monterey Jack Cheese
• Ranch Dressing

Prepare before cooking pizza dough. Since I was going to a barbecue not hosted at my place I put everything in to plastic containers once cooled down or ready. Chop Scallions. Boil potatoes, let cool a few minutes, and then slice with skin still on. Bake the sliced potatoes for about 10 minutes or until they start to turn golden on the outside (do not over cook! you do not want potato chips). While all that is happening you should fry the bacon and then chop and cool. Now that your pizza dough has been grilled you should rub a little olive oil all over its surface. Place potatoes first, bacon, scallions, monterey jack cheese, use a little salt and pepper, and then drizzle ranch dressing over the whole pizza. Cook on grill over low heat until cheese melts. I never said this was exactly healthy, just delicious.

Grilled Caramelized Onion & Feta Pizza

• Pizza Dough
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Onions
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Clove Garlic
• Mixed Greens
• Feta Cheese
• Mozzarella Cheese

Prepare before cooking pizza dough. Caramelize onions: in a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Now that your pizza dough has been grilled you should rub a little olive oil all over its surface. Toss a little mixed greens on the dough, followed by feta cheese, caramelized onions, and then a sprinkle of mozzarella. Cook on grill over low heat until cheese melts.