Cookin' Up a Storm

{Sonoma Chicken Salad from Whole Foods}

This past weekend was the first time I've had a break in five weeks.  I've either been traveling or working or both, and man, was I beat!  Those weekends really make a difference!

For some reason, I was really craving Whole Food's chicken salad.  I generally only crave things like Dr. Pepper, Sonic and Yogurtville, so this was an interesting twist.  Granted, I realize this isn't the healthiest choice of food either, but I made a few changes (more on that in a minute), so I figured it was just fine.

The Saturday before last, I actually went to Whole Foods and bought it pre-made.  I spent almost $10 on one pound of chicken salad, which made me cringe.  (I did get two meals and a snack out of it, though.)  I realized this could get to be a very expensive habit very fast, so I Googled the recipe, and found that they actually posted it online!  Since I had all this "extra" time on my hands, I decided to try out the recipe.  It was really good!

Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Method
In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

I was reading through some of the comments for this recipe online and found a couple of modifications.  Instead of regular Mayo, Olive Oil Mayonnaise was suggested, so when I saw that at the store, I opted to try that instead.  Did you know they even made that?!  I didn't.  And instead of dicing the chicken, someone suggested shredding it, so I just took two forks and pulled the chicken breasts apart while it was still a bit warm.  I really liked it, and I think it mixes better, too. 

I also made the Pioneer Woman's Pizza dough on Saturday, too.  (I'm telling you, I was really in the mood to cook.)  I'd never made dough before, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go.  But the pizza was tasty, and it was fun to make, too.  It makes two crusts, and even still it's a lot for two people to eat, so I made half and then froze the other half of the dough.  PW says it'll be good for 6 months...I think I'll make another pizza before then!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
1-½ cup Warm Water
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
⅓ cups Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions
Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.