Autumn Roasted Chicken Salad with Maple-Dijon Dressing

Autumn Roasted Chicken Salad with Maple-Dijon Dressing 

Karri Perry|Blue Ribbon Favorites 

Ingredients:

2-3 cups cooked chopped or shredded chicken (about 2 breasts)  (can be rotisserie)

1 cup rinsed red grapes

1 medium sweet potato-peeled and cubed

1 cup chopped celery 2-3 ribs

1 cup chopped onion-1 med

1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

Salt/pepper/olive oil 

Maple-Dijon Dressing

1/4 cup good Mayonnaise (I used Duke’s)

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 

3 Tablespoons maple syrup 

3 Tablespoons olive oil 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Toast pecans in oven for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before chopping. (Set aside)

Cut celery and onion into about 1-inch bits-it will shrink in the roasting process. Rinse and pat dry red grapes.

On a large sheet pan add the 

chopped sweet potato, onion, celery, and grapes.

Sprinkle with a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Roast for 40-50 minutes, give a little stir after 20 minutes to get uniform browning.

On a second sheet pan, roast the chicken, add a sprinkle of salt and pepper, garlic powder, add olive oil drizzle, bake about 30 minutes or until chicken breast reaches 165 degrees.

Allow both pans to cool down. 

Chop the cooled, roasted chicken into bite-sized slices or shred (directions below) In a medium bowl add the chicken, the cooled roasted grapes, celery, sweet potato, and onion, add the toasted chopped pecans and dried cranberries. Mix together.

In a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and seasonings. (Refrigerate if making ahead)

Pour sauce over waiting chicken, grapes, celery, apple, onion, pecans, and sweet potatoes. Stir and refrigerate chicken salad until ready to serve. Serve on a croissant, a pretzel roll or add a scoop to a bed of lettuce.

Tip: use a mixer, a stand or hand mixer-to make quick work of shredding the chicken.  Place cooked and cooled chicken breasts in a large bowl. Use the mixer (regular blade) to shred chicken.  The longer you mix, the more fine the shred will become. 

**I use baked chicken breasts for this recipe. I bake in a shallow casserole. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of: garlic salt, smoked paprika and pepper. Drizzle each breast with 1-2 tsps of olive oil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes or until the thickest part of the meat registers 165 degrees.  

Cool before shredding with a mixer.

***If your prepared chicken ends up being more than 2 cups worth—consider doubling the dressing so the chicken salad is well coated with sauce. A dry chicken salad is never a winning dish. ;) 

Apple-Cinnamon-Cardamom Crumb-Bottom Coffee Cake

Apple-Cinnamon-Cardamom Crumb-Bottom Coffee Cake

Karri Perry|Blue Ribbon Favorites 

Makes two, 8-inch round coffee cakes

These coffee cakes have a buttery-caramel-pecan top, with a crumb bottom, filled with a delicious apple-cinnamon-cardamom dough.

Dough Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast - (I used Platinum Red Star brand in a packet)

1/2 cup warm (100-110 degree) water + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 cup buttermilk-room temperature or slightly warmed

3 TBS Sugar

5 Tbs softened unsalted butter

3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour + a little extra for rolling

1/2 teaspoon salt

Coffee Cake Filling Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons soft unsalted butter

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped and peeled apples(about 2 apples)

1 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)

Crumb-Bottom Mixture: 

¼ cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 

8 Tablespoons melted butter

Mix well, using a fork and a small bowl.  (Crumb topping when combined should resemble coarse sand, with pea-sized butter bits) (set aside)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare pans: Butter two 8-inch round cake pans.

In the bottom of each pan, sprinkle 3 Tbs of sliced butter, sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of light brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans. Set aside.

Dough:

Make Yeast Mixture: using a bowl, add one packet or 2 1/4 tsp of instant-rise yeast.

1/2 cup of warm water-not hotter than 110 degrees

2 tsp granulated sugar

Give the mixture a little stir

Let yeast/water/sugar mixture sit for 3-5 minutes, yeast will begin to bubble.

In a stand mixer:

Add the salt and the sugar, room-temp buttermilk and softened butter, then add the yeast/water

Add 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, one cup at a time until a dough forms. Dough should be soft-but not sticky. If needed add 1/2 cup more flour to bring dough together.

Once combined, let the dough rest in a greased bowl, covered for 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Be sure the dough is resting in a warm, draft-free location.

After the dough has risen (doubled in size),

Turn the dough out onto a floured piece of parchment paper.

Roll the dough using a floured rolling pin.  

If the dough is sticky, add flour, a little at a time until the dough is workable.

Roll into a large 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick rectangle

About (9"x 12")

Coffee Cake filling:

Spread 4 Tablespoons of softened butter over the rolled dough using an off-set spatula.

Mix together the sugar, salt and spices. Sprinkle the butter with the sugar/cinnamon/cardamom/salt evenly. Add the prepared apple, and pecans if using -spread evenly over surface.

Roll up the dough into a log.  Use the floured parchment to help roll the log evenly.

Cut the log in half—for two coffee cakes. 

Cut each log-half into randomly sized 2-inch bits. Fill the prepared cake pan with the dough bits. Repeat for the second coffee cake.

Top the dough with half of the prepared crumb mixture in each pan.

Cover and let rise 30-45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven on the middle rack

for 30-35 minutes or until the golden and puffed. 

Let cool for only 2 minutes and then quickly invert pans onto a large plate or platter to remove coffee cakes from the pan.  

• Important: do not leave coffee cakes in the pan to cool, or they will not release.

Let coffee cakes cool before serving.