If you can't take the heat.....

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Get out of the kitchen.

Er....at least cook your dinner ahead and make an easy meal of salads for a cool summertime feast at dinnertime.

Today was another scorcher. I decided to nix my original idea of making homemade falafel in search of a cooler, make-ahead option. Enter: salads. Not green-leafy salads which leave you hungry again in two hours. I'm talking chicken salad.

And not just any chicken salad. The recipe my friend Karna gave me for Summery Chicken Salad. Of course, like with most recipes, I've "kicked this one up a notch." I've added and tweaked the ingredients to suit my tastes, and Ken swears it's the best chicken salad he's ever eaten.

I paired it with a dish intended to be warm....Barefoot Contessa's Broccoli and Bowties. I made it ahead, though, and chilled it as a salad. Much better for summer days, in my opinion, and not lacking in flavor in the least compared to the original.

I rounded off the simple meal with whole wheat popovers. (I make popovers quite often now that my mom bought me a real-deal popover pan!) We made popover puffs with the chicken salad and had a merry old time doing so. :)

Gardner enjoyed this meal right along with us. No hot finger foods to cool off for this one....just cut up and let him at it. (....And don't worry...I left the white cooking wine out of the salad since Gardner was a participant this time around.)

Now what can get better than this?


Summery Chicken Salad

6 c. chopped cooked chicken (boiled or broiled), chilled
1-1/4 c. sliced celery
1 can mandarin orange segments, drained and cut in half
1/2 c. seedless red grapes, halved
1 8 oz. can (drained) pineapple tidbits
1 to 1-1/4 c. lite mayonnaise
2-1/2 T. dry white wine
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. curry powder

Combine first 5 in a large bowl; set aside. Combine mayo through curry; add to chicken mixture. Cover and chill 1-2 hours. Serves 6.

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