A food blogger I admire recently wrote that she doesn’t understand people who write about recipes they made but didn’t care for, or that outright failed. I actually like to read posts like that, for two reasons. First, just because that blogger didn’t like it doesn’t mean I won’t, and I can definitely learn from their explanation of what didn’t work for them in that dish. For instance, perhaps they thought it had way too much cilantro (but I love cilantro) or they thought it was just OK, for quinoa (I’m not a huge fan of quinoa anyway, so I’d probably skip that one). And second, it makes me feel like part of a larger, human community to know that not everyone else’s dinners turn out perfectly all the time, but that we should still keep trying new recipes. That’s just part of cooking daily. Since I take a lot away from both positive and negative recipe recaps, I like to write them too. And yes, at the end of the day Chick in the Kitchen is a chronicle of my home cooking for my family. Sometimes it’s great, sometime’s it’s not. I want to share my happy successes and disappointing failures with you.
That said, this Pineapple Chicken Salad did not come together for me. The first problem was my chicken. I had made Chicken Soup earlier in the week, and although the meat from that chicken is usually perfect for a salad, it was overcooked this time and mushy. It had none of the firmness of a roasted chicken, and so texturally I couldn’t get into this dish at all. The contrast of the hard slivered almonds and mushy chicken was really unappealing; I kept feeling like there were bones in the salad. Although I used mayo (less than the recipe called for), I skipped the plain yogurt which might have added a nice tang. I subbed minced sweet onion for the green onions, which did nothing for the dish’s appearance. The Worcestershire sauce was interesting; it added a bit of a grilled flavor, but not enough to make we want to try it again. Overall, I’d prefer to stick to my regular fruit addition to chicken salad: halved grapes.
I’m curious: what do you think about bloggers that post recipes that didn’t turn out, whether they are run of the mill “I didn’t like this one” posts, or failures like how they burned three batches of cookies in row? Leave a comment and let me know.
I first tried this recipe about a year ago, but when I made it then (Martha’s Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken & Beans) I omitted the chipotle in order to make it more palatable for the boys. At the time, A. did eat a few bites of it, but I did not find the same success this time. I did add in the chilies Monday, and the recipe is better for it. You can add more or less to suit your spice tolerance — the amount here has a medium level of heat.
Although the original recipe does not call for soaking the beans, the comments suggest doing so improves the recipe. I never seem to remember to soak mine. This time I used a quick-soak method, where you pour boiling water over the beans and let them sit for a few minutes before adding them to the Crock-Pot. I like this way of doing things: I didn’t have any burning of the beans, their texture held together while still becoming creamy, and it didn’t rely on me remembering to start dinner the night before.
This recipe cooks up thick enough to be served inside tacos or rolled as a burrito. I like it a lot and wish my kids were more receptive to it! Even the addition of cilantro — one of A.’s favorite condiments — wasn’t enough to win them over this time.
1 c. dried pinto beans, picked through and rinsed
12 oz. salsa (I use a medium spice level)
2 Tbsp. canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. vegetable stock (chicken would work too)
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (about half a bunch)
Boil a kettle of water while you pick through and rinse the pinto beans. In a heat-proof bowl, cover the dried beans with the boiling water and set aside for 5 minutes. Drain.
In a large slow cooker (mine is 6 quarts), stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and vegetable stock. Layer the diced onion and pepper on top. Then place the chicken thighs in a single layer on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on low heat for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 8. Don’t peek!
Using two forks to pull the meat apart, shred the chicken thighs in the crock. Add the cilantro, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Give a final stir and serve with tortilla chips, tacos, or wraps.
My local grocery store, an A&P Fresh, recently started carrying their own line of “international specialties” — mostly condiments and sauces — under the label Food Emporium Trading Company. Their light coconut milk caught my eye while I was looking for evaporated skim (for Mrs. Jones’ Macaroni & Cheese), so I bought it several weeks ago with the intention of finding a recipe that called for coconut milk.
Originally, I thought I’d make a curry, but I found a recipe for the Filipino dish Ginataang Manok in my search and thought it looked worth trying.
The recipe calls for 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk, but I used the same amount of light instead. I knew it would impact the thickness of the sauce, and truthfully my sauce was so thin it was more like a broth. I think you could easily get away with cooking this dish in a single can of coconut milk, and if you use a light version I think you’d notice the difference from full-fat milk less. I also subbed an 11-ounce container of fresh baby spinach (whole, I didn’t chop it) instead of the frozen. It cooks down into a very reasonable amount (and probably added to the wateriness of the sauce).
My mother-in-law was clearly skeptical of this dish while it was cooking. But she was a good sport and tried it, and wound up thinking it was very good. I liked it as well, though the leftovers staring back at me from the fridge did not appeal to me the next day, and I have to admit I threw them out. Because the sauce is white, I was able to serve all the kids the same chicken we ate, but removed from the sauce. They were none the wiser.
All in all, an adequate dinner for us, but not one I would make again. It makes me happy to have cooked something outside my comfort zone, though, so in terms of trying something new it was a definite winner.
I knew the salty, smooth olives, cool crunch of celery, and the creamy, tangy mayo would be the perfect accompaniment to the old reliable: leftover chicken. My chicken was left over from soup-making; but of course you can bake a couple of chicken breasts just to make this salad if you need to. Because, if you like olives and chicken, you NEED to make this recipe.
I used all light mayo, but much less than the recipe suggests (about a 1/4 c.) since I like my chicken salad just barely moistened. I also cut back on the green onion because I could smell how potent the batch I had was… but I still felt this flavor overpowered my dish. I had been tasting the salad as I added ingredients, so I knew I’d already made something deliciously memorable before adding the onions, yet I felt compelled to throw them in since I’d purchased them just for this recipe. I should have trusted my gut.
Even with the boldness of the onion, this is one chicken salad I will make over and over again. I’m already looking forward to eating leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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