Chicken Salad
Ten years ago, when I first moved to the United States, I noticed something peculiar about entertaining. Every time I invited someone for lunch, or dinner, or a barbeque, they brought food with them. It was, at the time, utterly bewildering. ‘Do they think I can’t cook?’ I would whisper to my then-husband, as I placed their apple pie on the counter, wondering what I should do with the chocolate mousse I had slaved over all afternoon.
In England I was used to bringing things to dinner parties, but not food for the actual party itself. Flowers, wine, or chocolates, which were likely to be brought out as an after-dinner treat. And suddenly I was inundated with food that wasn’t on my menu. One weekend I cooked an Indian feast, and my guests arrived with platters of shrimp cocktail and chicken wings.
Looking back, I realise that when I first moved here I was still learning how to be a grown-up. I was newly-married, a youngish mother, and I was doing the things I thought newly-married youngish mothers were supposed to do, and those included throwing dinner parties. I was doing the things my mother did, not realising that we are no longer living in the age of “Mad Men”, and it really isn’t necessary to seat guests awkwardly round beautifully-laid tables in formal dining rooms, serving them fine French food in order for the evening to be deemed a success.
Ten years on, I no longer have formal dinner parties. Ever. I will set the table beautifully, but in the kitchen, or on the deck. I love my guests bringing food, and more, love when they grab a knife and start chopping vegetables for the salad.
Entertaining, for me, is all about comfort and ease. It is about creating a beautiful environment, but one in which my guests will instantly feel at home. Nothing makes me happier than people kicking off their shoes and curling up on one of the sofas with a big glass of wine, moments after they’ve arrived.
And I love them bringing food. If I am preparing something special – a Thai meal, or Middle-Eastern – I will request they bring nothing, or perhaps just hors d’oeuvres, but mostly, in the Summer, we are throwing food on the grill, accompanied by huge tomato and basil salads, and fresh corn succotash.
Last weekend we over-cooked. I was left with a bucket of barbequed chicken, and the next day removed the skin to make chicken salad, adding grapes for sweetness, and my secret ingredient: celery salt, which I then brought to a party on Sunday. It was a huge hit, and that, of course, is the other great thing about bringing food: the perfect way to get rid of leftovers.
Chicken Salad
Ingredients
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup sour cream
1/8 cup Greek Yoghurt (optional. If not using, increase sour cream to 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 scallions, sliced fairly thin
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
Medium bunch of grapes, halved.
1 teaspoon celery salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
