04 June 2015

Chicken and Corn Flakes - Two Shepherds Grenache Blanc

Chicken and Corn Flakes - Chicken Casserole / www.delightfulrepast.com

Warm Chicken Salad or some such thing might be a better name for this dish, but my husband called it Chicken and Corn Flakes the very first time I made it when we were newlyweds, and the name stuck. Even back then I was all about organic and local, and yet I made an exception for canned water chestnuts.

Since then I've gotten even stricter about all my food being organic and local, so the imported canned water chestnuts had to go. Instead, I use daikon radish. Jicama would also work, if I could ever get my hands on a domestic one. And Jerusalem artichokes are a possibility, but I haven't actually tried it in this dish yet.

I like to make it with both green and red bell peppers, but today the organic green bells were imported so this batch just has the red ones. And, as you might imagine, I do battle with myself over eating almonds in view of issues around the water crisis where they are grown. But some days I give myself permission to just take a breath and take a bite!

We first had this, or at least what this started out as, at a dinner party. The hostess would not divulge the recipe, but I easily worked it out for myself. How do you feel about sharing your recipes? There are one or two good reasons someone might not share, but I'm not going to name them. I'll just see if one of you will!


Two Shepherds Grenache Blanc / www.delightfulrepast.com


Two Shepherds Grenache Blanc

Two Shepherds Grenache Blanc 2013 was the perfect wine for this dish. Though enjoyable on its own, it pairs well with a variety of foods. It would have been perfect for my recent and brief seafood kick or with anything that calls for a white wine. Very popular, Grenache Blanc has become Two Shepherds' flagship single varietal wine. 

This beautifully crafted unfiltered white is what I call a spirited wine, with an almost spritzy (no actual effervescence) zippiness. Pale straw in color, it does not "pale" on the palate. I'm not a wine expert and don't pretend to have an extensive vocabulary of wine descriptors, but I'd say this wine strikes a balance between softness and crispness.  

It has just the right level of acidity to make it bright and refreshing. I tried it both in and out of the recommended temperature range (52 to 56F/11 to 13C) and liked it at any temperature. Had it with a cheese plate, too, and marveled at how it changed with the cheeses. Bet it would have been great with my Gougeres!

Have you discovered any delicious food and wine pairings lately?

Note: See Disclosure at end of post.


Two Shepherds Grenache Blanc / www.delightfulrepast.com

Chicken and Cornflakes - Warm Chicken Salad

(Serves 6 to 8)

2 pounds (907 grams) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup julienned daikon radish
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper, rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon very finely minced onion
2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups milk or lower sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups lightly crushed cornflakes

1 Preheat oven to 375F/190C/Gas5. Sprinkle boneless skinless chicken breasts all over with a little of the 1 teaspoon salt. Bake for 30 minutes. Chill thoroughly. Cut cold chicken into bite-size chunks. Place in 3-quart bowl. Add celery, daikon, bell peppers, onion and toasted almonds to bowl. 

2 In 1-quart saucepan, make a quick bechamel (with milk) or veloute (with broth) sauce. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook for 2 minutes, and remove from the heat. Gradually whisk in the milk or chicken broth. Return to the heat and simmer, whisking or stirring, until thickened. Stir in the Parmesan and season to taste, using a bit of the 1 teaspoon salt. Add to bowl and stir sauce into the chicken and vegetables; stir in the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. 

3 Grease or cooking-spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish and pile mixture lightly into dish. If not baking until later, cover and refrigerate until 45 minutes before serving time.

4 One hour before serving time, preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4 for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake casserole for 30 minutes. Turn up heat to 425F/220C/Gas7, top casserole with cornflakes and bake for 15 minutes.

Disclosure: From time to time I'm sent a bottle of wine free of charge for sample purposes. If I like it, I might tweet about it and might even write a blog post about it. If I don't like it, well ... I just don't mention it. This wine was given to me; I received no other compensation. The views expressed here are entirely my own. I always tell my readers what I really think!

28 comments:

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan said...

Bwahahaha– chicken and cornflakes! Shuuuure do look like chicken and cornflakes. I'm with the Captain. As for sharing recipes, I've never really understood why someone would decline to do so. Seems to me that the distinguishing thing about preparing food has more to do with the chef's ability to assess and manage the actual cooking by watching it, turning it, proportioning, etc. For some chefs, even the recipe is subject to oversight by things like color and texture in the amounts added and mixed. Ah, well, maybe this is why I'll be eating lunch at Jersey Mike's…

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

In this case, Sully, she declined to give the recipe because she had gotten it from someone else who'd told her not to give it to anyone else. I can respect that. Another instance where I think it's okay if someone doesn't want to share a recipe is if they are in the same tight social circle, entertaining the same people. Wouldn't want to cook something for a dinner party, only to find that some of the guests had had the same thing last week at a dinner given by someone with my recipe. (I had a Jersey Mike's sandwich once that was quite good; it had lots of bacon!)

Sippity Sup said...

California jicama (from Sanger in the Joaquin Valley) is available at Mai Yang Farms at the Hollywood, Silverlake and maybe other local farmer's markets like Santa Monica. You'll love it. GREG

http://www.kcet.org/living/food/the-nosh/have-you-eaten/where-to-get-organic-asian-vegetables.html

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Greg! I hope anyone else seeing this will comment about where domestic jicama can be found in their area.

Amy at love made my home said...

It is good to get the pairing of food and wine just right isn't it! xx

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Amy, it's amazing to see how wine changes with foods!

Maureen | Orgasmic Chef said...

I always share my recipes and unless there's a commercial reason, I don't know why anyone wouldn't. It's always been sort of "I've got something and you can't have it" and that seems odd to me.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. I probably would have named it chicken majolica and nobody would think you're having chicken for breakfast. :)

Also, I applaud you for only eating local and organic. We have a wonderful organic market and I shop there first, then to the local farmers market and finally the grocery store. My meat is usually local and organic and my eggs are always free range as well. I will admit to an occasional pork tenderloin package from Costco.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Maureen, thank you for your comment! I'm starting to think going with the "cute" name as a post title was a bad idea.:-( I'm afraid few people are going to look at it.

Enjoy that occasional pork tenderloin from Costco. I don't think any of us can live up to our food ideals 100% of the time.

Barbara said...

Please don't let "water issues" stop you from eating almonds. You are probably eating last years crop anyway. By last years, I mean 2013.As an Almond farmer, we use our water as frugally as we can and not only because of the cost of the electric bill.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Barbara. Almonds certainly have many health benefits as well as culinary benefits!

Angie's Recipes said...

Chicken and cornflake..this is a completely new combo for me. I would love to try this with jicama.

The Cranky said...

This looks like a lovely chicken salad... the only one the Great Scot will eat warm, thus far, is a chicken, tart apple, cheddar and bacon chicken salad that is sooo heart healthy I'll only make it once a year, lol.

Recipe sharing? Yes, always yes.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Angie, crumbled corn flakes actually make a good crunchy topping or coating, without being too obviously corn flakes! :D

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Jacqueline, try this out on the Great Scot; tell him I said he has to eat every bite! :D

Margaret D said...

Your recipe sounds delicious and it looks the same...

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, whiteangel. I was afraid people wouldn't be able to get past the odd name!

Richard Sheppard said...

William Allen makes some fine wines at Two Shepherds. He's local up here in Sonoma County. I'll make the chicky salad with cornflakes for my wife since she likes that kind of thing. Cornflakes sure adds a new twist!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Richard! Do let me know how it turns out and how she likes it!

Stephanie said...

Mmmm... now this sounds very delicious, dear Jean. My husband and son would love this recipe so hopefully I can make it in the next week or two :) Thank you so much for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. I love that your husband is the one that named the dish. Hugs!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Stephanie, thank you! I hope you can make it soon and let me know how you liked it. Not sure I'll use my husband's names for things again, though. Even his own relatives are telling me it doesn't sound very appealing! :D

Swathi said...

I love all kinds of white wine, Looks like this wine is good combo with some spicy samosa. I will try it, Your chicken dish with cornflakes looks yumm. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop. pinning, tweeting. and featuring on this week hop.

Swathi said...

Looks delicious thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop. pinning tweeting and featuring on this week's hop/.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Swathi, you're soooo right -- this wine would be perfect with samosa!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you so much, Swathi. Much appreciated!

Bernideen said...

I am sure your husband is so glad you love to cook and bake! A chef in the house is always rewarding.

April J Harris said...

What a lovely, comforting dish, Jean! Your Chicken with Cornflakes looks so good. My husband and I love wine and this Grenache Blanc sounds lovely. I always enjoy doing food and wine pairings - the food enhances the wine and the wine enhances the food :-) I've pinned and will tweet your post. Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul hop.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Bernideen. He *does* love to eat. And I'm fortunate that he is also appreciative.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

April, thank you so much. Your support is much appreciated.