Chicken Salad in Petits Choux
For the Petits Choux:
1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 400º. Heat water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at one time; continue beating until smooth. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. About 5 dozen puffs.
For the Chicken Salad:
5 cups shredded chicken from 4 chicken breasts with bone and skin
1 cup celery, chopped
½ cup sweet onion, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons celery seed
To cook the chicken: Preheat oven to 350º. Place the chicken breasts on a cookie sheet lined with release foil. Rub the skin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes. Cool. Remove skin and bones and shred into bite size pieces.
Mix the chicken, celery and onion in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture. Refrigerate so the flavors marry for about three hours.
To Assemble:
Slice the top off the puffs with a serrated knife. Pull out any doughy fibers inside the puff. Using a teaspoon, fill the puffs with the chicken salad and put the puff cap back on.
Cucumber with Dill Cream Cheese on White Triangles
For the Dill Cream Cheese:
1/3 cup packed roughly chopped fresh dill
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Combine the ingredients and mix well. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
For the Triangles:
6 slices of white Pepperidge Farm thin sandwich bread, crusts removed
1 seedless cucumber
Dill cream cheese (above)
1 small bunch of fresh dill
Spread bread slices with the dill cream cheese. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly slice the cucumber lengthwise. Place 2 cucumber slices side by side to cover the surface of a bread slice. Cut each piece of bread into quarters. Decorate the top of each triangle with sprigs of dill.
Zippy Roast Beef on Brown Rounds
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large Vidalia onions, sliced into rings
4 tablespoons horseradish
8 ounces cream cheese
salt and pepper
20 thin slices brown bread
8 ounces deli roast beef, sliced thin
In a large frying pan, heat butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add onions, cook, stirring about every 15 minutes until onions are completely caramelized, about 75 minutes. Cool.
In a small bowl, mix horseradish and cream cheese, season with salt and pepper. Spread each slice of bread with a thin layer of horseradish cream cheese; cover one half with a layer of onions and roast beef. Top with another bread slice. Use a round biscuit or cookie cutter about 3” in diameter to cut a circle in the center of each sandwich. Cover with damp paper towels until ready to serve. Makes 10 tea sandwiches.
