The Sobremesa 24

Toastess with the Mostess Series : fresh as f*ck chicken salad

Mayonnaise gets a bad rep, man.

I’ve personally always loved mayonnaise. On any deli meat sandwich, mixed in my albacore canned tuna, on my egg sandwiches - I even like to dip my fries in it. I love the tanginess, the creaminess, the way it (trigger warning) *moistens* a sandwich. But at some point I learned that these exact reasons why I love mayo are the exact reasons many do not like mayo.

I went through a phase where I was actually even embarrassed to admit I liked mayonnaise as much as I do. Why? I think it just gets a rep for being both gross and bad for you. But now (as is many things in my life) I just don’t care. I’m shouting it from the rooftop:

I LOVE MAYO!!!

But seriously, what is it about mayo that’s so unappealing? My boyfriend is an example of someone who “doesn’t really like mayo.” But, I learned that he does love fresh aioli. But what the hell is the difference you ask? I asked myself the same thing. It turns out, both have the exact same base ingredients ….except aioli additionally has garlic. As Alison Roman so perfectly says,

“Aioli” is just Brooklyn for Mayo.

So I thought, does mayo have a PR crisis on it’s hands? What if I were to make my own fresh mayo? Would that make it more palatable and cool like aioli? Is that so crazy? I consulted the OG, Julia Child, and found that the recipe is so simple that I actually laughed out loud : it really is just olive oil, eggs, salt, and white wine vinegar (or lemon juice). It took me less than 10 mins to make, and it tasted SO much better than my Hellman’s.

An aversion to mayo is sad, really. Not because anyone (even me) should be eating spoonfuls of mayo (I just vomited in my mouth a bit just typing that), but because it holds you back from eating SO many delicious things. Top of that list is a chicken salad sandwich.

I’m roasting chickens about 1x a week. It’s a beautiful situation - for about $9 I can have a delicious and healthy meal for two and THEN still have a bunch leftover so that I can make one of my favorite bread toppings — the chicken salad sandwich!

There’s many ways to make chicken salad, and there are so many personal taste preferences at play. But this right here is the Sobremesa way. It has fresh mayo, fresh dill, a fresh honey crisp apple, and fresh roasted chicken. Alas, it is fresh as f*ck chicken salad.

In continuation of our Toastess with the Mostess series, there really is nothing better than this chicken salad on a good piece of sourdough.

And this recipe can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. If you don’t want to roast a chicken, NBD, just grab a rotisserie chicken from your grocery store! If you don’t want to make your own mayo, NBD, just use the store bought stuff! I get it.

But I will say, in my kitchen, if I’m going to spend more than 15 mins making something and go through all that effort, I usually want to make sure it’s something that I can eat multiple times in multiple different ways. I only roast my own chicken so I can have it both dinner and a few lunches. I only made my own mayo so I could use it for severallll sammies.

If you’re a mayo-hater, then you probably never ever eat chicken salad. So I hope I can change your mind.

Fresh as f*ck Chicken Salad on Toast

Julia Child’s Mayo

makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 egg and 2 egg yolks, at room temp (I usually roll my eyes at a “room temp'“ requirement, but if you don’t do it here then the mayo won’t turn out right at all!)

1/2 tsp dijon mustard (or 1/4 tsp dried mustard)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar

2 cups olive oil (the better the quality, the better it will taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Do it!

1. Process the egg and the yolks in a blender for 1 minute

2. With the machine running, add the mustard, salt, and the lemon juice or white wine vinegar

3. With the machine still running, start adding the oil in a stream of droplets, continuing until you have used half the oil and sauce is very thick — do not stop processing until the sauce has thickened. Thin it out with more lemon juice or vinegar if need be, then continue with the oil. Season carefully with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice or vinegar to taste.

   

   god love ya, Julia.

BTW - lasts several days in the fridge.

The Chicken Salad

I’m basing this recipe off of a leftover 1/2, 4 lb roasted chicken - about 3-4 servings.

Ingredients

1/2 of a 3-4 lb roasted chicken

1/2 chopped apple, I like honey crisp

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup fresh mayo

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice of sourdough bread

Do it!

1. Toast your sourdough. This week, mine is from Mel the Bakery.

   

2. Pick all the leftover meat from your roasted chicken. I actually prefer the texture of hand-picked, rather than chopped up.

3. Chop your apple.

4. Chop your dill.

5. Add to a bowl and add your mayo.

6. Mix all together and season with salt and pepper.

   

7. Spread on your sourdough toast.

   

Yum.

If you dig this recipe, go ahead and give me a “like” and drop a comment! If you REALLY like it, make sure to share with your friends and get them on my email list for all of this weekly (and free!) good good.

Happy cooking, love ya mucho.

Tessa