Curried Chicken Salad

I never really was a chicken salad person until I had this, to be honest. This is adapted from the Pioneer Woman's version, but the only difference is I used green grapes instead of raisins and omitted the pasta.

Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Chicken, Cooked And Diced/shredded
• 4 whole Ribs Celery, Thinly Sliced - Leaves Included (use Interior Ribs)
• 1 cup Grapes
• 3/4 cups Slivered Almonds
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 Tablespoons Curry Powder, More Or Less To Taste
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar, More Or Less To Taste
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Boil chicken to cook. 

Dice/shred chicken. 

Mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, heavy cream, curry powder, sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk together until well combined.

Combine chicken, drained pasta, sliced celery, grapes and almonds in a large bowl. Pour curry dressing over the top. Fold together with a rubber spatula. Make sure it's all combined, then add more of whatever it needs. 

Chill for several hours. Serve by itself or on a sandwich.

One drink, two ways

Ever since I bought this enormous bag of lavender, I've been looking for every excuse to use it up.  I found a recipe for a delicious lavender lemonade from The Kitchen is My Playground. How cool is it that lavender can make pink lemonade like this?

Lavender Lemonade

Source:  Adapted from A Taste of Lavender: Culinary Delights from Mountain Farm compiled by Linda Thompson & Marilyn Cade

For 2 quarts:

4 sprigs fresh lavender (flowers & stems) or about 1 T. dried lavender flowers

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 quarts water

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan.  When sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.  Add lavender, lemon juice, and lime juice.  Cool to room temperature, strain, and chill.

Serve over ice garnished with lemon slices and lavender sprigs.

Granted, by itself this is a delicious summer beverage and couldn't be easier to make. However, I cannot resist the urge to add liquor to this. Here is my cocktail recipe for the end of summer:

Alicia's August Cocktail

1. Pour 1-2 fingers of whiskey (however much you're comfortable with, but not too much!) into a glass.

2. Fill the glass with lavender lemonade, but leave an inch at the top.

3. Top off with club soda.

4. Optional, but you should, garnish with lemon and lavender.

Enjoy!