Gremlin Grill

F, yeah. You will never have a better chicken salad than this, ever. And that’s saying somethin’, with the amount of chicken salad you eat. You don’t eat chicken salad? Start.

This is Curried chicken salad, courtesy of Anna LaRue, the best Mexican cook I know. LaRue+ Mexican = curry? What? Don’t try to make it add up, just try the damned salad.

Curried chicken salad
6 boneless chicken breast halves, skin removed, cooked and diced, about 3 cups
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced red unpeeled apple
2 to 3 tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 cup mayonnaise, or to moisten to your taste:

Combine the diced chicken with remaining ingredients in a large bowl, adding more or less mayonnaise, to moisten according to your taste. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

I’m considering making 2008 the Year of the Curry. A year and a half ago, it was Summer of the Cocktail. And we had a few cocktails. In fact, it carried over well into winter. I vaguely remember swirling a Manhattan while standing on our front stoop, waving at the Lake Waukomis carolers that Christmas. When the Summer of the Cocktail lasts until Christmas, it’s a success. Unless I imagined the whole carolers thing. It was a good drink.

2007 wasn’t really the year of anything. Well, it was they year of one-offs (five contests, five ribbons – 1 brisket, 1 ribs, 1 pork, 2 chicken – but not at the same contest). And it was the year of cheap Miller Lite silos. And I stuffed some stuff and that stuff was good. Again, that was a success. But it wasn’t officially the year of anything, really.

I like this curried chicken salad so much that I might need to expand my curry cooking and name 2008 the Year of the Curry. It’s damned good salad, y’all.

Curry Curry Curry! Oy Oy Oy!

Unless…the success of the loukaniko (the Greek sausage) makes me think maybe 2008 is the Year of the Sausage. Or pudding, if you will. I’d like to make my own bangers, black and white puddings. Except I don’t think they sell pig blood at HyVee. If they did, I’d be obligated to sneak a bottle on the shelf in the vegan aisle, bastard that I am.

Someone say pudding?

And it’s important to note that haggis is not only a pudding, it’s the Chieftain of puddings. If it’s the year of the pudding, I could finally make haggis. That’s tempting. Yes, haggis is tempting.

So curry or pudding? I mean, I suppose we could actually make it the year of barbecue, and actually try to win something. Actually focus at contests, pay attention to detail, cut no corners, drink fewer beers, etc., and actually try to win, in season 14, a Grand Championship.

Curry? Sausage and Pudding? Barbecue? Barbecued curry sausages. I don’t know.

don' giffit uh-nodda taht: 'aggis