Chicken Salad Puffs

 

Was on TV again yesterday. It was really fun, but I still get as nervous as the very first time I stepped in front of the camera. Last night we ate the leftovers, and I had forgotten just how much I love that avocado cream sauce.  If you missed the video, or live outside of my dear beehive state, it's here.

These little chicken salad puffs are divine. I made them on Sunday when I stayed home from church to take care of our little guy. His nasty cough completely broke my heart, and I felt so helpless. These puffs were a fine distraction during his nap, and was such a fun excuse to make a hollow pastry. The puffs were pretty simple to mix together, and then I piped the dough onto balls on a cookie sheet. In the oven, they puffed up beautifully. They had such a soft, egg-like taste, and went perfectly with the chicken salad that filled each inside inch.

I think we've all had chicken salad before - most of the settings would have been either a wedding reception, baby shower, bridal shower, funeral, birthday, or any other type of family gathering. There are plenty of recipes out there to compare, but this one is my favorite. It has just the right taste and texture of each component. Also, I learned that if you cut up the celery small enough, it becomes mostly texture, and has almost no taste. Trust me, that's a good thing. Celery is weird. 

Honestly the only change I'd make to this recipe, is to toast the heck out of the almonds. They deserve it.  

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Chicken Salad Puffs 

Ingredients:

chicken salad:

2 C cooked chicken, diced

1 C  grapes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 C celery, diced

1/2 C onion, fine dice

1/2 c almonds, chopped

1 T parsley minced

1/2 C mayo (more or less as desired)

salt and pepper to taste

puff rolls:

1 C water

4 oz (or 1 stick) butter

1 C flour

4 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Prepare pastry: In a medium saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and add in all the flour immediately. Stir until combined. 

3. Add one egg at a time until completely incorporated. The dough should be very smooth. Pipe the dough into 1 inch rounds onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until the puffs are golden. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool on baking rack. 

4. While the puffs cool, prepare the chicken salad filling. Combine chicken, grapes, celery, onion, almonds, parsley and mayo in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When puffs have cooled, slice the tops and fill with chicken salad. 

recipe source: use real butter