Rosie Makes A Curried Chicken Salad Quasi-Panini With Pickled Red Onions.

 Rosie is making Chicken Moreovers today.

And they're gonna be Kick-Ass.

 I'd cooked a glorious hen the other day.

I picked the meat off, holding it for another purpose,

and saved the carcass in my Frozen Chicken Parts Baggie.

Mama Hawthorne used to make 

a curried chicken salad that I loved.

She served it on a leaf of iceberg lettuce,

which I never ate,

and a slice of canned pineapple.

I don't recall Mama Hawthorne

using spices or herbs much at all.

Maybe oregano in her spaghetti sauce,

but I'm surprised at her open reception of curry,

quite possibly the most exotic spice she ever used.

I'm taking the curry track today,

but I'm pairing the chicken salad with bleu cheese and pear.

I love the combination of bleu cheese and pear.

I don't think bleu cheese ever saw the inside 

of Mama Hawthorne's refrigerator.

  Curried Dressing:

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 TB lemon juice

2 TB chopped red onion

1 TB chopped chives

1 TB chopped mint

smoked sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp curry powder

Chop the red onion, chives, and mint.

Add in the curry.

Mix well.

Add mayonnaise mixture to chicken.

Coat the chicken, cover, and refrigerate.

Next, I'm making pickled onions.

Thinly slice a red onion.

Place slices in a bowl and set aside

as you prepare the brine mixture.

1 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

2 TB Kosher salt

Mix all together

in a saucepan.

Set aside and prepare spice mixture.

Assemble the pickling spices:

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp whole allspice

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp celery seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp whole mustard seeds

1 dried red pepper, crumbled

5 fresh bay leaves (or 2 dried)

Tie the spices up in cheesecloth.

Add to the brine mixture

and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce to medium low and simmer,

stirring occasionally, until sugar and salt are dissolved,

about 4-5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Discard spice package.

Pour liquid over sliced onions.

Let marinate, room temperature, for 30 minutes,

then cover and chill for at least 45 minutes before serving.

I strained the hot liquid 

through more folds of cheesecloth to get all the spices out.

Now, we're ready to assemble the sandwich.

Assemble your ingredients:
Curried chicken salad
Pickled red onions

Pear
Bleu cheese
Baguette, sliced and toasted on one side

The toasted side goes on the inside.

Layer on the chicken.

Then add the pretty pickled pink onion.

Top with a slice of pear and the cheese.

Top with a baguette slice, toasted side down.

Grill the sandwich in butter and a bit of oil
over medium-low heat.
I weighted it down with an iron pan.

Grill until sandwich is golden brown,
heated through, and cheese is melted.

Note:
Schwann's Baguettes do not work well for this sandwich.
When I sliced the baguette,
I squished and compressed the loaf.
It just didn't cut well.

Soooooo, when Middle Hawthorne got back home,
I made this sandwich for him
with slices of my homemade sandwich loaf bread.

Here's a recap in case you missed it the first time.
 

 Two slices of my sandwich loaf.
Toast the insides.

  My fixin's:

pear

bleu cheese

pickled red onions

curried chicken salad

 

 Bleu cheese on the toasted sides.

Add sliced pears and more bleu cheese.
Top with pickled red onions.

 Curried chicken salad.

 

 That's a sandwich!

 A little butter and oil in the pan.
Medium-low heat.
Grill the sandwich.

 Weight it down with an iron skillet.

 Grill until nicely browned, heated through,
and the cheese melted.

 I paired this with my bean salad.

This received two thumbs-ups from Middle Hawthorne.
High praise.