Of French Bread and Faux Chicken Salad

My parents were in Paris this weekend, celebrating their 35 wedding anniversary. While budgetary constraints kept us much closer to home, I decided to tap into a related culinary vein. I've had my eye on the FRENCH BAGUETTE recipe in GOV for some time, mainly because it seemed simple to make and delicious to eat. And so, I made it. I was right, it was both, especially fresh out of the oven.



FRENCH BAGUETTE
P. 167 GOV
Prepared 10/04/06

I followed the recipe exactly! If your household is on the smaller side, I'd recommend having friends or family come over when you make this, because -- as previously mentioned-- this bread is especially good right out of the oven and you can serve it up and everyone will oooh and ahhhh and make oooooh la la jokey comments.




FAUX CHICKEN SALAD
P. 67 HIAV
Prepared 10/05/06

The next day, I made the FAUX CHICKEN SALAD. Here, I hit major gastronomic paydirt. Late into my life (and all thanks to my friend Marcia, who often generously shared with me half of her lunch from the Westerly Market during the latter part of 2004), I realized I am a sucker for a goopy fake-meaty salad sandwich, but I'd never tried preparing my own.

I happened to have one of the key ingredients, tempeh, kicking around (tempeh isn't my favorite and so rarely makes an appearance in my world). Because I am not tempeh's biggest fan, I didn't have high hopes for this recipe. Please pass another slice of humble pie, because this scrumptious non-chicken salad rocks, and even more so on a big wedge of french bread!!

I didn't have parsley (for real) or celery so those items were omitted from my preparation. I initially thought that the amount of onions called for was a little much, but after the flavors all did their melding together, it was fine.

My final comment on this recipe is that the next time I make it (and yes, there will be a next time, and it will be soon!!), I will make my tempeh into much tinier cubes.