Cooking Method: Mixing

Coronation Chicken Salad

Coronation chicken was created in 1953, when renowned florist Constance Spry and cordon bleu chef Rosemary Hume catered for a banquet to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II. It is believed to be inspired by the 'Jubilee Chicken' created for George V's silver jubilee in 1935.

This Coronation Chicken Salad recipe is not the original. It’s really a curried chicken salad.

The original recipe is described as chicken, boned and coated in curry cream sauce, with, one end of each dish, a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and pimentos. Here is the Cordon Bleu recipe.

By Leslie Blythe

White Bean & Broccolini Salad

This White Bean & Broccolini Salad is delicious and can be made ahead and served at room temperature. This is my kind of side dish and it's perfect to serve at your backyard BBQ.

By Leslie Blythe

Soda Fountain Phosphate

Phosphates were carbonated beverages made-from-scratch by the "soda jerk" using carbonated soda water, flavored syrups and phosphoric acid, an ingredient still used today in many brands of soda-pop including Coke. Popular flavors included cherry, lime (usually called a green river), chocolate and vanilla.

To make genuine phosphate sodas, you will need a bottle of acid phosphate. "Acid phosphate" is NOT the same as phosphoric acid. It's a phosphoric acid that's buffered by specific mineral salts to help it maintain the proper level of acidity.

DO NOT substitute phosphoric acid, as it can be extremely dangerous to your health!

Acid Phosphate is very hard to find now, The Prairie Moon Company carries an Acid Phosphate and over 70 flavored syrup concentrates.

By Leslie Blythe

Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes, Salami and Walnuts

This Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes, Salami and Walnuts recipe is perfect to bring as a potluck or summertime picnic. It's super easy and delicious!

By Leslie Blythe

Steak with Blue Cheese Compound Butter

This wonderful Blue Cheese Compound Butter takes a grilled steak to a whole other level. Compound butter is a mixture of butter and other ingredients to enhance flavor in various dishes. It can be made by whipping additional elements, such as herbs, spices or aromatic liquids, into butter. The butter is then reformed, usually in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and chilled until it is firm enough to be sliced. These butters can be melted on top of meats and vegetables, used as a spread or used to finish various sauces.

By Leslie Blythe

Strawberry, Basil, and Balsamic “Slablova”

My daughter Zoe made this beautiful Strawberry, Basil, and Balsamic “Slablova”, which is inspired by a pavlova-for-a-crowd recipe on Food52. This is a Kosher for Passover version. The meringue slowly bakes to achieve a crackly crust and an irresistibly soft, melt-in-your-mouth interior texture somewhere between a marshmallow and angel food cake. For a non-Passover occasion, cornstarch or arrowroot starch are good substitutes for the tapioca starch.

By Leslie Blythe

Cowboy Butter

My sister-in-law Rhonda gave me this recipe for Cowboy Butter. She said it was life changing! It's so delicious. You can make it 2 ways - one melted and the other like a compound butter, which can be used on top of cooked meat, vegetables or fish.

By Leslie Blythe

Carrot with Smashed Tofu and Sesame

This Carrot with Smashed Tofu and Sesame salad is a recipe from Japan, The Cookbook by Nancy Singleton Hachisu. She is a native Californian and has lived with her Japanese farmer husband and three sons in their 80-year-old traditional farmhouse for the last 27 years in rural Japan. She moved from California to Japan in 1988. This cookbook is Japanese cooking for the home cook. I have many Japanese cookbooks. It's a thing of beauty.

By Leslie Blythe

Avocado and BLT Salad with Roasted New Potatoes

My sister-in-law brought me the food magazine from Waitrose, which is a supermarket in the UK. This Avocado and BLT Salad with Roasted New Potatoes got my attention immediately. It was very easy and really delicious. And yes, there's bacon...

By Leslie Blythe

Creamy Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette

This Creamy Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette is good on grilled vegetables, a dip for artichokes or a salad. I love the combination of lemon and fresh basil. You can make it in advance.

By Leslie Blythe