Editor’s note: Doni’s taking a short summer vacation and has adapted and republished this best-of food story from 2013. Enjoy!
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If I could only keep a handful of cookbooks, “The Silver Palate Cookbook” and “The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook” would be among them.
With some embarrassment, I remember visiting my youngest sister at her home in New York many years ago where I took the subway and a couple of buses for the journey to the actual Silver Palate, pictured so charmingly on the cover of the Silver Palate Cookbook.
In my California enthusiasm I told the man behind the Silver Palate counter how excited I was to be there, that I had both cookbooks, and how I loved so many of the recipes, especially the Tarragon Chicken and the Challah and …
“Yeah,” he said. “What do you want?”
Oh. OK. Sorry. Got it.
I bought a couple of the famous Lemon Bars and split.
I’ve had both books for nearly 30 years, and the love is showing. The bindings are split. And some of the more popular pages are stained and splattered.
In fact, to find my favorite recipes, I need only hold the books open and the pages  magically flip to dishes like Tarragon Chicken, which is exactly what I wanted to share with you today.
I’ll print the recipe, below, but today, I’m using it as a guide. Normally, the recipe starts with raw chicken and ends with a Tarragon Chicken mixture ready for a bed of lettuce leaves, or for a filling between croissant halves or stuffed in a pita envelope.
But I discovered about 15 years into making the Tarragon Chicken that the recipe worked nearly as well with cut-up, already-cooked chicken, skipping all that fuss with creme fraiche (you’re welcome).
For an added convenience, buy a cooked rotisserie chicken. For added pizzaz, include dried cranberries, or pecans, or cut-up grapes.
If I buy two chickens, I can have one to serve for a dinner, and use the other for recipes, whether it’s for tacos or salads or soups or, as we’re doing today, saving some for Tarragon Chicken.
But for now, I’m turning my attention to Tarragon Chicken. I think you’ll like it. It’s a keeper.
Tarragon Chicken Salad
Boneless whole chicken breasts, about 3 pounds 1 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream (or sour cream thinned with a little milk) 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch-long pencil strips 1/2 cup shelled walnuts 1 tablespoon crumbled dried tarragon Salt and freshly ground pepper, to tasteArrange chicken breast in a single layer in a large jelly-roll pan. Spread evenly with creme fraiche and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done to your taste. Remove from oven and cool.
Shred meat into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a bowl.
Whisk sour cream and mayonnaise together in a small bowl and pour over chicken mixture.
Add celery, walnuts, tarragon, salt and pepper to taste and toss well.
Refrigerate, covered, for at least 4 hours. Taste and correct seasonings before serving.
4 to 6 servings.
From The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins
