Barb wrote:

> How do you think couscous (my new friend -- mmmmmm, fiber!) would work
> in a chicken salady thing? I've got leftover birdie from last night's
> dinner. . . . Couscous, chicken, green onion -- do I bind it with
> something or just do a drizzled and mixed dressing? What about adding
> some clementines to it? (Need to use up some hiding out in the fridge.)
> Almonds?

That all sounds good... Most of the suggestions so far have taken the dish
in a Middle-Eastern direction, but that's not really mandatory. Here are a
few options which leap to mind:

Spanish: Add black olives, clementines, green onions, toasted almonds, some
flat-leaf parsley (or curly, if that's what you've got on hand) to the
couscous and chicken. Make dressing with extra-virgin olive oil (for once,
the extra-virgin is appropriate, since it isn't going to be heated), red
wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and paprika. (Sherry vinegar would be even more
Spanish, but I don't know how likely you are to have it.)


Fake Asian: Start off with the couscous, chicken, green onions, clementines,
and almonds. Make this salad dressing (originally from the Chopstix chicken
salad):

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
2 cloves finely minced garlic

Mix all ingredients together


Fake Russian: Start off with the couscous, chicken, green onions,
clementines and some chopped walnuts. Make this salad dressing:

1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, tarragon, or thyme
dash of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together


Fake Southwestern: Roast a couple bell peppers (either directly in the flame
from a gas stove, in a toaster oven, or under a broiler), turning
frequently, until uniformly lightly charred. Put the peppers into a deep
bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest. Combine the couscous and
chicken; add some minced garlic, dried oregano, basil, and just a touch of
cumin. When the peppers have cooled, remove the skins. Cut off the tops of
the peppers and remove the seeds. Stuff with the couscous mixture. You can
put Velveeta in there too, if you like it. Make a salsa from the clementines
(clementine segments with the membranes removed, red onion, cilantro, mint,
and some chopped peppers: My Safeway has these sweet barely-hot peppers
which look like jalapenos, which would be ideal.)


Bob