Apple Cider Cocktail & Chicken, Wild Rice & Apple-Pecan Salad

Stephanie Hansen, co-host of The Weekly Dish on myTalk 107.1 brings us two apple centered recipes from her new cookbook, True North Cabin Cookbook.

 

APPLE CIDER COCKTAIL
Makes 1

Ingredients

2 apple wedges
1 lime wedge
1.5 oz vodka
1/3 cup Apple Cider
Soda Water

Instructions:

Add two chopped up apple wedges and lime wedge to a cocktail shaker.
Muddle to extract their juices.
Shake with 1.5 oz vodka and 1/3 cup apple cider
Strain into an ice-filled glass, and garnish with a cinnamon stick or apple wedge and top with bubbly soda water.

 

Chicken, Wild Rice and Apple-Pecan Salad
Serves 4.

“I like serving this salad in the fall when the leaves start changing. The combination of wild rice and apples always feels right for the season, and this is a handy salad for a light dinner or as a weekday lunch when you’re working from home,” writes author Stephanie Hansen in “True North Cabin Cookbook: Recipes and Stories From a North Woods Table” (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2022). You can also substitute leftover roasted chicken.

For the vinaigrette:

• 2 large cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1/4 c. toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1 tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper

For the salad:

• 2 c. uncooked wild rice
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. raw pecans
• 1 c. cubed Honeycrisp apple
• 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
• 1 c. chopped green onions, light green and white parts
• 1/2 c. chopped red onion
• 1/4 c. chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

Directions

For the vinaigrette: Place cloves, rice vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce, mustard, orange zest, orange juice, ginger, salt and pepper in a Mason jar and shake until thoroughly combined.

For the salad: Place the wild rice in a saucepan. Arrange the chicken in a single layer on top of the rice. Add salt and stock to the pot and bring to a boil. (White scummy foam will collect on the surface of the stock; it’s fine to leave it.) Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let the chicken and rice cook for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Continue cooking rice for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the pecans in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat until fragrant and brown. (The nuts will burn easily, so pay close attention.) Set aside.

Once chicken is cooled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Drain rice and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, toss apple cubes with vinaigrette. Add cubed chicken, rice, celery, green onions, red onion, parsley and toasted pecans. Toss again until all ingredients are well coated and serve.