Hearts of Palms and Cherry Tomato Salad

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I bet you some of you have never tasted Heart of Palms?  Or maybe I’m wrong, but if there is a single vegetable that I have encountered that give people a pause is hearts of palm.

Hearts of palms are the inner portion of the stem of the sabal Palmetto, or “swamp cabbage,” palm tree. They have a taste similar to artichokes but look like white asparagus without the tops. They are grown primarily in Florida, Brazil, Ecuador and Costa Rica, and are usually purchased canned and packed in water.

If you have never tried them, I urge you to do so because these little gems are delicious.

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Deviled Eggs

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And my crazy continues to rein supreme around these parts, which mean I have not been cooking at all these past weeks.  Unless I can post how to make a awesome grilled cheese.  Let me know, because that is what we been eating for the past weeks.

But, I promise that I’m getting back to cooking.

Soon.

But, we been trying our hardest to have some fun.

Case in point.

Trying to run away from the scorching heat that we are experiencing here in Florida, this past Saturday we joined my very good friend Steph from Kitchen Kilometers and woke up at an unholy hour to hit the road early and headed north to enjoy floating down a very cold freezing Florida spring in a flotation device.

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Monica’s World Famous Chicken Salad

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This chicken salad has been in the making for quite a few years now.  When I worked in downtown Miami, many years ago, our offices use to order most of our catering with Perricone’s Marketplace & Café. 

And my favorite sandwich in the menu was their World famous Chicken Salad.  Their version is prepared with golden raisins, roasted pine nuts, granny smith apples, basil, poached chicken breast and a touch of mayo.

When I moved away, I always missed the sandwich and so, there was nothing to do but try to duplicate it.

And as cooks we know that unless you know the actual recipe, duplications may work against you or for you.

In this case, Perricone’s recipe was a jumping point for my own world famous chicken salad.

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