The Best Turkey Salad Recipe - Video

I love Turkey Salad as much as Chicken or Tuna Salad. It has a milder taste compared to tuna, and the crunchy veggies and mayo/mustard come forward in flavor. My Turkey Salad recipe video will have you coming back for seconds and thirds.

The ingredient list is small. I like a little fine chopped onion and celery for crunch. And those veggies are about the least expensive ones you can find at any grocery store.

I also include a tablespoon of sweet pickle relish. I found it at my local Dollar Tree. You can add more or less veggies and relish to suit your taste. Leave out the veggies for a meatier salad.

I add a little mustard with a lot of mayo for extra creamy Turkey Salad. Again, you can adjust the balance to please yourself and the family. If you don't like mustard, then leave it out.

I use leftover roasted turkey meat from the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. 

Roast Turkey Recipe, click here.

Canned turkey or chicken is fine to use, too - just drain it like you would with canned tuna.

You can often find uncooked turkey legs and breast in the meat department of larger grocery stores. 

Turkey Salad is a versatile recipe that's delish between 2 slices of bread, or as an appetizer, and spread on any favorite cracker. Put a big scoop on your favorite green garden salad for extra flavor and heft.

So next holiday, reserve some Roasted Turkey (recipe) and mix up my latest video recipe of a Turkey Salad. 

And, if you can't wait for the holidays, I have a recipe for Roasted Turkey Breast, just click here. You can roast a Turkey Leg the same way. 

                                                 Turkey Salad - Video                               Play it here. Video runs 1 minute, 52 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients

• Roast Turkey - cooked and cubed or shredded. About 2 cups. Okay to use dark or white meat, or both. Okay to substitute Roast Chicken.
• 1/4 cup chopped Onion - okay to add more or less to taste. I finely chopped 1/4 of a brown onion. You can use any type of onion, including red and green onions.
• 1/2 cup chopped Celery - okay to add more or less to taste. I used one celery rib.
• 1 tablespoon Pickle Relish - optional.
• 1 teaspoon Mustard - or Dijon mustard. I've made this salad without mustard.
• 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise - any favorite light or whole mayo. Again, add a tablespoon at a time to reach your preferred creaminess.
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

I always have leftover Roasted Turkey over the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can use dark or white meat or both. Slice or cube cooked Turkey into bite-sized pieces.

Chop celery and onion. I like onions in salads (Tuna, Chicken, and Egg Salad), finely chopped. For celery, I like pieces a little larger. Okay to chop veggies any way you like.

Now time to bring it all together. Add chopped turkey and veggies to a bowl.

Mix in a tablespoon of pickle relish. Stir in a tablespoon of mayo at a time to reach your desired creaminess. I mixed in about 3 tablespoons total.

Add a teaspoon of mustard. Okay to add or subtract amounts of mayo and mustard to suit your tastes.

Finally, salt and pepper to taste. Store Turkey Salad in the refrigerator. If you wait a couple of hours before serving, all the ingredients will have time to meld and become more intense.

I like to scoop my Turkey Salad onto a toasted onion bagel. You can serve Turkey Salad with crackers as an appetizer. Add a scoop of Turkey Salad to your favorite salad.

Avocado Toast Video - San Francisco Sourdough Bread & Avocado

This is an anytime-of-day snack that doubles as an appetizer. Smearing avocado on toast is easier because the sandpaper surface of toast catches the most creamy avocado.

I make my creamy and crunchy Avocado Toast simply, just mash a ripe avocado and add salt and pepper. When a couple slices of bread are toasted and warm, I slather on the avocado - that's it.

Sometimes I don't even mash them in a bowl, I just scoop out some avocado and smear it right on the toast, without salt or pepper.

You can dress it up with smokey crumbled bacon, a runny fried egg, chopped tomato, sliced cucumber and fruit, sauteed veggies -- the additions go on and on, just Google Avocado Toast sometime.

I am lucky to live in the avocado capital city of America. We get them year-round. Well, I'm sure some other cities would argue, but California has the most avocado orchards, and Los Angeles has a plethora of Latin grocery stores that stock avocados from Mexico.

And we get them cheap here in Los Angeles. I like to use smaller ones, just because I hate waste, and a small size is perfect for a single serving. 

And the creamiest and richest avocado, the Haas, was first grafted from a single tree here in La Habra Heights in Los Angeles County, almost 100 years ago. Read about the origin story here.

I've been burned many times picking out avocados. Smooth skin types are not as rich and creamy as the bumpy skin Haas Avocado, but I will take any type rather than go without. 

An avocado is ripe when slightly soft to the touch. Mushy brown spots are a warning. You never know if the flesh will be stringy and bland, or soft and rich.  But most times it all works out. 

Avocados are too delish to be disappointed in for too long. Click here for a few tips on when an avocado is ready to eat.

I like to use bread with flavor for my Avocado Toast. Since avocados are expensive you might as well splurge on the bread, too. If you have a favorite baker, give them a visit, or stroll through the bread section of your local grocery and try a pungent sourdough, nutty multi-grain, or a local specialty. 

One small avocado when mashed is enough for two slices of Avocado Toast. To spread the joy at a party, set out a bowl of mashed avocado with your fave crackers or chips and let your guests help themselves. 

You might as well get in line with hipster diners who have made Avocado Toast de rigueur in Los Angeles eateries.  Go ahead, join us, this is one foodie trend that deserves to keep on keeping-on.

Avocado Toast - VIDEO           Play it here, video runs 1 minute, 22 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• Avocado - slices. I find a small avocado will be enough for a couple of servings
• Bread - about 2 slices toasted. I used sourdough. Okay to use any favorite bread including wheat and multigrain. How much bread you use depends on how much avocado you spread on each slice.
• Salt and Pepper - to taste.

Directions

Simple as can be. Start toasting a couple slices of bread. 

Just slice the avocado in half and remove the seed. 

Scoop out the ripe avocado flesh and salt and pepper to taste.

 You can mash it until creamy or keep it chunky.

For a single serving, I use half an avocado. I leave the seed in the unused avocado half, cover it with the leftover avocado peel, and store it in the refrigerator. Refrigerated, it will last a few days.

Sometimes I just scoop out the avocado flesh and smear it right on the toast.

Quail Egg & Avocado Crostini

I received a basket of Quail Eggs as a wedding present from my niece (through friendship) Diana, a very talented artist. I came up with a simple recipe appetizer using Quail Eggs as the crowning ingredient.

If you can toast bread, slice an avocado, and fry an egg then this recipe is for you. A Crostini is a small slice of toasted French bread with a delectable topping or two and I couldn't think of a better combination than a fried egg with mashed avocado.

My Quail Egg and Avocado Crostini looks as good as it tastes. A small Quail Egg is the perfect size for an appetizer bite. And any recipe that uses a creamy pale green avocado deserves top billing. 

Can't say I see Quail Eggs very often on any grocery shelf. I have run across them at local Japanese groceries and other ethnic markets. I first had a Quail Egg served raw on sushi. Kinda extreme for a first bite, but I grew to crave them. I cannot tell much difference in taste to a regular egg.

A Quail Egg is quite smaller than a chicken egg, about the size of your thumbnail.

Quail Eggs have a harder shell with a tough inner membrane that surrounds the yolk and albumen or clear fluid. Once the egg is cracked, I use a sharp knife tip to pierce the membrane. This will release the egg interior for frying. 

Avocados are easy to come by and they are still reasonably priced, especially at my local Latin Superior Grocers.

I get my sourdough flute from the day-old bakery deli bin at my local grocery supermarket, Ralphs. Since the slices of bread are toasted, I cannot really tell when the bread is old or not. You can use any cheap and tasty bread you like for my recipe. If the bread slices are large then cut them down to fit a fried Quail Egg, or add a couple of Quail Eggs to a larger slice

I like my Quail Egg and Avocado Crostini with a fried egg, but you can scramble the egg, too. Make my recipe the way you like it. 

Quail Egg & Avocado Crostini - VIDEO          Play it here. The video runs for 1 minute and 59 seconds.

To view or embed from youtube, click here.

Ingredients

• Quail Eggs - one fried quail egg per Crostini.
• Avocado - add a slice or two of ripe avocado to a toasted bread slice. 
• Bread Slice Toasted - I used a small sourdough loaf called a "flute". The bread diameter is about 2 inches across. You can slice the loaf as thick as you like. Okay to use any favorite slice of bread. A French baguette is easy to find.
• Salt and Pepper - sprinkle on fried egg or smashed avocado on toast.
• Cooking oil - just a teaspoon to fry Quail Egg.
• Lemon Juice - optional. Drizzle a teaspoon amount and mix into a smashed avocado if you are making Crostini ahead of time, to keep the avocado from quickly turning brown.

Directions

Slice bread and avocado. Start toasting the slices of bread, in a toaster, grill, or frying pan.

Add oil to a medium-heated frying pan. Break the Quail eggshell and piece the inner membrane, if necessary, to release the yolk and albumen or clear liquid onto the frying pan.

As the egg fries finish toasting the bread and smear on a generous slice of avocado. A Quail Egg fries quickly in a couple of minutes, depending on how hot the frying pan is. You can scramble the Quail Egg if you like. 

When the Quail Egg is fried (I like a runny yolk) just slip it on the toast with avocado. That's it.

The Best Chicken Salad Recipe - Video

I love Chicken Salad as much as Tuna Salad. It has a milder taste compared to tuna, so the crunchy veggies and mayo/mustard come forward in flavor. My Chicken Salad recipe video will come back for seconds and thirds once you've had your first bite.

The ingredient list is small. I like a little fine-chopped onion and celery for crunch. And those veggies are about the least expensive ones you can find at any grocery store.

I also include a tablespoon of pickle relish. I found it at my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. You can add more or fewer veggies and relish to suit your taste. You can even leave out the veggies for a more meaty salad.

I add a little mustard with a lot of mayo for extra creamy Chicken Salad. Again, you can adjust the balance to please yourself and the family. If you don't like mustard, then leave it out.

All the ingredients come cheaply these days. I get dark chicken leg quarters for way less than a dollar per pound and white meat for around 99 cents per pound from Superior, my local Latin market. Dark meat is harder to filet than white meat, but after you've done it a few times, it does get easier

I lightly boil or poach the chicken pieces so they stay moist. You can use any chicken you have on hand, either fresh-baked or sautéed, too. I've used leftover roasted whole chicken from the deli case of my local grocery chain store when it's on sale, usually at the end of the work week. Leave out the skin and bones. 

Canned chicken is fine to use, too - just drain it, like you would with canned tuna.

Poaching Video

I can always find mayo and mustard on sale. Onion and celery are some of the least expensive veggies around.

Click on any photo to see it larger.

Chicken Salad is a versatile recipe that's delish between 2 slices of bread, or as an appetizer and spread on any favorite cracker. Put a big scoop on your favorite green garden salad for extra flavor and heft.

So get out the leftover cooked poultry and mix up my latest video recipe for Chicken Salad.

Chicken Salad - Video

Play it here. Video runs 1 minute, 38 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Chicken Breast - cooked and cubed. About 2 cups. Okay to use dark meat leg quarter (leg plus thigh.) Use leftover cooked turkey during the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays.
• 1/4 cup chopped Onion - okay to add more or less to taste. I fine-chopped 1/4 of a white onion. You can use any type of onion, including red and green onions.
• 1/2 cup chopped Celery - okay to add more or less to taste. I used one celery rib.
• 1 tablespoon Pickle Relish - optional.
• 1 teaspoon Mustard - or Dijon mustard. I've made this salad without mustard.
• 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise - any favorite light or whole mayo. Again, add a tablespoon at a time to reach your preferred creaminess.
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions
Use boneless and skinless cooked chicken. I used leftover breast meat from a roast chicken.

You can boil/simmer chicken pieces for about a half hour in seasoned water. Or, sauté chicken in a little oil. Just make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through - no pink or red juices.

While the chicken cooks, you can chop celery and onion. I like onions in salads (tuna, chicken, turkey, egg), finely chopped. For celery, I like pieces a little larger. Okay to chop veggies any way you like.

Now is the time to bring it all together. Add chicken and chopped veggies to a bowl.

Mix in a tablespoon of pickle relish. Add 1/4 teaspoon of the herb Dill (optional.)

Stir in a tablespoon of mayo at a time to reach your desired creaminess. I mixed in about 3 tablespoons. Add a teaspoon of mustard. Okay to add or subtract amounts of mayo and mustard.

Finally, salt and pepper to taste. Store Chicken Salad in the refrigerator. If you wait a couple of hours before serving, then all the ingredients will have time to meld and become more intense.

I like to scoop my Chicken Salad onto a toasted onion bagel. You can serve Chicken Salad with crackers as an appetizer. Add a scoop of Chicken Salad to your favorite salad.