Avocados Stuffed with Lemon-Tarragon (etc.) Chicken Salad Sided with Pickled Radishes and Halved Tomatoes   3-6 servings

September is my birthday month so I plan to have lots of friends over for lunches and such to celebrate my longevity on this earth as we know it. Cooking and smoozing are some of my favorite activities therefore to celebrate another year gone by, I plan to do a lot of that this month.

 

To start the month off, I had today a little mid-day lunch for one old friend and one newfound friend.   That’s a nice combination, don’t you think? Avocados were on special at our markets, so this is the recipe that I served. I sided it with a platter containing a bit of goat cheese and antipasto meats, a basket of crusty, fresh French baguette slices, and on the individual serving plates I surrounded the stuffed avocados with fresh halved cherry tomatoes and quickly homemade pickled radishes.   I also shared a bit of wine for those of us who are winos and for my non-alcohol drinking friend, my wonderful homemade lemon/lavender drink.  For desert, I made a bit of coconut/lemon non-churn ice cream and topped it with fresh raspberries—a really wonderful combination. Of course a nice good strong cup of coffee and lots more great conversation followed. Before we knew it, my 1pm lunch turned into a 5:45pm good-bye. Nothing like a long lingering luncheon with good food and great people to help make your birthday month very special indeed!!!!

 

Oh yes, I almost forgot, for the background music, Bandit, my green singing finch, serenaded us with his songs, symphonies and sonatas.   Perfect indeed!!!!!

 

Ingredients for the Chicken Salad Mix:

1. 1 Tblsp. or a bit more fresh tarragon
2. 1/3 C. onion
3. 1 ½ C. diced cooked chicken
4. 2 celery stalks
5. 1/4 C. chopped apple
6. S&P
7. 2 Tblsp.( or 1 more Tblsp. if you wish a creamier version) mayonnaise
8. 1 ½ Tblsp. lemon juice plus some to sprinkle over the freshly cut avocados to keep them green
9. 3 small/medium avocados and one extra to make sure you have enough good ones for your luncheon because I have found that some avocados are decidedly better than others.
10. Lettuce leaves for serving.

 

Directions for the Chicken Salad Mix:

1. In a processer, process for just a couple of pulses, so as to make a rough diced mix, ingredients # 1 through # 6.
2. In the processer bowl (or if you wish, another bowl in which you have added the mix), add the mayonnaise & lemon juice.
3. Put in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two or better yet, overnight.

 

To Serve:

1. Halve and pit the avocados. Gently rub some lemon juice over the exposed flesh to prevent them from browning. Scoop 1/4 (more or less) of the chicken salad mix into each of the avocado halves.
2. I served my stuffed avocado halves on a glass plate which sat on top of a larger white plate that I had lined with fresh large lettuce leaves. Each glass plate had 2 small stuffed avocado halves surrounded by halved cherry tomatoes and quartered pickled radishes.
3. Below, please see the recipe for the pickled radishes (easy and not time consuming).

 

Pickled Radishes:

Ingredients for the Pickled Radishes:

1. 1 bunch radishes
2. 3/4 C. white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar
3. 3/4 C. water
4. 3 Tblsp. honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
5. 2 Tsp. salt
6. 1 Tsp. red pepper flakes or less if you prefer less spice
7. 1/2 Tsp. mustard seeds (optional)
8. Optional add-ins: garlic cloves, peppercorns, fennel seeds, coriander seeds—use your imagination

 

Instructions for the Pickled Radishes:

1. Prepare the radishes by slicing off the tops and bottoms; slice or cut into small quarters or eighths.
2. For the brine, in a small sauce pan, combine ingredients # 2 through #8 and bring mixture to boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Take pan off heat and place radishes in pan; let mixture cool to room temp; or if you have just an hour to make this, cover the pan and place in frig. till cool.