Bringing joy to the moment
and a recipe for a delightful spring chicken salad that will make you happy
When we got to the airport on Friday, it was jammed.
We’re not the only ones being infected with the urge to get up and go. Summer travel season is already upon us and with it, full flights and expensive hotels and line ups and impossible-to-get-into places. The pent-up demand of a three year drought seems to be bubbling up furiously, a champagne bottle of anticipation ready to explode.
Amidst all this frenetic energy, it’s hard to stay in the moment of joyful anticipation. When you wait so long for something, any sign that it will be less than you expected can so easily be met with impatience and frustration instead of grace.
And so it was on Friday. As we buckled up and got ready for that familiar liftoff, the captain came on to announce that there was a mechanical issue that needed to be looked at. A collective groan as people turned to their phones, while a baby five rows back made his displeasure known. And as the minutes ticked by, the anticipatory air that fills a plane at the start of a long weekend deflated and became a collective sour cloud.
What a difference one person can make.
Service with a smile
The flight between Toronto and New York is a short one, and flight attendants who work this route make that turnaround trip several times in a day. When you mix in weather, equipment, unruly or downright rude passengers, it must make for a long, stressful and likely unrewarding day. It’s no wonder that the service is often perfunctory, focused more on the task at hand rather than providing a pleasant travel experience.
Enter Candide. The purser on our flight, Candide clearly loves what she does, greeting every passenger with a genuine smile and warm welcome. You might imagine that’s she’s never told exit row passengers what to do in the case of an emergency, so enthusiastic is her explanation. The flight delay was an opportunity for her not only to give us water as we waited, but for her to engage, complimenting a sullen teen on her lipstick, giving special attention to a solo traveler, trying to make that baby smile.
In creating happiness for others, she’s creating happiness for herself, finding meaning, reminding us to look at her as more than the person who serves coffee or makes an announcement, creating the human moment.
The lost tradition of the service professional
In much the same way, Lyndon, our server at Cafe Fiorello on Saturday night, made a late dinner post-concert dinner memorable. Lyndon has worked at Cafe Fiorello for 23 years, and in the manner of all great service providers, knows how to read his audience.
As we chatted with him through the meal, we learned that his unusual name was the result of a Korean immigrant father who was grateful for Lyndon B. Johnson, who made Asian immigrants eligible for American citizenship. With practiced surety, he orchestrated our dishes so that we could linger and enjoy every bite. Lyndon was funny and charming but most of all, it was clear he loved his job. He became part of our experience the best possible way,
So here’s a clarion call to all of us to celebrate the unsung and often unappreciated. The joy that great service brings multiples tenfold.
Spring chicken salad with grilled asparagus
serves 2-3
adapted from Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, Julia Child
If there’s someone who embodied sheer delight in their craft, it was Julia Child. For Child, being able to share her knowledge, demystifying and simplifying the art of making good food, was not only her life’s work, but her joy. Best of all, she was forgiving to a fault, giving the home cook the confidence to make mistakes or riff on a recipe.
While many associate Child with the precise and sometimes fussy recipes of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, at her core, Child is all about enabling us to be confident in the kitchen.
Of all of Child’s books, I love Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom best. Concise and packed with her best recipes, tips, short cuts and variations, this small volume is a go-to for for classics like an easy weeknight dinner, chicken salad.
I’ve added my own touches here - no onions as in the original, and the addition of avocado, crisp apple and seasonal grilled asparagus to make an especially satisfying dish. Although the recipe calls for a resting time of at least 20 minutes and as long as overnight, the avocado and apple work best when served right away. With a little prep time, the salad can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, about 12-14 thick spears, woody ends cut off
2 cups skinless and boneless cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
The zest of one medium lemon, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup diced tender celery (use the innermost pale green stalks)
¾ cup chopped walnuts
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or parsley, plus more for finishing
1 small to medium ripe avocado
1 small crisp apple (Salish or Honeycrisp apples are a great choice), washed and unpeeled
½ cup mayonnaise
Balsamic vinegar
Maldon or other flaky salt, for finishing
Heat the oven to 400F. While oven is heating, in a baking dish large enough to hold the asparagus in one layer, toss the asparagus spears with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the asparagus in the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the stalks begin to shrivel and color lightly.
While the asparagus is roasting, place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, and oil. Add lemon zest and juice, celery, walnuts, and tarragon. Mix well and set aside.
Take the asparagus out of the oven and drizzle with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Toss the spears gently to combine, and divide them onto two pretty dinner plates.
Taste the chicken salad and adjust for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper and lemon juice as desired. Dice the apple and avocado and add to the chicken salad. Fold in just enough mayonnaise to coat the ingredients and stir gently.
To serve, mound a generous amount of chicken salad on top of the asparagus spears on each plate. Sprinkle with additional tarragon and finish with Maldon salt.