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snow pea salad with avocado – smitten kitchen
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All nuts, but walnuts especially, are 100% better in a salad if toasted first. I put mine on a small sheet pan in a 350°F oven for 6 to 10 minutes, until slightly darker and fragrant. Let them cool while prepping the snow peas.
8 ounces (225 grams) fresh snow peas½ cup (50 grams) toasted walnuts (see note)4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oilJuice of half a big lemon (1 1/2 tablespoons/20 ml)Kosher salt, to tasteFreshly ground black pepper and mild red pepper flakes1 avocado, halved, pitted, and sliced thin
Soak snow peas in a large bowl of ice water for 10 to 20 minutes (longer is fine too). Drain and pat dry with a towel. Gather the peas in small stacks at a time and cut them lengthwise into thin ribbons.
Chop walnuts into rubble-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, ½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste), many grinds of black pepper, and pepper flakes to taste (I use ½ teaspoon). Whisk to combine. Add snow peas and toss until the vegetables are coated. Add avocado and gently toss until combined. Eat right away.
Do ahead: The lemon juice in the dressing discolors the snow peas a little over time, so if planning ahead, I add the walnut dressing right before serving.



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chicken salad for celery enthusiasts – smitten kitchen
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I’m not sure if this is a sign of hitting a certain age — like a sudden interest in bird feeders (check, and please tell me about yours), or beekeeping (well, in the TikTok sense, not sorry), and animated conversations on the best pillows (I hate mine) — but I’ve found over the last year that I have very strong opinions on chicken salad and the correct way to make it, which, naturally, is my way. I hope I’m in the right place to release them into the world.

Most of my previous experiences with chicken salad, save one that briefly charmed me in my early SK years, are merely coincidentally the reason I have trust issues with chicken salad. I want to know who made it, and with what vintage of chicken. I need to know their views on curry powder, raisins, grapes, and aggressive levels of tarragon. I need to know where they fall on the mayo meter, as in, do they believe it should cling gently to pieces of chicken or should it be a pond that the chicken wades in? In essence, I know chicken salad is one of those things that’s easy to love when it’s made your way, at home, by you, and it’s okay if not all beloved things are meant for wider consumption. But I see no reason to let that stop me.
To wit, here are the elements of my perfect chicken salad:
→ More celery than anyone asked for: I really, really like celery in my chicken salad and I put a lot in — seriously, it’s like 50% celery, which is to say crunchy, fresh, and delightful. I get this right out of the way in the title, as I know it’s not for everyone. But if it’s for you, I hope you’re halfway to the kitchen right now.
→ Juicy, flavorful chicken from bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts: “Why not just use boneless, skinless cutlets?” you are about to ask me and while I agree that sounds more practical, they’re simply never as moist and delicious.
→ Extra crispies: Plus, if you’re a little odd like me, you might also not find it necessary to waste the skin. You could, perhaps, put it back in a 400-degree oven with a little extra salt and bake it for 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s fully crisp, then cut into strips that you use to top your sandwich. Kind of like nature’s potato chip.
→ Seasoning early: I season the diced chicken directly, before adding anything else. It’s like wiring flavor into the foundation. Because both Dijon and jarred mayo have salt, I often find it needs little to no extra at the end.
→ And finally, minced scallions, for onion that’s not too onion-y. Herbs? You can, but I just don’t.

And while you can eat this any way you wish, I’m sure you’re not surprised I have specific preferences here too. I like to toast still-hinged slider rolls in a small amount of butter in a skillet before layering them with a piece of crisp lettuce, a scoop of chicken salad, and then any toppings your heart desires, from thinly-sliced pickles to red pickled onions, or those aforementioned bits of crispy chicken skin I know you’re still thinking about or horrified by, depending on your orientation. [A 65-word sentence? AI could never.] To lure in children, I often set out each of these options in bowls so everyone can fix their own sandwich. Ruffled — not flat — potato chips are also nonnegotiable on chicken salad nights, which have turned into a monthly thing, a favorite dinner on days where we’re all on different dinner schedules.



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raspberry swirl cheesecake bars – smitten kitchen
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Do you ever buy raspberries that go soft the moment you get them home? They’re perfect here — their darker, inkier color shows up beautifully in the swirl.

Crust1 cup (110 grams) graham or digestive cracker crumbs (about 7 sheets of grahams)2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugarPinch of salt3 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Swirl6 ounces (170 grams) fresh or frozen raspberries, defrosted2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
Cheesecake2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated sugar1 pound (2 8-ounce or 225-gram packages) cream cheese, at room temperature3 large eggsFinely grated zest and juice (1 to 2 tablespoons) from half a medium/large lemon
Heat oven: To 325 degrees F.
Line bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch rectangular baking pan with a large piece of parchment paper pressed into the corners and up the sides.
Make the crust: Combine crumbs, sugar, butter, and salt in a bowl with a fork until evenly mixed. Press firmly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make raspberry sauce for swirl: Process raspberries with sugar in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pass puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl and discard the seeds. Set aside.
Make the cheesecake: Beat cream cheese with sugar until fluffy, then beat in eggs, one at a time until thoroughly mixed, scraping down the sides and bottom of your bowl between each addition. Beat in lemon zest and juice. Pour cheesecake batter over the prepared crust (still warm from the oven is fine). Food processor method: Place sugar, then cream cheese (cold is fine here; cut into chunks) in work bowl of food processor and blend until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping bowl down between each. Add zest and juice and blend, scraping again.
Assemble: Transfer raspberry sauce to a squeeze bottle, piping bag, or a zip-lock bag with a tiny corner snipped off, and squeeze raspberry sauce into the cheesecake batter in two ways: First, pressing the tip into the batter to deposit raspberry in the lower half of the bars (essentially making “underwater” blobs of raspberry sauce all over) and then placing droplets all over the top surface. [Tips: Use all of the sauce, even if it seems like a lot. And don’t worry if it’s runny or makes a mess. It’s impossible for this not to come out pretty!] Use a toothpick or skewer to swirl the raspberry sauce decoratively. Transfer bars to the oven.
Bake the bars: For 40 to 50 minutes, or until the cheesecake batter jiggles just a little when the pan is shimmied. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then transfer to the fridge to chill the rest of the way.
To serve: Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the cool bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. Swipe the knife clean between each cut for neatness. Dipping the knife into water can help too.
Do ahead: Bars keep in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.



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