Aarti Sequeira's Lady Marmalade Chicken Salad

I always have a hard time thinking of fresh ideas for what to take to school for lunch.  Ian is easy.  He loves his deli meat...especially when I make his sandwich.  I'm a little more picky, though.  In this month's Food Network Magazine, Aarti Sequeira and Emeril had a chicken salad showdown.  Normally, I think I would side with Emeril (especially because his entry was served in little avocado boats), but her recipe got me pretty excited.  Plus, little avocado boats would never hold up until lunch without browning!

First, I baked 3 chicken breasts in the oven, 425 degrees, for about 20 minutes.  I seasoned each side with salt and pepper and drizzled some olive oil first.

Then, I took the chicken out of the oven and smeared orange marmalade all over it!  I'm not usually a fan of fruity chicken, or orange marmalade for that matter, but I trusted Aarti on this one.

I threw the chicken back in the oven and let it broil on low for a few minutes.  Every minute or so I pulled it out and coated the chicken with some of its own orange-y juices.  When it started to caramelize, I took it out of the oven and let it cool.

Meanwhile, I tossed together 1 cup of halved red seedless grapes, a dices green apple, 3 scallions (instead of 1 shallot), 1 cup of stirred Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp of orange marmalade, juice from 1 lime, and some salt.

I got some canola oil nice and hot and simmered up some minced garlic and yellow mustard seeds (I didn't have brown mustard of cumin seeds so I made a substitution).  Once the garlic started to brown I added about 2 tsp of curry powder.  The smell was unreal!  Then, I drizzled this whole mixture right down into my salad.  

Finally, I diced up my orange-y chicken, folded it into my salad, and topped it all off with some chopped, salted cashews and cilantro.  Unbelievably good!  I will eat this all week, probably rolled up in bibb lettuce wraps.  Delicious!