Hi Sir David        9/8/2016


dd> Actually last night was pre-cooked/made chicken salad in lf-cantaloupes.
dd> It's getting near the end of the local mush-melon season and I was

BF> Shirley's away to Bridge tonight, and I have 1/2 a cantaloupe.  
bf>  I shall save 1/4 a cantaloupe for her.  That leaves me with 1/4 of a
bf> cantaloupe to stuff.

dd> But you can get the same effect by peeling the melon and cutting it 
dd> into chunks which you then mix with the (whatever) salad. 

No, I want Stuffed Cantaloupe.  The name appeals.

BF> IF,  I say, IF I STILL feel ambitious in about an hour and a half,
>  BF> I will figure out how to stuff 1/4 of a smallish cantaloupe.  Then I
BF> will make up the recipe (muffled laughter).

DD> So, did you surprise Shirley and present her with a ready-made plate of
DD> grub?

No. she gets back too late for that... 11pm or so.

Here's a messed up version of your recipe, showing sort of what I did.

 I USED: 1.5oz ham                            3 c  Cooked chicken; cut up
    : Yogurt 1Tbs                           1/4 c  + 2 tb dairy sour cream
    : Mayo 1Tbs                             1/4 c  + 2 tb mayonnaise
    : 1 tbs - all there was                 1/4 c  Carrot; fine chopped
    : 1 tsp                                    2 tb Cilantro; fine snipped
    : no capers                               2 tb Capers (opt)
    : 3 stuffed green olives                  2 tb Canned pimentos; chopped
    : 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers             4 oz Can chopped green
chilies
    : 2 tsp                                    2 tb Lime juice
    : 1/8 tsp                                1/2 ts Cumin; ground
    : 1/8 tsp Italian Seasoning              1/2 ts Oregano leaves; dried
    : 1 Tbs Onion                            1/2 c  Onion; chopped
    : 2 tsp old, dried scrubbed celery       1/2 C  Diced celery
    : none                                        1    Avocado; peeled, 
                                                   in wedges- (opt)
 
 dd> Toss all ingredients except avocado and paprika.

Eh?? Paprika?  What Paprika?

I tossed the ingredients, scooped a little bit of melon out [room for the
salad] and added it in chunks to the salad. Then dumped the salad onto the
melon, and have'd at it with a spoon.

How was it:  Didn't look much like a salad. Too many small/tiny bits of
color blanded (made up word) together.  I should have used sliced pieces of
pork instead of half cubed.  The 'cut up' direction wasn't much of a guide
to a novice. I made everything about the same size. 

The first taste of the salad minus the melon was ok, but kinda blah, except
for the red pepper. [whoosh.. a surprise]

But the first taste of the salad cum melon was quite good.  The melon added
a lot to the whole.  The heat of the red pepper was not really strong, but
sure was pervasive.  It was too much for the dish.  Are the suggested green
chilies not hot?  

On my own I think I would make it more salad looking with torn up lettuce.
And some tomatoe... But that would be a different dish, wouldn't it.

I ate it all, and it was acceptable fare.  

Finding all the ingredients, and going thru all the measuring and mess was
a pain to an Eat.  Too much fussing around for me.   But I can see that as
a
labor of love, or as a necessity, that it would seem rewarding.

One last point, for Michael's sake:  Yes, my Cumin, etc., were probably
ancient (although we did clean out after your last... ummm... comment
regarding our spices).  So that may have contributed to a certain
blandness,
outside of the red pepper.

Oh, and a certain amount of gross incompetence on the cook's part.


 Burt