Sara Ambarian's
Independence Day Recipes

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Chicken-Tahini Salad

1 head green leaf lettuce
1 cucumber, chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced baby carrots
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup sliced green onions
sesame seeds

Dressing--

1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons honey
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
dash red pepper flakes
dash salt (optional)
dash pepper (optional)

Mix all dressing ingredients together at room temperature, then let rest in the refrigerator for four hours to overnight. Prepare lettuce greens and layer other ingredients on top, except green onions and sesame seeds. If dressing is too thick for your preference, add a little more sesame oil and/or water until the consistency is appealing. Present salad, dressing, and green onions and sesame seeds (for garnish) separately, so people can dress their own plates as desired. Serves 6-8 as a dinner salad, more as a side dish.

Roast Seasoned Chicken

2 dozen chicken thighs or drumsticks (skin on or off, as desired)

1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 heaping teaspoon lemon pepper or black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion salt or salt (optional)
dash cayenne pepper (optional)

olive, vegetable or peanut oil (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together. Lightly grease two baking pans and place chicken pieces so they do not touch. Drizzle chicken lightly with oil, if desired. Sprinkle with half of seasoning mixture, turn each piece of chicken and repeat on the other side. Bake 50 minutes, or until fully cooked. Serve hot or cold. Makes 2 dozen thighs/drumsticks. ( This recipe is also good for drummettes or "party wings" to use as appetizers; just reduce the cooking time accordingly. Makes 3-4 dozen drummettes.)

Easy Red-White-and-Blue Cheesepies

2 pre-made graham cracker pie crusts
2 1/2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2/3 cup plain, vanilla or lemon yogurt

2 - 21 ounce cans "more fruit" cherry pie filling
2- 21 ounce cans "more fruit" blueberry pie filling

whipped cream or non-dairy topping, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, cream the cream cheese with the sugar until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, and mix well. Add extracts and yogurt, and beat until smooth. Pour mixture into pie crusts. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until center is set and sides are lightly colored.

Cool on wire rack until cool to the touch. Top with fruit filling. For all three colors in each slice, start by putting a circle of cherry filling in the center of one pie, then surround it with blueberry filling. Use the remaining blueberry filling for the center of the other pie, then surround that with the remaining cherry filling. Make sure filling covers the entire top right up to the crust, to keep the cheese filling fresh. Garnish with whipped cream or non-dairy topping if you like. Chill. Makes 2 cheesepies.

Copyright 2008. Sara L. Ambarian