Today is my dad’s birthday. He would have been 48 today. Since his death 2 years ago, February 10th has been a weird day for me. I literally cry every day, but today is a bit worse for obvious reasons. This year I decided to not purposely take the day off from life and I decided to keep going about business as usual… Classes, babysitting, homework, and making models of sea monsters with crescent rolls.
Instead, the copious tears and time alone happened last night (as did the sea monster, actually).
I was in need of serious comfort food. And then it hit me: I needed to make one of my dad’s favorite foods, which also happens to be one of my favorite foods. This was one of the dishes I remember him absolutely loving and I have very fond memories of him hiding the leftovers in the fridge so that he could eat them for breakfast lunch the next day.
So last night I whipped out a Chicken Broccoli Braid, a recipe so engrained in my memory that I don’t even have directions written down. I just know it. When I took the first bite, I felt myself sitting back at the kitchen table with my mom, dad, and brother and eating this same dish. I cried the whole time I ate it, but that is okay.
This is true comfort food for me.
Chicken Broccoli Braid (serves 4)
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
heaping 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 tube crescent rolls (containing dough for 8 rolls)
salt & pepper to taste
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, green pepper, garlic, mayonnaise, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. On a cookie sheet, arrange crescent roll dough so that the long tips of the triangles are pointing away from the center and the thicker parts are overlapping. Place the filling in the center of the dough arrangement and begin to wrap the rolls around the filling (using any kind of design or arrangement as you wish). Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top if desired and bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes. Slice and serve hot!
