Saturday, February 2, 2013

Tea Room Recipe #5 - Miss Mable's Tea Room (Dickson, Tenn.)

One of my all-time favorite tea rooms was Miss Mable's in Dickson, Tenn. My girlfriend Beth and I made a special overnight trip to Tennessee just to go to the tea room, and it was definitely worth every mile we traveled to get there! The house was lovely, the food was scrumptious (an excellent heart-shaped scone glistening with sugar crystals stands out in my memory), and I particularly remember the gracious proprietress, Fay Davidson. I also remember a magnificent gift shop, a series of gift shops, really, and all that together made this a memorable tea room.

Naturally, I came home with a cookbook, and since Miss Mable's closed in 2009, I am most grateful for my book!

I seem to be drawn to comfort food this winter, and this recipe for Hot Chicken Salad greatly appealed to me. The funny thing is, it calls for a potato chip topping, and I almost never eat potato chips (my weakness is sweets, not salt), but the potato chips made this oh-so-good. I definitely recommend you serve this sometime when the hot, crispy-topped dish will be eaten up on the spot!

Hot Chicken Salad

3 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (I used boneless chicken breasts)
2 (10-3/4-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste (go light on the salt; this dish has plenty!)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss or cheddar cheese (I used 1 cup of cheddar)
2 cups potato chips, crushed

Mix all ingredients except cheese and chips and pour into an 8- or 9-inch-square casserole dish prepared with cooking spray. Top with cheese, then chips, and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Yields 6 large servings. Would be great as a "ladies luncheon" entree!


14 comments:

  1. That looks so good that I went for a fork !!!! I will be making this . Thanks :)

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  2. Love that stuff! I have topped it with crispy onions, too (like you'd put on a green bean casserole) and that was good too. But the chips are classic. Yum!

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  3. Comfort food is a staple here and I just happen to have some leftover chicken that I was wondering how to be creative with. Thanks for the recipe Angela, it looks so good! We don't buy chips either but I can see how they would be a tasty crunchy topping.
    Judith

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  4. Oh, Angela, I totally agree with your assessment of Miss Mable's Tea Room. I have the cookbook that you featured, plus her second one - The Pleasures and Treasures of Taking Tea at Miss Mable's Tea Room. I was blessed to visit her tea room twice and each time was a special treat. Fay Davidson is a delightful lady. I was sad when I learned she was closing. Thank you for transporting me back to my visits there. My memories are fond, indeed.

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  5. Wow, I wish I had had the opportunity to eat at Miss Mable's! Sounds like a lovely place.

    Angela, if you are ever in Edmond, Oklahoma you'll want to look up Inspirations Tea Room. I've only been there once, but it was wonderful, and they serve the heart-shaped scones like you mentioned in today's post.

    http://inspirationstearoom.com/?page_id=1112

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  6. What a mouth-watering photo, Angela! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and the story about Fay Davidson and Miss Mable's Tea Room. Sorry I didn't get to go there, but grateful that you did! I'm enjoying your series, Joanie

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  7. We visited this tea room on a trip through TN to a meeting. AJ was just a little guy. I have a photo of him on Miss Mable's porch and another with her PT Cruiser. I have both recipe books and often refer to "The Peasures and Treasures of Taking Tea..." with its monthly theme menus.

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  8. I am terrible about craving salt - so this would hit the spot! So many tea rooms have folded - it's nice to see some going strong!

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  9. Yum! I will have to try this

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  10. I would love this! Oh yummm! So glad you did get the cookbook while they were open.

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  11. OH my goodness tht looks good... and Im sure you removed the calories... yikes... I defintely want to try that!!!!

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  12. I had to come check out the recipe after seeing it on Judith's post. The recipe sounds delicious and the tea room sounded wonderful. Too bad it had to close!

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  13. yeah... finally... I actually have this one!

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  14. I was blessed to have worked at Miss Mable’s Tea Room just before they closed. I am now even more blessed to be married to Fay Davidson’s youngest son. They are truly a phenomenal family and it pleases my heart to read your beautiful words about an establishment that is so dearly missed. I am about to make their wonderful tomato pie right now! From our family to yours, thank you. If you ever make it back to Dickson, check out their quilt shop, Granny B’s and say hello to Mrs. Fay. She would love to hear about how much you enjoyed the tea room.

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