Friday, January 05, 2007

The Tuna Waldorf Open-face + a hat!

I finished a somewhat differently styled hat a couple of nights ago.  It didn’t originally start out to be a hat - it started out to be a scarf.  However, when it was about 15” long, it was clear there wasn’t going to be enough yarn to make a scarf long enough for anyone but Barbie!  So I modified my thinking and this is what happened…



One row hat



It is based on the Harlot’s One Row Handspun Scarf with which I seem to be obsessed this winter.  I knit the pattern over 20 stitches for about 20” and then added a couple more rows (chunky yarn and size 10 US (6 mm) needles).  The ends were folded together and I picked up a cast on stitch and knit it together with the corresponding stitch on the needle and proceeded as with an ordinary bind-off.  Then, without cutting the yarn, I picked up stitches all around the edge and began decreasing them (8 per round, alternating with a plain knit round) eventually ending in about 4” of I-cord for a top knot.  Were I to do this again, I would use a provisional cast-on and do goofy grafting or a three needle bind-off.  Of course, regular kitchener stitch will work too for those of you who’s fingers aren’t all thumbs, like mine :)



One row hat



On Christmas Eve, dad and I went over to my aunt’s house (his younger sister) for dinner.  It was really nice to see her again as I hadn’t for several years, and to make the acquaintance of my now adult cousin whom I remember being born when I was about 10 years old!

Aunt Ev served a chicken salad for dinner made like a traditional Waldorf Salad, but with chicken added.  She kept it simple, but it was absolutely delicious and, of course, I wanted to try it myself :)

And, of course, I changed things somewhat in so doing.

The standard recipe for a Waldorf Salad contains celery and (at least in the preponderance of the recipes I checked) red, seedless grapes.  I don’t care for raw celery, so I left that out.  I hadn’t known about the grapes or I might have included them as I do love red grapes :) Ultimately, this is what I came up with:

Open Faced Tuna Waldorf Salad Sandwiches
Serves 2

2 bulkie rolls (croissants, bagels - whatever you prefer)
1 can (6 oz) solid white albacore tuna, drained and flaked (or an equivalent amount of cooked, chopped chicken breast)
1/2 an apple (I used a Braeburn - exquisite!) - peeled or not as you choose
1/2 c walnut meats, roughly chopped
4 slices of your preferred cheese
Mayonnaise to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by making your salad.  Flake your tuna into a bowl.



Tuna in bowl



Chop your apple and walnuts and added them to the tuna.



Apples and walnuts



Add whatever quantity of mayonnaise you need to achieve the consistency you like.

Slice your rolls open and toast gently.  Butter the cut surface very lightly and top with a piece of cheese.  Place all four be-cheesed (is that a word?) roll halves on a microwave-safe plate and stick in the nuker for about 40 seconds - just long enough to melt the cheese.



Rolls with melted cheese



Top each with one fourth of your salad and generously grind on the pepper.



The whole nine yards



Serve with a green salad or a cup of soup.  Honestly folks, this seriously rocks!

Have a great weekend :)

Babbled by Robbyn on 01/05 at 01:53 PM
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  1. the ‘hat idea’ is seriously clever and i think it could lead to all kinds of interesting chapeaux- i seem to always find scarf patterns that look interesting, but i really don’t want to knit 72” of the pattern regardless of how much fun it was in the beginning- converting the pattern to a hat is just genius- i doff my hat to you (sorry, bad pun!)

    the salad looks yummy- i’ve done something similar with tuna and some of the members of my family who usually say ‘ew, tuna fish’ have eaten it with pleasure-

    stay happy-

    Posted by  on  01/05  at  01:16 PM
    Location : feeling 'socki-ish' here too

  2. So THAT’S why you had the one row pattern in your brain last night. :-D The hat looks great and very much like you meant to on purpose, as is your wont.
    Yum-a new recipe! I’ve been missing your recipes.

    Happy New Year to all y’all.

    Posted by  on  01/05  at  01:27 PM
    Location : Louisiana: warm and damp, darnit

  3. Barb - I too had the thought that any pattern could be adapted for the body and so there could be a near infinite variety of “hats”.  It was fun to work out :)

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/05  at  01:46 PM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

  4. Aarlene - Well thanks - I’m glad the hat doesn’t look like an accident :) But I’d remember that stitch pattern anyway - my mind is like that!

    The salad isn’t so much a recipe and a suggested combination of things and I could see doing it a lot differently than I did - adding some red onion and using provolone chees, for example.

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/05  at  01:48 PM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

  5. Love your hat—and Barb’s comment that any scarf can be turned into a hat! I’m wearing my first One-Row Scarf (Fearless Fibers variegated yarn) now (my house is freezing), and I made a green alpaca one for Christmas for a nephew who is always cold. He seemed delighted. Truly a great pattern. And your salad leaves me drooling. Thanks for the inspirations.

    Posted by  on  01/05  at  02:30 PM
    Location : Cambridge, Mass.

  6. Luise - Nice to hear from you :) Yep, this stitch is a real winner and I can only hope Stephanie doens’t start charging for the use of it - LOL!  It doens’t look like I’m going to slow down any time soon!

    Glad you likes the recipe - I love tempting tastebuds :)

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/05  at  04:59 PM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

  7. hi Robb
    Sorry I couldn’t stick around for Chatters yesterday.
    You’re not the only one obsessing about Harlot’s ORScarf. I knitted a matching hat with the leftovers of mine a few months ago ... but not as creative [and cute] as yours ... just a standard beanie using her pattern instead of 2 x 2 rib.

    Posted by catsmum  on  01/05  at  05:36 PM
    Location : OZtralia

  8. Susan - It was good to see you for however long you could stick around :) The hat was fun - once I could see in my head how to put it together and now, of course, I’m dying to try out variations!  Not like I don’t have a sweater to finish - heheh…

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/05  at  08:24 PM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

  9. Yum, that sandwich looks wonderful! I’ll have to try that one, minus the cheese (have to stick with no fat). Your hat came out great! I’ve made 3 of those scarves so far this winter. Easy, I don’t have to think too hard.
    Sorry I missed Chatters last night. The Baby Girl goes back to college tomorrow and we were watching Mash reruns together. Couldn’t leave her.
    Sheri in GA

    Posted by Sheri  on  01/05  at  08:59 PM
    Location : GA

  10. Sheri - No problem - first things first, after all :) Besides, M*A*S*H re-runs are fun!

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/05  at  09:24 PM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

  11. Your hat is inspired!  You are so creative and such a prolific knitter.  It’s like you have a finished project almost every day.  You must not have a day job, he he. :-)

    You’ve inspired me to start making sideways hats. 

    You know, I usually cringe when I hear about yet another blogger who has written a book, but I really think you should!  Your tips and techniques section is totally awesome.  And you could have a chapter on dyeing with easter egg colors and kool-aid.

    Posted by Marcy  on  01/06  at  01:47 AM
    Location : Eugene, OR

  12. Marcy - A book?!?!?  Oh heavens no!  For one thing, writing a book is a lot like work and, frankly, there are other things I’d rather be doing :)

    I am, however, very happy that you enjoy the blog and find its various pieces useful.  That’s what they’re there for :)

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/06  at  09:51 AM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

  13. What a gorgeous hat! Ingenious!

    Posted by Opal  on  01/09  at  09:29 PM
    Location : Honolulu, Hawaii

  14. Thanks Opal - Not so much inspiration as desperation :) I didn’t want to waste the yarn and I didn’t want to frog what I’d already done!

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/09  at  11:58 PM
    Location : Swimming in the stash :)

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