For 30 years, I was a faithful customer of Jammin’ Bread, a neighborhood bakery and sandwich shop. Cheryl, the owner, meticulously created sandwiches that were served on a variety of fresh breads. The desserts were out of this world and a few have been shared for this cook book. It was more than a place to get good food. Cheryl, the owner, and I often spent hours talking about recipes. Once she let me cook for the dinner service (Yikes! It was hard!), and you could always count on seeing someone you knew having lunch/dinner on the patio. In 2021, Cheryl closed Jammin’ Bread and moved to Georgia, a loss that echoed throughout Riverside. 

While working on the Rice Pudding recipe (also from Jammin’ Bread) for this project, Annie commented, “You know what I miss from Jammin’ Bread? The Cashew Curry Chicken Salad.”  I immediately picked up my phone and pulled up Cheryl’s number. I asked if she had the recipe handy and would be willing to share it.  

Here is the thing I love most about Cheryl. Her willingness to share recipes and advice. Without a moment of hesitation, she texted back, in pure Cheryl style, a photo of the handwritten recipe, stained from years of use, on a small crumpled-up piece of paper.  In sharing recipes she instilled a valuable lesson that has become part of my operation. Share recipes freely and encourage people to cook. 

Lorelei and Sherry, my sisters, took the recipe for a test drive.  After making it, they hit the road for a drive to LA to surprise Annie and Javi with a special lunch that got a 5-star review. 

Graciously contributed by Cheryl Duffy

Ingredients for salad

• 3 lb Chicken breast with the skin and bones
• 2 Granny Smith Apples, diced
• ½ C Celery, chopped
• 6 T Orange marmalade
• ¼ C Raisins
• 1 ½ C Mayonnaise
• 1 T Curry powder
• 4 t Lemon juice
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 C Cashews

Ingredients for poached chicken

• 10 Sprigs of parsley
• 2 Sprigs of thyme
• 1 Onion, halved
• 1 Carrot, halved
• 1 Celery stalk, halved
• 6 C Chicken broth
• 1 T Pepper corns

Directions

• Put the parsley, thyme, onion, carrot, celery, and chicken in a medium saucepan. Cover the chicken with 1 inch of broth (you can add more water if needed). Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and cover.  Poach the chicken for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.  Remove the pan from the heat, uncover, and cool the chicken in the liquid for 30 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and cut it into chunks.
• In a separate bowl, mix the orange marmalade, mayonnaise, curry powder, and lemon juice.
• Add chopped apples, celery, raisins, and chicken.
• Add cayenne pepper to taste.
• Add cashews at the last minute. Cheryl added eight cashews per ½ sandwich and 16 per whole sandwich.