My Pioneer Adventure #5 - Basic Chicken Salad

Basic Chicken Salad

I didn't mean to be so long in posting the next review. However, my sinus issues came back with a vengeance and I had an extremely difficult start to the week causing me to leave work early on Monday and head to the doctor. A steroid shot and steroid pack, along with an antibiotic was in order. Thursday morning, I gloriously awoke for the first time in a week, without a splitting headache!

So...onto the next recipe. Basic Chicken Salad.

I have always loved chicken salad, but I tend to be a bit picky about what goes in mine. I don't like fruit in mine...at all. So when I read this recipe and and saw that it had grapes in it, I approached it hesitantly. But I went for it anyway.

Can I tell you something? Ree has changed my thoughts on fruit in chicken salad! I don't have any idea why this worked for me...maybe it was the combination of the other ingredients, but my eyes have been opened to a whole new world!

The only thing I did differently from the recipe was leave the celery out. I love celery in chicken salad - sometimes that is the only thing I add to the chicken besides the dressing. However, one of the 2 or 3 things in this world that my husband does not eat, is celery. Therefore, I left it out so he would eat the salad.

The recipe calls for yogurt or sour cream. I had sour cream on hand, and no yogurt, so it was a no-brainer. I'm not a yogurt fan, but I'm sure it would have tasted just as good in the dressing.

I also loved the nice little crunch that the almonds added. Oh, and I forgot to buy fresh dill, and mine hasn't grown enough for harvesting yet, so I was stuck using dried. It worked fine, but I would love the bright taste of fresh next time.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I was most definitely a fan of this chicken salad. I served it on yummy, flaky croissants.

As for the rest of the family...

Chip wrinkled his nose when he walked into the kitchen and saw the grapes jumping into the bowl. He's not fond of fruit in chicken salad either. He wasn't won over quite as easily as I was. He ate the grapes out of it, and then ate the rest on his croissant. He liked that. Just not a fan of the grapes.

CJ liked it very much. He prefers grapes in his chicken salad.

Ruthi tasted it by itself and really liked it. But when I made a sandwich for her, something changed and she didn't care for it so much anymore. But she's 7...and a girl...so she's wishy-washy. She did end up picking out just the chicken and eating that.

I would definitely make this again. I think it would be great for a ladies brunch!

*Edited to add: I meant to put this in before I published, but I completely forgot! Ree has a recipe for chicken salad on her blog...it is almost the same one that is in the cookbook! In this version, she boils the chicken. In the book, she just says cooked, chopped chicken, so doesn't include the step of boiling it. (And I actually used a purchased rotisserie chicken from the deli.) You can find it by clicking right HERE.