Saturday, August 27, 2011

Tea Sandwich Saturday #35 - My Favorite Chicken Salad

Today I want to share both a favorite recipe I've made many times as well as some variations on the recipe. My very favorite chicken salad recipe is one I accidentally invented years ago. After reading Alexandra Stoddard's "Tea Celebrations," I decided to make her Tiny Chicken Waldorf Cream Puffs. I didn't want my sandwiches to be all that tiny, however, and I also didn't want the hassle of making cream puffs. So I made my sandwiches with mini-croissants and was very pleased with them. One day I was writing down the chicken salad recipe for a friend and suddenly noticed that the grapes I had always included weren't originally in that recipe at all. I'm not sure why I added them, I just know that I love the result, and that this has been my most-requested tea party recipe over the years. I've shared it before, but I didn't want to get to the end of this "tea sandwich year" without having this beloved recipe in the list of tea sandwich possibilities!

Chicken Waldorf Salad

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup grapes, chopped in half
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Salt and pepper to taste

Microwave the chicken breasts until done, then chop in a food processor. In another bowl, mix chicken with remaining ingredients and chill, preferably overnight so the flavors can meld. Do not skimp on the celery seed or you will regret it, as that is what makes this recipe!

Variation: If you've got turkey leftovers at Thanksgiving this year, you can use this same recipe and substitute turkey for the chicken, as I did here.

Garnish idea: Break Pepperidge Farm's butterfly crackers in half, add an inch or so of chopped chives for antenna and you have a quick and easy butterfly garnish for a scoop of chicken salad served in a sherbet dish!

9 comments:

  1. Hi Angela,

    Your sandwiches look delicious! This sounds like a great recipe. Did you use green grapes?

    Have a great weekend! We're bracing for hurricane Irene.

    Blessings, Darlene

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Darlene! Yes, I used green grapes for this recipe. The color and texture of this are so nice!

    ReplyDelete
  3. *Love* that photo with the butterfly cracker! The garnish, the composition, the color, it's all fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, I make something almost the same, but I am going to try yours - sounds great! I love your new picture, you look great. That's a good idea for the crackers, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the sound of this one. The butterfly crackers too look so cute. Now why haven't I thought to chop the chicken in the food processor. Silly me! I have always used the mini croissants, but recently gone to the small puff pastry. Just the opposite of you. Now I must try this recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hmmm... celery seed instead of my usual chopped celery. I will give it a try. And, I put halved seedless grapes in mine either green or red, depending on which I have on hand. But, had not thought of adding raisins, too. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I've been searching for the perfect chicken salad for years. Probably won't ever find it, because the fun part is the search (tasting) process! *LOL*

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not only delish sounding, but cute, too! I would definitely add grapes. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for sharing an old favorite again. It's been a while since I made it, I need to make it again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello Angela, these look Delicious! And the photos with the butterfly crackers, how pretty! This is a recipe to try -
    thank you for sharing,
    Joanie

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment! It makes my day to hear from readers!