Thursday, March 3, 2011

Chicken Salad

I LOVE chicken salad! But I rarely order it at a restaurant because I am somewhat picky about my chicken salad. And I rarely make it for myself because one batch is way too much for just me. So I love a chance to help throw a baby shower so I can make chicken salad. I was asked to bring little sandwiches to a baby shower a couple of weeks ago and my chicken salad on cream puffs paired with these were such a hit!
Again, I forgot to take a picture. This one is courtesy of sheknows.com via google images. This one looks like it has red onion in it. I've never tried it that way, but I think it sounds like a good idea!

Chicken Salad
-2 large cans of chicken--the ones you get at Costco (This may be considered cheating, which I'm totally ok with, but it also keeps the chicken salad from getting too dry)
-1/2 cup mayo
-2-3 Tbs. spicy brown mustard
-1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
-1/4 tsp. each garlic powder and onion powder
-1 tsp. curry powder
-2-3 Tbs. pickle juice (optional)

-1 apple, finely chopped (Braeburn or Gala are good. Nothing too sweet, nothing too tart.)

Ok, so most things in this are approximated because I don't usually measure with this one. I will give you my best estimates, but I would recommend being conservative, tasting as you go, and adjusting according to your preferences. :-)

-Drain all the liquid off of one can of chicken and half the liquid off the other. Dump chicken into the bowl of a food processor.
-Add mayo, mustard, pickle juice, and seasonings
-Pulse until everything is well blended and chicken is fine, but not mushy
-At this point taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. If the chicken is too dry, add more mayo.
-Once the seasonings are adjusted, fold in finely chopped apple
-Serve on your favorite bread. I would recommend a good croissant, toasted sourdough, or the cream puffs found below!

2 comments:

Grandma Honey said...

You just planned the next shower I'll give! So is that dill pickle or sweet pickle juice you use? Interesting you have pickle juice but no pickles. I think those 2 sandwiches would look so good together.

So do you also make your own cream puffs that you put this chicken salad on?

Julie said...

I use dill pickle juice, but i only add it if I feel like it needs a little extra kick.