Main Dish Salad: Mendocino Chicken Salad

Mar 27, 2005 Fantabulous. Realize that EVERYTHING in this salad plays its part -- the smokiness of the chicken, the sweet grape juice-bombs, and the crunchiness of the almonds and celery, to name a few. I could not find smoked chicken, so I threw four half-chicken breasts, two teaspoons of hickory liquid smoke (spice or bbq sauce aisle), some olive oil, and fresh ground pepper in a ziploc bag overnight, rubbing and turning once or twice, and then simply baked them in the morning (don't overcook!). Also, added things to the bowl in a certain way (not sure how much it mattered, but I didn't want the grapes crushed): chicken, onion, celery, then almonds. Then I lightly salted and peppered, tossing. Then the grapes, mayo and basil, gently. Tripled the batch, brought it to an Easter picnic, and people RAVED. My only tip? Increase the chicken by about half, and make it all the night before -- I'm sure the flavors will blend even better after some hours in the fridge. Kristine, will you marry me? :) Thank you for this recipe!

—CHEFSINGLEDAD 

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