chicken salad – LoremIpsum

Neiman Marcus Chicken Salad is a classic “go-to” recipe in our family. Every time I am shopping at Northpark’s Neiman Marcus in Dallas, for lunch I will order the “Mermaid Legends” from the “Mermaid Bar Cafe” on the first floor. The “Mermaid Legends” includes a scoop of chicken salad, a cup of fruit, and tortilla soup. I just love it and have been ordering this for years…

Because I am such a Neiman’s fan, I have the “Neiman Marcus Cookbook”, and from it I’ve made popovers and strawberry butter, chocolate chip cookies, mississippi mud cake (I need to put this on the blog!), tortilla soup, and now I’m sharing with you the Neiman Marcus Chicken Salad recipe. It is my all-time favorite chicken salad recipe, is extremely simple to make, and tastes just like when I order it from Neimans. The simplicity of this recipe is all you need for a great chicken salad. Sometimes I find that too many ingredients in chicken salad can be a bit overwhelming, as it takes away from the salad. However, I did decide to add some slivered almonds to my chicken salad to give it that extra “crunch”. Enjoy!

Place cooked chicken in a large bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar.

Add chopped celery, mayonnaise, and cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Fold ingredients gently to combine and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

My husband’s plate: chicken salad on toasted whole grain bread and spinach, with a side of fruit.

My plate: scoop of chicken salad next to a bed of spinach, with a side of fruit.

Neiman Marcus Chicken Salad

Ingredients
2 3/4 cup diced poached chicken breast
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 cup minced celery
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground white pepper (I used black pepper)
*sliced almonds or pecans (optional)

Directions
1. Transfer the diced chicken to a mixing bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar. Add the celery, mayonnaise, and cream, and almonds (optional). Season with salt and pepper.
2. Fold the ingredients gently to combine and adjust the seasoning to taste.
3. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator.

Yield: 4 servings

Her is “kind of” of a recipe for chicken salad. I say “kind of” because I did not measure anything out; I just put in the amounts I thought fitting. In addition to chicken and celery, I added grapes, almonds, and red onions to the mixture. I think you can make this however you like. If you like dried cranberries, add them, while leaving out the grapes. If you don’t like nuts, leave them out. My mom puts pecans in hers, and leaves the celery out for my sister. I think you get the point…chicken salad is a recipe that YOU are in control of. Enjoy!! I love to eat mine on a bed of spinach, coupled with a Neiman Marcus popover and strawberry butter.

Dice your red onion and celery, and halve the grapes.

Poach chicken and cut into cubes. Place in large bowl.

Add celery, red onion, grapes, and almonds to chicken.

Combine half-and-half and mayonnaise in small bowl.

Pour sauce over chicken mixture to coat.

Serve over a bed of spinach or make a chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat bread.

Chicken Salad…the Way I Like It

Ingredients
Diced poached chicken
Minced celery
Diced grapes
Mayonnaise
Red onion, finely diced
Sliced almonds
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Transfer the diced chicken to a mixing bowl.
2. Add the celery, grapes, almonds, mayonnaise, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Fold the ingredients gently to combine and adjust the seasonings to taste. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator.