Regaining Chicken Salad’s Dignity, Any Time of Day

[elleng]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/dining/chicken-salad-recipe.html?

[Warpy]

1. My landlady when I was in college in the 60s

made the best chicken salad I've ever eaten. About all I can remember is that it had halved, peeled grapes in it. It was totally out of this world.

I've never duplicated it, mostly for lack of trying in the face of high food prices. Maybe modifying this one will do the trick.

[elleng]

2. Best one I've had

was at Berghoff restaurant in Chicago, and an important feature: pieces of apple in it. Not on the menu now, it appears.

[Warpy]

3. I'm sensing a pattern here

I think my next one will be Waldorf salad with chicken.

[elleng]

4. Sounds OK

but Waldorf was never one of mine. I don't like walnuts!

OK, I'm HUNGRY!

[csziggy]

7. Mom always made Waldorf salad with pecans

Mostly because her brother in Alabama would send us shelled pecans (and we'd send them oranges). On the other hand, we had to buy walnuts so most of the recipes that called for nuts got pecans in them.

Now I want to make Mom's Waldorf salad - apples, pecans, celery and sometimes raisins with a splash of lemon to keep the apples from turning brown and just enough mayonnaise to hold it together. Hmm, I have an event on Saturday and have been wondering what to make for it. I think I know what I'll do now!

[japple]

5. Chicken salad with celery, pecans, chopped green onion, halved

green grapes or chopped apple (or both), a few shakes of garam masala and dressed with poppyseed dressing is my favorite.

[dem in texas]

6. Chicken Salad at Neiman Marcus

Back in the early 50's Neiman Marcus hired Helen Corbitt to set up their tea rooms in Dallas. I think only one is left, in their North Park Mall store. The best thing on the menu was the chicken salad. Years ago, I was working with a client company in an East coast city and one of the employees said she used to live and work in Dallas. She said when things got bad at work, she'd go over to North Park to eat Helen Corbitt's chicken salad at the Zodiac room I remember it had mayonnaise and cream like the recipe in the NYT. Haven't eaten there since my granddaughters were young, they loved to go there.

[Phentex]

8. This thread made me order a chicken slad plate yesterday...

it was pretty basic but still good. My preference is the kind with grapes and celery for some added crunch. But honestly, I love all kinds...even the ones from the vending machine.

[Galileo126]

9. Indeed - I don't know what it is, but...

I actually like the chix salad that was/is served at banquets. Maybe it is because everything is thrown in a food processor (onion, celery, chicken) then mixed with Miracle Whip dressing?

Yeah, I'm a sucker for gas station chix salad sandwiches. Go figure.

[SheilaT]

10. I don't know if it's still true,

but back in the early 80's I briefly lived in Minneapolis. It was then, so far as I could tell, the unsung chicken salad capital of the world. Every restaurant did a chicken salad, and every one was different.

If that's still true, someone should organize a Chicken Salad Tour of the Twin Cities.

[msanthrope]

11. Best? Curry paste, mango chutney, yogurt, golden raisins. nt

[SheilaT]

15. Oh, oh, oh.

I'd eat that one.

[msanthrope]

13. What did I miss? nt

[dem in texas]

14. Helen Corbitt's Chicken Salad

If you are not an old lady from Texas, you have probably never heard of Helen Corbitt. She was the "Natalie Dupree of Texas Cooking". She was hired by Neiman Marcus in the 1950's to set up their restaurant, the Zodiac Room, which is still in operation today, although not in their original downtown Dallas location. She bought fine dining to the barbeque crowd and authored several cookbooks.

One of most her most famous recipes was chicken salad and Neiman's still serves this dish at their North Park location.

Chicken Salad Supreme (from her first cookbook, originally published in 1957)

2 1/2 cups diced cold chicken
1 cup celery, chopped fine
1 cup sliced white grapes
1/2 cup shredded browned almonds
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

Combine and serve in lettuce cups, garnished with chicken or olives sliced.

[cali]

16. Not an old lady from TX, but of I am familiar with her. My mom had a cookbook she'd written