Sonoma Chicken Salad

I enjoy chicken salad, but I am really picky.  I don't like when the chicken is shredded.  I don't like when there is tons of mayonnaise.  I want something that adds texture to the chicken salad.  I have a lot of rules for good chicken salad.  My favorite chicken salad ever, the cook wouldn't give me the recipe.  Major disappointment!  This is the first chicken salad since that favorite years ago that I considered worth seeking out the recipe.

This is Whole Foods recipe for Sonoma Chicken Salad.

for the dressing

- 1 cup mayonnaise

- 4 tsp apple cider vinegar

- 5 tsp honey

- 2 tsp poppyseeds

- salt and pepper, to taste

for the salad,

- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

- 3/4 cups pecan pieces, toasted

- 2 cups red seedless grapes, halved

- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Combine the dressing ingredients.  Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad.  This can be prepared up to two days ahead.

Stir together the chicken (when cold) with the pecans, grapes, celery, and dressing.

Serve over salad greens.  Or, in a sandwich.  Or just eat.

Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Jicama and Mango Salad

Jicama?  What's that?  Will and I watch Chopped, obsessively watch Chopped.  Jicama has shown up often enough that it stands out in my mind.  I remember that they describe it as "a potato-like starch commonly used in Latin cuisine."  I wanted to try it.  

Jicamas are huge!  So, I used ~3/4 of my jicama in this salad and then roasted the rest of it the next night, in order to try it both ways.  Roasted was so good! just roast it enough to overcome the supremely crunchy nature of it, which is what made it so good in this salad.  I actually describe jicama as a starchy root vegetable with some juicy, citrus notes.  

If you like Mexican food, if you want to try something new, if you like fresh and crispy, then this is definitely worth trying!

- 1 medium jicama, about 1 lb.
- 2 small cucumbers
- 3 medium mangoes
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 limes, juiced
- kosher salt

Peel and cut the jicama into long thin strips.  Slice the cucumbers in half, scoop out the seeds, and cut into strips approximately the same size as the jicama.  Peel the mangoes, cut the cheeks off, and then slice into wedges.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl with the cilantro, chili powder, and lime juice.  Just before serving, garnish with a little salt and a few sprigs of cilantro.

 Notes of interest:  Anna-Kate ate this!  She enjoyed the jicama most when roasted but she ate the salad!  That means this will be repeated in our house!  I found this by searching "jicama" at foodnetwork.com.  Thank you to Tyler Florence for this one!  (According to him, this recipe serves 6.)

Black Bean Salad

I stole this from my sister-in-law who stole it from Skinny Taste. It is so yummy! It really needs no other description.

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 9 oz. frozen corn, thawed
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 scallion, chopped

- juice of one lime

- 3 tbsp evoo

- 1 tbsp cilantro

- salt and pepper

- 1 avocado, diced

Combine beans, corn, tomato, red onion, scallion, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix with olive oil and lime juice. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Add avocado just before serving.

I served the salad with a Mexican-flavored pizza. Quite yummy! I could see serving it with this favorite chicken of mine, or really an Mexican-style dish!