chicken salad

Y'all. I love chicken salad. Like a whole freakin' lot kind of love. No really. There are not words for this. The bakery at my college sells chicken salad sandwiches that are perfection. One time for my finance class I had to save up to buy something I really wanted for a project. The stipulations were that it was something that I really wanted, and that it was less than $20, and I had to save the same amount every week for the whole semester and then buy the thing and bring it to class. Obvs, I chose to save for a chicken salad sandwich. (There's something beautiful on campus called they sell actual foods like sandwiches from the bakery in the vending machines, which makes it real hard not to spend my life savings on these things.) My TA thought I was kidding, but I was dead serious.

Okay. Now that you have a clear understanding of how I feel about chicken salad, let me tell you about the journey I've been taking to find the essential concoction of spices to recreate this perfect chicken salad. I've tried so many different recipes, made up at least a zillion combinations, and found some decent but not quite perfect variations of this recipe. But this weekend I was craving chicken salad as usual, so I gave it another shot and stumbled upon this masterpiece. No. You don't understand. This salad was to die for. I hurried to record my results so that I could share them with you because everyone needs this kind of goodness in their lives. The secret is the balance between the paprika and the basil. It sounds odd, but trust me on this one. These are essential for true chicken salad production. Let's get started.

First, fill a large pot with water, and put in the raw chicken breasts. You may not know this, because not everyone reads the bag the chicken comes in, but before you cook it you should rub off the ice glaze under running water. So do that. Then put them in and bring it to a boil. Boil those chicken breasts until the juice runs clear when you cut into them.  When they're ready, take them out of water, save the water for broth if you want, and then cut the chicken into small cubes. Think like 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes.

Slide the chicken off the cutting board and into your dish of choice. I just mix everything together in a large tupperware so I save myself from a ton of dish washing, but use whatever suits your fancy. Don't reuse your cutting board because chicken is germy and gross. Get a new cutting board and dice up that apple. Keep the peel because it's pretty. Slice the celery into really thin slices so it'll be more evenly distributed in the salad. Same with the green onions. Slide all of that into your dish as well. Add the cranberries.

I never measure things, but I put some starter measurements down there for you. Don't feel limited. The key to the perfection of this recipe is the balance of the spices, the rest of it is up to your preference.  If you like lots of celery, slice up an extra rib, or use larger slices. If you love on those cranberries, throw in an extra handful. Add some almonds for good measure as you desire. Mix it around a few times so it's mixed up, not layered.

Measure the mayo into a separate dish. Mixing the spices into the mayo helps to evenly distribute them throughout the salad. I just mix it all up in a liquid measuring cup. Stir all the spices in. 

Stir really well so it's well blended. Then use a rubber spatula to scrape it all out and stir it in to the salad dish. Serve it out to eat it!

Ta da! Seems so easy because it is. You can eat it on croissants, on regular bread, or I have honestly just grabbed a fork and eaten it out of the tupperware. It's that good.

Most Perfect Chicken Salad
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 apple, cubed
2 celery ribs, sliced
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup cranberries
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic

Cook the chicken. Chop the apples, celery, and onions. Put the chicken, apples, celery, onions, and cranberries in a bowl. Measure the mayo into another bowl, and and mix the spices into the mayo. Stir the mayo mixture into the rest of the salad.