For the Love of...Chicken Salad

Really, I'm not kidding, I love chicken salad, well, when it's done right.  I'm pretty sure this food passion started shortly after college when I was a newlywed living in a new city with a new job.  I went with my colleagues to Kitchen Door (sadly, now closed I just learned) and was told that I MUST order the chicken salad sandwich.  Up until that point, I really had never liked chicken salad all that much and felt it belonged lumped into the same category as egg salad (gross!) and tuna salad (which I pretty much refuse to be in the same room as)--but a little peer pressure to try THIS chicken salad was all I needed from a group I was trying to impress and well, they were right, it was amazing.  You know it had to be good if I still have a food memory of it nearly a decade later and I even remember the name of the restaurant (seriously, I'm so sad that it's closed!).

I started dabbling in trying to create my own amazing chicken salad--something creamy, but not drowning in mayonnaise, with chopped, not shredded chicken and a little crunch.  I came up with something pretty good, then after moving to the DC area I had Booeymonger's chicken salad sandwhich and learned what the perfect accompaniments really are...avocado and alfalfa sprouts with a side of their house sauce--a creamy curry dressing (it's to die for).

I had almost forgotten how great that creamy curry dressing made the chicken salad until the other day when I decided to add a twist to my go-to chicken salad with a little curry (well, maybe a lot to some people) and tumeric--to my astonishment what came out was the closest thing I've tasted to a Booeymonger's house sauce and it was dressing my chicken salad.  After every bite was eaten, I thought it might be worth sharing with the world :)

Curry Chicken Salad
Chicken and "Crunch"
2 cups of poached*, chopped chicken breast (~3 chicken breasts)
2 stalks celery, sliced or diced

1 apple (Granny Smith is my favorite, but whatever you have on hand is fine), cored and diced
1 handful of nuts, chopped (I usually use cashews or almonds)

Dressing
2 heaping tablespoons light mayo
2 heaping tablespoons Greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2-1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons curry (I used a strong curry from an Indian market, add a little at a time until desired flavor is reached)
1 teaspoon tumeric
fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 teaspoon horseradish

Mix the dressing and toss the chicken and "crunch" in it--this will create a relatively lightly coated salad.  Serve over greens or as a sandwich, but don't forget the slices of avocado and sprouts.  Enjoy!

*Fill a large stock pot about 2/3 full with water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Add chicken breasts (whole or halved), 2-3 carrots (very roughly chopped), 2-3 celery stalks (very roughly chopped), an onion quartered, 1 teaspoon peppercorns and a bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.