ELEGANT BRUNCH CHICKEN SALAD

Elegant Brunch Chicken Salad image

I made this for a baby shower and was bombarded with requests for the recipe! It is delicious on its own, or with small bread slices or crackers. Don't skimp by not using the homemade mayonnaise, it really adds a special flavor! Makes a 2-quart serving dish full, so if there will be other foods, this will serve at least six, maybe even up to ten!

Provided by Kristin Kahl

Categories Salad

Time 30m

Yield 6

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 egg
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons hot water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
2 cups halved seedless red grapes
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup coarsely crumbled blue cheese

Steps:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, approximately 10 minutes. Drain, cool and cut into cubes.
While boiling chicken, make the mayonnaise: Using a blender or hand-held electric mixer, beat the egg, mustard, salt, water and vinegar until light and frothy. Add the oil a tablespoon at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Once mixture begins to thicken, you can add oil more quickly. Continue until mixture reaches the consistency of creamy mayonnaise. NOTE: The more oil you add, the thicker it gets; you may not need the full cup of oil.
In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, grapes, pecans, blue cheese and 1 cup of the mayonnaise. Stir until evenly coated, adding more mayonnaise if necessary. Refrigerate until serving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 657 calories, Carbohydrate 12.6 g, Cholesterol 91.8 mg, Fat 57.7 g, Fiber 2.3 g, Protein 25.4 g, SaturatedFat 10.9 g, Sodium 570.6 mg, Sugar 9.8 g