fancy-schmancy chicken salad

Like I mentioned before… I’m not the most proficient when it comes to cookin’ things up in the kitchen, but this recipe  from Cottage Living Magazine looks fairly simple to tackle.

I love that it has slight gourmet flair which means it’ll most likely impress your guests which leads to many compliments which I always love… don’t you?

MAKES: 4 to 6 servings
PREP: 25 minutes

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fruit chutney*
5 chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces (about 6 cups)
2 celery ribs, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup red seedless grapes, cut in half
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith or Pippin, peeled and chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup Spicy Pecans (see recipe, below)

Stir together first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken pieces and next 6 ingredients, and gently toss. Sprinkle with Spicy Pecans, and serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 3 days.

*For testing purposes, we used Crosse & Blackwell’s Genuine Major Grey’s Chutney.

Spicy Pecans

This makes twice what’s needed for the recipe above; serve the extra at happy hour.

MAKES: 2 cups
PREP: 5 minutes
COOK: 15 minutes

2 cups pecan halves
2 to 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet, and set aside.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine dried rosemary and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly over pecans, and toss to coat.

3. Spread pecans in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 350° for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until pecans are crispy and brown. Let cool to room temperature on baking sheet, stirring often to prevent pecans from sticking together. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

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