blueberry chicken salad

My sister received The Marshall Fields Cookbook as a free gift when she was buying Macy's gift certificates this year. (Macy's purchased Marshall Fields and took over all of their stores effective fall of 2006. It is a touchy subject in Chicago). She wouldn't let me have it, but I flipped through it and found some good recipes. Their recipe for Blueberry Chicken Salad seemed similar to a salad that i used to love from their Marketplace. It was made with roasted turkey and grapes. I'm not sure what else was in it but since I like that, I decided to write down the recipe for the Blueberry Chicken Salad. Even though the thought of blueberries with chicken seemed kind of strange.

I did have a bit of a shopping nightmare trying to get all the ingredients together. I was attracted to this recipe because it uses roasted chicken. I picked one up while I was at the grocery store and tried to remember all the other ingredients. I got most of them but ended up having to go back to the store for a second trip. I couldn't find hazelnuts! And blueberries are way expensive right now, and not very ripe. I went to a different store and found that they did have hazelnuts.

The toasting and peeling of the hazelnuts did not happen as described in the recipe below. In fact, it didn't even happen at all. I put them in the oven and cooled them off and the skins were not budging. So, I gave some to my bird to play with and threw out the rest. I used chopped pecans instead which I got at the store when I couldn't find the hazelnuts.

I somehow managed to not buy any blue cheese. I was not going back to the store for a fourth time so I used some crumbled feta I had instead.

The salad came out wonderful. It is very simple to put together once you get the chicken pulled, which I did the night before. The dressing is rich and flavorful. I might cut back on the shallots next time, but maybe if I had used pungent blue cheese it would have balanced out the flavors better. I was a happy girl eating my chicken salad for lunch today and I have plenty left over. The recipe says that it will keep for two days.

I will be making this one again!

note* each serving is 9 Weight Watchers points.

Blueberry Chicken Salad (6 servings) 2 tsp. Dijon Mustard 2 Tbsp. minced shallot 2 Tbsp. honey 3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup olive oil 1 roasted chicken, meat torn into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups) 1 large granny smith apple, cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 1/2 cup green grapes 1 1/2 cup blueberries, picked over 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsly chopped 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, shallot, honey, lime juice, salt, pepper and rosemary. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, apples, grapes, blueberries, hazelnuts, and blue cheese and toss well.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss wekk to coat thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Toasting and Skinning Hazelnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake, shaking the pan once or twice, for 10 minutes, until the nuts are lightly browned and fragrant. Wrap the nuts in a clean dish towel and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Rub the nuts in the towel to remove their papery skins.