::Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad::

Did you buy croissants from Sam's Club to make the Egg:Cheese:Croissant Sandwiches and now don't know what to do with the rest of the croissants? Here ya go. A recipe that will match perfectly on those croissants. Even if you didn't buy the croissants, make this anyways! Like I had mentioned in a previous post, about my sister and I talking about cooking blogs, this is where the recipe comes from; http://www.smittenkitchen.com/. But there is a story behind my sister finding this recipe and making it; I hope she (& Mike) doesn't mind me sharing. My lovely sister is engaged to a guy (Mike) who, in baking terms (cause of course that's what I would use), is the pinch of salt to the chocolate chip cookie dough; if it's missing you can tell, so you always have to have it with the dough to make the perfect cookie! We can't wait for their wedding and we love Mike dearly; he will fit well in our crazy, goofy family (which we found out at the lake last summer :) ) Anyways, back to the story. So Liza was up for the day when Mike called from work saying "I forgot we were having a potluck today at work, can you make something?" So of course, being the lovely fiance' she is says "Sure!" Click. Type. Type. Type. She goes onto Smitten Kitchen's website and finds this recipe "Canberry-Walnut Chicken Salad." It sounds good, seems fairly easy to make, has some unique ingredients and in the end, it was hit at the potluck! Liza made a couple changes to the recipe that I will share with you as well. Liza, personally, loved it and couldn't get over the flavor it had so she made me some and I knew that the recipe was definitly a keeper! Enjoy!

::Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad::

4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 3/4 lb)

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1 celery rib, diced into small bits (1 cup)

2 or more tablespoons finely chopped shallot

1 cup dried cranberries

2/3 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar, if you have it, or champagne or white wine vinegar works well, too

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or herb or your choice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl until combined.

Because Liza was in a time crunch she bought a rotisserie chicken. She has made it with both the regular chicken and rotisserie and likes the rotisserie better because it adds more flavor. When I bought it I went to for the garlic one.

4 cups of the shredded chicken.

This is what Liza used when she made it for me, so that's what I did too.

Putting the ingredients together.

Liza, & I did too, used a purple onion instead of shallots.


Craisins add a nice texture and flavor to the mix.

Almost ready to mix.

Tarragon vinegar which I found at Dan's Supermarket with all the other vinegars. When I checked at Wal-Mart to see if they had it; they didn't.

Fresh tarragon which can be found by the produce.

Ready for the final toss!

Yum!

Ready for the croissant...or whatever you want to eat on! My sister sent it to the potluck with a package of pita bread, which she liked too and so did I. Eat on a salad, regular bread, buns, plain...or whatever you can think of!