Curried Chicken Salad

Catherine Hart made this dee-lish recipe from Mark's Daily Apple for a Labor Day BBQ. So. Darn. Delicious.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients:
(adapted from Marian Burros recipe from Pure and Simple)

* 1 egg
* 1 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
* pinch of cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions:

Blend egg, mustard, pepper and 1/4 cup oil in blender until smooth. Add the rest of the oil and blend again until well mixed. After blending, take off lid and add lemon juice, mixing well with a spatula. Put lid back on and blend again until mixed. Pour into bowl or Mason jar and refrigerate.

The mixture will not be as thick as the chemically produced store-bought brand, but it will mix nicely with the chicken, and the meat will soak up some of the flavors.

Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

* 1 pound organic, boneless skinless chicken breast
* 3-4 stalks of celery, sliced lengthwise then chopped
* 1 cup chopped apple
* ½ cup chopped walnuts
* 3-4 tablespoons blender homemade Mayonnaise (more if needed)
* Curry powder (lots!)
* Sea salt & pepper to taste

Large fresh leaves of Bibb or other lettuce

Directions:

Slice uncooked chicken breast into long, thin strips, then cut down into 1-inch cubes. Add to skillet with a little bit of water, and cook until just tender and white all the way through. When done, drain and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, curry powder, and salt and pepper, adding curry until it reaches your heat level of satisfaction.


In a separate bowl, toss chicken with nuts, celery and apple. Finally, add chicken to wet ingredients and stir it all together. Spoon into lettuce leaves, wrap up, and enjoy.