Chicken & Grape Salad

Adapted from The Nantucket Open House Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase (Workman Publishing, 1987)

Serves 6

The ingredients may seem—dare I say it—somewhat suspect, but see what Sarah Leah Chase says:

While ingredients such as dried thyme, garlic powder, and store-bought mayonnaise reflect the culinary naïveté of my adolescence, the ensuing years of food sophistication spent cultivating window boxes of fragrant fresh herbs and whisking together countless varieties of homemade mayonnaise have yet to yield a more perfectly comforting and soothing chicken salad than this original “Ritz” rendition.

She specifically calls for Hellmann’s mayonnaise; however, I would recommend that you use whatever commercial mayonnaise is your favorite. When I lived in Atlanta, mine was Blue Plate; when I lived in Virginia, it was Duke’s. Now my favorite is Ojai.

3½ pounds poached chicken breasts (recipe follows)
5 ribs celery, peeled with a vegetable peeler
1½ cups seedless grapes, halved
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
1½ teaspoons garlic powder (do not use fresh garlic, however tempting)
Salt to taste
3 cups commercial mayonnaise, your favorite brand (not salad dressing)

Remove the chicken from the bone and pull it into bite-size pieces. Coarsely chop the celery. Toss the chicken, celery, and grapes together in a large bowl. Season with the thyme, garlic powder, and salt.

Bind the salad with the mayonnaise. You want to use a generous amount to make the salad very moist and creamy, but start with about 1 cup, adding more as needed.

Refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour before serving.

I always use her poaching method, which is simple and reliable.

Poached Chicken Breasts

3½ pounds chicken breast halves on the bone
Onion slices
Carrot slices
Celery leaves
Parsley sprigs
White wine or dry vermouth

Fill a large saucepan with water and spike it with a few splashes of white wine or dry vermouth (I use Noilly Prat). Scatter in onion slices, carrot slices, celery leaves, and parsley sprigs, season with a dash of salt, and add the chicken.

Bring the pan to a full boil, then turn off the heat and let the chicken finish cooking in the hot liquid. When cool, remove the chicken breasts from the liquid, leaving the vegetables behind, and proceed with the recipe.