From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Any one who grew up in Chicago, remembers Christmas on State Street and staring wide-eyed at the wondrous Christmas tree in the Walnut Room of Marshall Field's Department Store. Christmas was a special time. Normally when visiting the store we would eat in the Garden Room, where a meal could be had for a dollar. At Christmas time all stops were pulled and we got to have lunch in the Walnut Room where that great tree towered above us. We were not given free reign of the menu, so over the years we became quite familiar with the moderately priced chicken salad that was served there. It's a nice salad and judging from the number of blogs that have featured it, the immediate world has sampled the Field's version of the dish. The salad can be served straight up on a bed of lettuce, it can be served as a toasted open face creation or as a simple sandwich whose flavor is enhanced with bacon. The basic salad is easy to make. If you use commercial mayonnaise and a shredded deli-style chicken, you can have the salad ready to chill in about 15 minutes. I've also included directions for making all the components of the salad from scratch, and that takes significantly more time. This is a nice salad, but I have one personal concern to share with you. I think the original recipe contains too much mustard, so, I've given its quantity as a range. As matter of fact, when I make the salad for my family I use a product called Dijonnaise in place of the mustard. If you have not had this salad I urge you to give it a try. You won't be sorry. Here is how it is made.
