Waldorf Salad

Though I'd heard of it frequently, I had never tried - much less made - Waldorf salad until I started my job as a cook almost two months ago. Ours is not the traditional recipe, but I think I like the sound (and certainly taste) of ours better. Make sure to read the "Variations" section after the recipe for some of my ever-helpful suggestions.

Ingredients

chicken, cooked and diced (no skin)
celery, diced
dried cranberries

red apples, diced
fresh lemon juice
mayonnaise

walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

Combine equal parts chicken, celery and cranberries.

In a separate bowl, sprinkle the apple with lemon juice to keep from discoloring. Mix the apples into the rest of the salad.

Mix one or two teaspoonfuls into desired amount of mayonnaise, and coat salad with this "dressing." Dressing should be very light. When serving, sprinkle the salad with walnuts. Serve atop lettuce if desired.

Variations

The traditional, and I suppose vegetarian, version does not include chicken, so don't include it if you don't want to. At the restaurant, we use candied walnuts, which add a nice sweet touch - I keep intending to make this at home using some of those flavored Almond Accents. If for some reason you'd prefer raisins instead of cranberries, you could do that.

I have also seen versions of this recipe where mini-marshmallows are used. That's a little bit weird for me, but whatever turns your taste buds on!