Recipe(tried): Fig Sage Chicken Salad and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Here is a recipe for a chicken salad that is a little different. The demo lady at Bread and Circus, our local whole foods grocery store, was offering it last week, It was good enough that I came home and made it. Of course, she was trying to sell a product which I bought but, I think one could improvise a bit and come close if you can't get Wild Thymes Fig Sage Balsamic Vinaigrette. Wild Thymes Farm, Inc - 1 (800)724-2877 or www.wildthymes.com Their dressings are all natural with no preservatives or additives. If you are interested, you can request a catalogue or get a list of retailers that carry their products. They say that their products are available at premier specialty and natural food stores throughout the United States. The dressing has the following ingredients in it: olive/canola oil, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, figs, apples, whole oranges, honey, garlic, whole lemons, herbs, spices, sea salt. It is similar to a recipe for vinaigrette that I have previously posted and, with some tweaking, I think one could come close by adding figs and sage especially, then blending in a blender. Do be careful with the amount of fresh sage since it is a fairly assertive herb.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 1/2 - 1 Tbl. Dijon mustard (You should probably
eliminate this if you want to make a fig sage
salad dressing.)
4 Tbl. red wine vinegar
1 Tbl. Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. granulated sugar (Use honey instead?)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (maybe
eliminate?)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil

Fig Sage Chicken Salad Serves 4 to 6

2 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
poached and cut into medium cubes
4 or 5 dried Turkish figs (Cheaper than fresh and
suggested by, Joan, the demo lady - not in
original recipe)
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup cashew nut pieces or whole, chopped
6 Tbl. mayonnaise
1/3 cup Wild Thymes Fig Sage Vinaigrette (or your
own recipe for balsamic vinaigrette)
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse chicken under cold water. Place breasts in a large skillet that will hold them all. Place dried figs in pan and add water to a depth of about 1/2 the height of the chicken. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn chicken breasts over, cover again and continue to poach for another 10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and let cool until you can handle it to cut into cubes. Remove the figs, as well and let cool until you can handle them and cut into small pieces. While chicken and figs poach, combine mayonnaise and vinaigrette. Whisk well. Set aside. Combine chicken, figs, celery, cashwews and dress with the vinaigrette, mayonnaise combination. If you are planning to refrigerate the salad and serve it later, wait to add the cashews until just before you serve the salad so they don't get soggy.