Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese and Grapes

• Recipe by Grace Parisi

Grace Parisi considered many classic salads, like Waldorf and Cobb, before deciding on her version of chicken salad, which mixes store-bought roasted chicken with blue cheese, grapes, celery and sunflower seeds. She likes eating it wrapped in Bibb lettuce leaves.

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3. 3 ounces crumbled mild blue cheese, such as Maytag ( 3/4 cup)
4. 2 1/2 cups diced roasted chicken (from 1 rotisserie chicken)
5. 1 1/2 cups halved red and green grapes
6. 2 celery ribs, finely diced
7. 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
8. Salt and freshly ground pepper
9. 1/4 cup salted roasted sunflower seeds

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the vinegar. Fold in the blue cheese, breaking it up with a fork. Add the chicken, grapes, celery and parsley and fold gently. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the sunflower seeds and serve.

Make Ahead

The salad can be refrigerated overnight.