Chicken Salad Exotique

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 4 cups diced cooked chicken
• 2 cups halved seedless red grapes
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1. Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in chicken and next 2 ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill 3 hours. Stir in almonds just before serving.
2. Curried Chicken Salad: Omit shallots, tarragon, grapes, and almonds. Whisk 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger, and 2 tsp. curry powder into mayonnaise mixture. Stir 3/4 cup each golden raisins and diced yellow bell pepper into chicken mixture. Stir in 3/4 cup toasted sweetened flaked coconut and top with 1/2 cup chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts just before serving.
3. Poppy Seed Chicken Salad: Omit tarragon and grapes. Whisk 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil, 1 Tbsp. orange zest, 3 Tbsp. honey, and 1 tsp. poppy seeds into mayonnaise mixture. Stir 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries into chicken mixture. Stir in 1 cup chopped toasted pecans just before serving.
4. Mango Chicken Salad: Omit shallots, tarragon, grapes, and almonds. Whisk 1/4 cup diced red onion; 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced; 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro; and 1 Tbsp. lime zest into mayonnaise mixture. Stir 1 1/2 cups diced fresh mango into chicken mixture just before serving.

mayonnaise, sour cream, shallots, tarragon, chicken, red grapes, celery, slivered almonds

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-salad-exotique (may not work)