The salad of this legendary Marshall Field has been a tradition in Chicago for over a century

In 1907The Marshall Field in downtown Chicago added a feature that buyers had never seen in a department store – a restaurant. This restaurant was referred to as a walnut room for the imported wood paneling on the walls and soon becomes a destination for the guests of the middle west, which are attracted by its tear room tariff.

Some of the objects in the walnut room menu became so popular enough that people are still still talk about (and replica!) you today. One of them is the chicken salad of Marshall Field, which is still on the menu all the years later. Combine tender breast meat with creamy mayonnaise, crispy celery, light lemon juice and hearty Worcestershire sauce and embodies the light elegance of the tea tree.

The story behind the walnut room

Marshall Field & Co. Began in the 19th century as handful of drywar shops and grew up in the most successful department store chain of the middle west. The store of Marshall Field in State Street in downtown Chicago differs thanks to innovations such as Large Display windows and above all a restaurant that is known as a tea room.

Tea rooms were made popular at the beginning of the 20th century than Women could not dine in a restaurant available without male “chaperon”. The tar rooms not only offered a safe place where women could come together and enjoy a light meal, but also provided jobs for women who had only a few other employment opportunities at that time.

Due to its unique location in Marshall Fields, the walnut space served as a port For the tired female buyer who is looking for a dining room for himself. Over time, the food of the tea tree began to win a follower. A fan favorite? The chicken salad.

Marshall Field’s chicken salad -memories

Many who grew up in Chicagoland (short form for the chicago metropolitan region) have good memories of how to enjoy chicken salad in the walnut space.

“It was freshly made every day with fresh ingredients,” says Patrick Doyle, who worked as a waiter for walnut rooms in the late 1980s. “It was very popular.”

The former Chicagoland resident Mary Anne Glauner and her two daughters drove a few times a year from the northern suburbs to downtown Chicago in the 1980s, and every trip included a visit to the walnut room for chicken salad.

“It seemed an elegant lunch with all the beautiful wooden paneling and the history of the room,” says Glauner. “It felt special to us.”

The train of the peach corb

Some guests in the walnut area Grub over the path of the chicken salad, which was served as part of a special starters called Peach Basket. The chicken salad was served on a nest made of shock potatoes, together with peaches, fresh strawberries and tea bread.

“I sold hundreds of peach baskets,” says Doyle, who reminds it that the chicken salad court is in the tea room as a special favorite. “Usually ordered ‘ladies who order a peach basket, coffee or tea for lunch’.”

Glauner and their family even reproduced the peach basket at home for a baby shower. “We thought we could grasp this elegant, special feeling that we had when we dine in the walnut room,” says Glauner’s daughter Cyndi.

The Glauner went straight to the source, the potato testers were lining with the help of employees at Marshall Field and prepared the chicken salad recipe from The cookbook of Marshall Field (presented below).

“The guests seemed very satisfied with the food and some smiled with the recognition of the connection to Marshall Field,” says Cyndi Glauner. “It was a nice lunch.”

How to make Marshall Field’s chicken salad

Although all Marshall Field shops were renamed in 2006 as Macy’s, the walnut room is still open– and another version of the beloved peach corb (now referred to as a peach nest).

For those who want to make the iconic Marshall Field chicken salad at home, here is the recipe of The cookbook of Marshall Field. Would you like to shoot your own shoot? Hold:

• Use of Greek yogurt instead of some Mayo
• Replace chicken with chickpeas
• Add dried cranberries for a bit of sweetness

The former Walnut Room Server Doyle has also found a delicious path to make the original chicken salad into its own recipe. “I added avocado. Yum!”

Marshall Field’s white meat chicken salad

Recipe with the approval of Macy’s, Inc.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray with non -Steak
• 2 1/2 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped celery
• 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Step 1

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). A large baking sheet with non -layer spray slightly coated. Season the chicken with salt and pepper generously on both sides and arrange in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Pour water carefully around the chicken to a depth of about ¼ inch. Cover the pan with aluminum film and dodge for 30 minutes until they are straight through. Remove the film and let the chicken cool down to room temperature in the liquid. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Step 2

Combine in a large bowl of chicken, celery, mayonnaise, lemon juice and Worcestershire and throw well to combine thoroughly. Taste with salt and pepper. Serve or cover immediately and cool up to 3 days.

How to put together the peach corbal salad

Place a large salad leaf on a plate. Place a hill made of shoe potatoes (recipe on page 45 of The cookbook of Marshall Field) on the salad. Top the potatoes with a large ball of the chicken salad. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cut almonds over the chicken. Arrange 3 slices of cans next to the chicken salad. Single 1/2 sliding dating nut bread, 1/2 disc discs-zucchini bread and 1/2 layer pound cake with a stroke cream cheese next to the chicken salad. Garnish with 2 fresh strawberries.