Buffalo Blue Chicken Salad

True confession time, culinary style: I don’t love wings. I want to love them, I like the spicy flavors with the cool of the dip, the whole concept. I just don’t like the bones. Or the wing meat. And I really can’t stand the errant cartilage or whatever. Lastly, I especially don’t like sucking on bones in public – even if everyone else is doing it. I rarely order ribs for this same reason. We all have wacky dining hang-ups and survive this crazy world. And then someone was talking about wings on twitter and it made me crave them, but I knew I wouldn’t like them. So, I wandered into the kitchen and made this.

The hot sauce gives the salad is a not to buffalo wings, the blue cheese represents the traditional dipping sauce and the celery gives a bit of a crunch. I think this would also be fantastic pureed and used as a dip. It is way better than wings. No bones!

Buffalo Blue Chicken Salad
Serves 4-6
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped (leftover or poached is fine)
4 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
1/2 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce, at least (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
1 medium tomato, cored and chopped
black pepper, a few grinds
lettuce, chopped  (for serving, a lot or a little depending on how you want to do the bowl)

1. Mix celery, chicken and 1 tablespoon of the blue cheese in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together milk, remaining blue cheese, hot sauce, pepper and milk until blended.
3. Taste and adjust spiciness – remember that when you mix the dressing with the rest of the ingredients, it will dull the spiciness a bit, so make it slightly hotter than you want the salad to taste.
4. Pour the dressing over the chicken and celery and mix to combine. Refrigerate for an hour or two to let the flavors combine.
5. To serve: Place lettuce in a bowl, place a scoop of chicken salad on top, sprinkle with tomatoes. Serve with hot sauce on the side.