We’ve got a confession. Well, it’s not a confession per se. The thing that we’re admitting here doesn’t embarrass us. We’re cool with it. But, it might make us peculiar. Whatever.

We don’t enjoy cold sandwiches. We just don’t. Ham and cheddar. No thanks. Roast beef and swiss. Pass. Turkey club. Everyone in the world seems to love a turkey club. Not us.

Throw those sandwiches in a panini maker, melt that cheese, and suddenly, we’re all about them. Cold sandwiches. Meh. Hot sandwiches. Eureka!

Our abnormality, we acknowledge. We have no explanation for it. It’s just a rule that we follow: no cold sandwiches.

Two exceptions exist. The first is a BLT in the summer because bacon tastes delicious and fresh-off-of-the-vine tomato sends us to heaven. The second is chicken salad on some sort of buttery bread, like a croissant or a brioche bun.

By the way, sometime, anytime, try mixing the two. Make a sandwich with chicken salad, then top it will lettuce, tomato and bacon. Fireworks. We’re writing this recipe while wishing we’d made that sandwich. Regrets, we have a few, but this is still a damn good sandwich even without the accompaniments. Or, d’accompagnements, as the French would say.

If you follow us at G@H, you know that we recently mastered homemade Greek yogurt. Here’s that recipe. Greek yogurt, besides being delightful on its own, makes a healthier substitute in many recipes that call for creamy bases like sour cream, mayonnaise or ranch dressing.

We introduced Greek yogurt into our beloved chicken salad with skepticism given that we’re so finicky about cold sandwiches. But, you know what? Mayonnaise isn’t great. It’s actually kind of gross. We only really like mayonnaise as a dipping sauce for fries. Even then, aioli is much better; it’s just not pre-prepared sitting in our refrigerator.

Our experiment produced excellent results. Taste-wise, the difference between mayonnaise-based chicken salad and Greek yogurt-based chicken salad is indistinguishable. We feel better eating the latter. Cleaner. Healthier. Of course, we still put it on a brioche bun. We ain’t about to surrender that.

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• A quarter of a red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• One teaspoon of lemon juice
• One teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (at least)
• 1/2 tablespoon of Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute (or more, depending on taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

In a mixing bowl, place chicken, celery, onion, cranberries, and almonds. Pour in lemon juice and olive oil. Fold in Greek yogurt using a spatula.

When the Greek yogurt is well dispersed, gradually add Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute, salt and pepper while continuing to mix with the spatula.

We served our Greek yogurt chicken salad on a brioche bun with a side of grapes.