Recipe: Chicken Salad

This is one of the staples in our house. I think it is an amalgamation of something my mom taught me. A simple salad with broiled or grilled chicken over the top. I like to use a crisp lettuce like romaine because it holds up against the other ingredients. As far as wine, I can’t really give the perfect match. If you’re like me and drink red with almost anything, I would go for a fruit forward Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais. Have a bit of a chill on the wine. For a white, if you are looking for something with richness, go with a Chardonnay otherwise try a Pinot Gris (just guessing, as I haven’t tried it).

Chicken Pre-Prep: Rinse chicken and trim fat. If I am grilling it, I like to butterfly it so I can cook it quickly and have less chance of overcooking. Throw it in the marinade for 1 to 3 hours.

Chicken Marinade & Prep

• Olive Oil (enough to cover the chicken)
• Juice of one lemon
• 4 or 5 cloves of garlic (mashed)
• Fresh rosemary or thyme
• Lots of fresh ground black pepper
• Splash of dry white wine (optional)

• Marinate 2 boneless chicken breasts (1 whole breast)
• Remove from marinade and salt and pepper it up.
• Throw on a Hot grill or in the broiler and cook until done.
• Remove and let rest.

Salad

• Romaine Lettuce (enough for 4 people or how ever many you are serving)
• 1 Avocado (diced and sprinkled lightly with salt)
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Good quality…be sure to taste alone)
• ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Generous grinding of black pepper
• Blue Cheese for sprinkling

• Whisk the Oil and Vinegar together and toss with the salad. Do not saturate the salad…this is NOT TGIFridays.
• Gently stir in the avocado.
• Sprinkle with blue cheese (a little or a lot, depending on your own taste buds)
• Put salad in chilled bowls
• Slice chicken and place on top of the salad
• Hit it with pepper one more time if you like

Enjoy!!!

Jason