Salad with Grilled Chicken and Honey Poppyseed Vinaigrette

Want something light and easy yet still want to grill out this weekend? Meet my latest food addiction.  As the weather here is moving quickly from pleasantly warm to stinking hot, light and easy salads are even better than usual.  Throw in grilled chicken and it  becomes a meal in a bowl.  I’ve made it both with and without the chicken and I still can’t get enough.  This salad is light and a bit sweet but not overpoweringly sweet.  The tang of the blue cheese and the dash of heat from the creole-seasoned chicken create a nice contrast.

Salad Fixings:

• Arugula and/or Baby Spinach
• Dried Cherries or Craisins
• Pecans
• Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese
• Avocados, because I’m addicted to those too.

Dressing:

• Extra Light Olive Oil.  I can’t bring myself to use canola or so forth for dressing but I don’t want the flavor of a heavier olive oil to overpower the more subtle flavors here.
• Raspberry Vinegar
• Honey
• Poppyseeds

Chicken:

• Boneless Chicken
• Seasoned Salt
• Creole Seasoning

Season the chicken generously with your favorite seasoned salt.Sprinkle it lightly with creole seasoning.  Send it out to be grilled.Meanwhile, toss the lettuce into a bowl. I saw yet another little gadget for slicing an avocado and it just seemed so silly to waste money on something that probably doesn’t work as well as my knife.  Here’s how I do it.

Cut all the way around the seed.Gently twist to separate the halves.Slice the halves into wedges.Carefully pull off the peel.  It’s easier with smaller wedges.  It also helps if the avocado is just soft but not too mushy.Cut into smaller wedges if you like.  Toss them on top of the lettuce.Add the cherries and pecans.  Sprinkle in crumbled blue cheese.Now on to the dressing.  Combine about 1/3 cup each of olive oil and vinegar.Squirt in a couple tablespoons of honey.And add a handful of poppyseeds.  Whisk it all together and taste it.  Adjust the amounts to suit your tastebuds.Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving.Toss it gently and eat it as it is.Or add the chicken.  Either way, enjoy!

Tagged as: avocado, cheese, cherry, chicken and poultry, honey, olive oil, pecan, salad, salad dressing, vinegar