Off the Grill: Chicken Salad Chicken salads are great dishes, either as the start to a meal or it is the meal itself. This warm chicken salad goes great with warm and toasted garlic bread or grilled garlic crostini.
You will need:

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1½ tablespoons pink peppercorns, or 1½ teaspoons green peppercorns mixed with 1 tablespoon of raw honey
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¾ – 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (3 breast halves, minus tenderloins)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups pink grapefruit segments, plus juice
½ teaspoon Dijon style mustard
3-4 chives
7-8 ounces or 1 bag of arugula leaves, washed and dried

In a small cup, combine the sherry vinegar and peppercorns. Leave them to soak as you prepare the chicken. In a separate, large shallow, plate, combine two tablespoons of the oil with the balsamic vinegar. Take your chicken pieces and put them in between pieces of plastic wrap and pound them to a thickness of about ¾ of an inch using a rolling pin or mallet. After pounding, dip the chicken in your oil and vinegar mixture, coating each side evenly. Season each piece lightly with salt and pepper, then cover them and let stand for about 15 minutes in order for the flavors to sink into the chicken.

Prepare the grill and put it to high heat. If using a gas grill, prepare the grill to medium heat, getting ready to fan flames if they get too out of control. Before laying your chicken down on it, lightly coat your grill rack with oil.

Prepare your grapefruit by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit and removing the white pith from the fruit. Start the cut from above going downwards. Once you’ve peeled the fruit completely, put the meat in a fine strainer and cut between the sections of the fruit using a paring knife. Collect al the fruit and the juice in the bowl, making sure to squeeze the extra juice out of any remaining pulp.

After all that, the chicken is done marinating and is ready to be grilled. Cook each side for about four minutes until the chicken is just cooked through. Once cooked, transfer them to a chopping board and cut them into ¼ to ½ inch wide strips. Cover the pieces loosely to keep them warm. Drain the grapefruit segments and reserve the juice for later on.

While the chicken is grilling, the vinaigrette can already be prepared. Whisk together the remaining oils, 1 tablespoon reserved grapefruit juice and mustard in a large mixing bowl. Snip the chives and whisk them well into the mixture. Don’t forget to ad salt and pepper and adjust as you go along. Finally, add the arugula to finally toss and lightly coat each leaf.

Now, you can plate your salad. Arrange some of the arugula leaves on a plate, topping it with chicken slices and some of the grapefruit segments. Drizzle each plate with some vinaigrette and top it off with soaked peppercorns. Serve the salad immediately and enjoy.
grilled chicken salad, grilled chicke marinade

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A salad dressing from a home made recipe is an art with no trans-fats. The health benefits of a fresh made salad dressing recipe, outweigh all of the convenience of the store-bought salad dressings.

It is also devoid of the dreaded detriment of hydrogenated oils and trans-fats that lurk within commercial processed salad dressings.

Balsamic vinaigrette recipe that is simple and easy to make with a mild flavor of honey.

Gourmet star thistle honey is one of the best mild flavored honeys available and will add a delicious flavor to your balsamic vinaigrette recipe. If you can not find star thistle honey, you can substitute with a very light colored honey such as fireweed honey or even clover. Remember, the lighter in color the honey, the milder the flavor.

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From: The Saucy Cook
BY MARY JO SPIEGEL

This classic French balsamic vinaigrette is so easy it makes going to the store and buying salad dressing seem rediculous. By changing the type of mustard, vinegar or oil, you can create nearly endless variations. Add a little gourmet honey, change the herbs, season with salt and pepper. After you make this, try my other favorite version swapping honey mustard for Dijon and raspberry vinegar for balsamic.

Basic Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic , pressed through a garlic press

1 tsp gourmet raw honey (optional)

Method:

Put balsamic, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil and pressed garlic in a tightly capped container or jar. Shake together until emulsified. Toss with salad. Will also make a great meat or vegetable marinade. Makes about 4 servings.

balsamic vinaigrette, oil and vinegar, vinaigrette recipe

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Roasted Green Beans with balsamic vinegar and honey drizzle

Serves 4.

honey vinegar recipe, balsamic and honey recipe