Chicken Caesar Salad

I've been making this salad a lot lately. And every time I make it, it is really good and is gone in no time. I got the chicken recipe from the magazine Cook's Illustrated. The crouton and dressing recipe came from the Pioneer Woman website. I like to add the chicken to the salad, then it's our entire meal for the evening.

The chicken is really simple and comes out great every time. Here's the recipe:

Pan Seared Chicken Breasts

(4) 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon all purpose, unbleached flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 275. Using fork, poke thickest part of each chicken breast about 6 times. Sprinkle each evenly with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Place skinned side down in baking dish, cover tightly, bake until thickest part registers 145-150 degrees, approximately 35 minutes.

Remove from oven, pat dry with paper towels. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, whisk butter, flour, butter, flour, cornstarch and pepper. Lightly brush top side with half the mixture. Brown for about 3 minutes, then flip, brush with remaining mixture, reduce heat, and cook until second side is browned.

Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

To make the rest of the salad, wash Romaine lettuce and grate parmesan cheese. Then make the croutons and the dressing.

To make the croutons, you'll need:
1/4 cup olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, and 2 cups of 3/4" bread cubes (from baguette)

I use my mini food processor for this part and it works great. Mince garlic cloves in processor and slowly pour in olive oil. Mix until the garlic releases its flavor into the oil, about 30 seconds. then, strain the garlic from the oil. Save the garlic for the dressing.

Pour the garlic infused olive oil over the croutons and toss until well coated. Brown the croutons in a hot skillet, tossing often so they don't burn, for about 5-7 minutes.









To make the dressing you'll need:
Half the garlic from above
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire
freshly ground black pepper

Mix all together. That's it!

When you're ready to eat, put lettuce, sliced chicken, croutons and parmesan in large bowl. Toss with the dressing and enjoy!