Even though we’ve had Spring weather for about the past two weeks, much of the time the wind has been howling, gusting, tossing patio furniture about the yard and in general just being pesky enough that grilling hasn’t seemed a fun option.
A window of opportunity this past weekend found me cleaning out the drip pan and scraping those grates clear and sizzling up a chicken breast for this great little salad.
Mixed baby greens, cubed tomatoes and grilled chicken that’s been seasoned with marjoram and cut into bite sized pieces…so what’s there to talk about? It’s about the dressing. Pineapple juice, sweet chili sauce and Dijon mustard come together to turn this into a bold and exciting dish. So flavorful, I’m going to try this dressing, which almost resembles a glaze, on some grilled chicken wings. Let’s take a look:
- Dressing:
- ¾ C. pineapple juice
- 2 T. bottled sweet chili sauce
- 2 T. white wine vinegar
- 1 T. soy sauce
- 1 T. Dijon mustard
- 1 t. dark sesame oil
- ½ C. sliced almonds
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- Canola oil
- ½ t. finely chopped fresh marjoram
- salt and pepper
- 4 C. mixed baby greens
- 2 tomatoes cubed
- To make the dressing: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the pineapple juice, chili sauce, vinegar and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until ½ cup remains, 15 – 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in mustard and sesame oil and allow to cool to room temperature.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the almonds until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally.
- Brush chicken breasts with oil, season with marjoram and salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat until meat is firm to the touch and no longer pink. Approximately 10 minutes. Tent until you can handle and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the greens, chicken, almonds and tomatoes. Drizzle the dressing over the top (you may not need all of it) and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately.
And speaking of wind, this is a photo of smoke from the Lower North Fork Fire, taken from our back deck. It’s burning about 20 miles west of Highlands Ranch. Late Monday afternoon, and with wind gusts up to 90 miles an hour, the fire quickly grew to around 3,000 acres. And with the late day sun hovering over western horizon, and black smoke darkening the sky, it was an ominous and tragic sight.
Sweet Chili-Mustard Chicken Salad…It’s What’s for Dinner.
- One Year Ago: Chipotle Eggs Benedict
- Two Years Ago: Creamy Olive Soup
On this day..
I’m worried it’s going to be a long and rough fire season this year – let’s hope for some rain!
Hate fire season. I bet this would really be good on wings… will look forward to the post!
Wings is the next place it will slathered upon.
That photo is gorgeous! Makes me want to pour up a glass of wine and dive right in. Those fires are too close for comfort. I really hate fire season.
Take good care.
Even though it was 20 miles away, it seemed like it was going to sweep right over us. yikes.
Oh wow that salad dressing sounds amazing! I love the sweet spicy mustard combo of flavors in it!
Thanks Joanne! Those flavors were indeed amazing.
This looks like a delicious salad, Lea Ann. Love all the yummy ingredients in the dressing. I’m looking forward to nice days when we can fire up the barbecue. Don’t think it will be any time soon.
Still cool in the NW???? One day Cathy.
I can’t wait to make your delicious sounding dressing. My grilling days are still a way off…very windy, cold, rainy, etc. Looking forward to summer so that I can made the salad.
It’s been so warm here, It’s hard to think of somewhere that’s still having cold weather.
It is definitely going to be a long fire season… my hubby has been out at that fire all week. Chicken salad looks good!
Your husband is a firefighter????? Please thank him for all his hard work.
My grill is a mess, I think this year I’ll just ditch it instead of cleaning it and buy a new one…not really but it’s a nice thought. I’ve been reading about your fires, I was wondering how close you were. We are having issues up here also…scary!
Too funny Rhonda. I vote for getting a new one. I agree, these fires are very scary. Even though we’re close to the foothills, I’ve never wanted to live “in” them.
This looks so light and delicious. I’ve bookmarked this to try soon.
Hope the fire is under control quickly; so scary to be so close. I’ve seen coverage on the news too.
So sad that lives were lost. Seems to be under control now. Thanks Lynda
This salad dressing sounds amazing Lea Ann; I’ll have to try it. The fire is so scary and the smell was so pervasive; it’s scary to think what the repercussions of such a mild winter may lead to. We missed seeing you at Barb’s last Saturday and hope to see you soon. Cheers!
Darnit, I couldn’t make it last Saturday! I do hope to make the next brunch. Thanks for stopping by!
I love this dressing… but I’m a sucker for anything with sweet chili sauce in it!! This would also make a great marinade for the chicken! Will be trying this soon.
I agree Jenn! I love that sauce.
I’m so glad to read in your comments that the fire is under control. The food seems so incidental in light of that!
A delicious-sounding recipe that will be enjoyed under better conditions, I’m sure!
I couldn’t agree more … seemed odd to talk about it in a food blog, but thought people might be interested to know how close it was.
I just LOVE the flavors in this salad! I am a sucker for anything with sweet chili sauce! I’m sorry about the fire…we watch it on the news and it is so very sad. Take care…. xo
I’m with you! That chili sauce is really good. I need to start collecting recipes to use with it. It breaks my heart about that older couple that were found dead. Their car was packed, they didn’t get out in time.
As a meat on greens person, this sounds like a salad Bev would really like. Sure hope they get the fires put out soon.
They’re pretty much under control …. but we’ve got a high wind warning again tomorrow. :/
I hope you guys are safe and breathing easy. I remember how ashy the air gets in wildfires. This looks like a great way to serve chicken. I haven’t used pineapple juice in ages.
It was definitely raining ash that day. And then there was the Hayman fire years ago. Good grief!
Really a frightening photo of the fire, Lea Ann! Must scare you to pieces. Pleased you escaped, but I sure feel sorry for those who were in the path.
Love the dressing on this salad. The pineapple juice paired with vinegar and mustard sounds delicious!
Thanks so much Barbara.
And now you are under snow this week, right? Crazy!
Spring time in the Rockies.
I love chicken salads like this with fruit flavors and nuts! I just pinned it so that I won’t forget about it! Looks great!
Thanks so much for the pin Lisa and for stopping by my blog. Heading over to your place to look around.
This salad looks and sounds incredible. The fire photo is so striking, I hope no one was hurt.
Actually three people were killed. :/
Sorry to hear about the deaths. The photo looks pretty scary.
We have enjoyed grilling all winter , of course our winters are pretty tame and in the summer the humidity makes grilling some days unbearable. The dresssing is something I know I would enjoy, thank you for sharing!
I’m not a fan of heat and humidity, so would be a cranky griller around your area. As always, thanks for stopping by Vianney.