Tgifriday's Pecan-crusted Chicken Salad

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 teaspoons grey poupon dijon mustard
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 12 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (2 heads)
• 1 cup celery, sliced (2 ribs)
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Recipe

• 1 make the pecan-crusted chicken first since it is served cold.
• 2 pound each chicken fillet to about 1/2-inch thick. you can do this easily by covering each chicken breast in plastic wrap, and pounding with a kitchen mallet.
• 3 combine 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, corn flake crumbs, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow bowl.
• 4 combine milk with beaten eggs in another shallow bowl.
• 5 dump the flour into another shallow bowl.
• 6 bread each chicken breast by coating each with flour.
• 7 dip the flour-dusted chicken into the egg mixture.
• 8 coat the chicken with a thick coating of the pecans and corn flake crumbs.
• 9 preheat 1/2 cup canola oil in a large skillet over medium/low heat.
• 10 when the oil is hot, saute the chicken fillets for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.
• 11 cool chicken on a rack or paper-towels.
• 12 when you can handle the chicken, cover it and refrigerate it for at least two hours.
• 13 as the chicken chills, you can make the balsamic vinaigrette by combining 1 cup canola oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a blender.
• 14 blend on low speed for just a few seconds, or until the dressing begins to thicken. don't blend too long or your vinaigrette will get too thick, like mayonnaise.
• 15 pour vinaigrette into a small bowl and mix in minced garlic.
• 16 chill this until you're ready to use it.
• 17 when you're ready to build your salad, toss lettuce and celery with about 3/4 cup of the balsamic vinaigrette.
• 18 arrange the lettuce on four plates, then sprinkle the cranberries over the lettuce (about 1/4 cup per serving).
• 19 combine the 3 tablespoons of brown sugar with 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans.
• 20 sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the mixture on each salad.
• 21 sprinkle about 1/2 can of drained mandarin orange segments over each salad, followed by about 2 tablespoons of crumbled bleu cheese.
• 22 slice each chicken fillet into thin strips. arrange one sliced chicken fillet on top of each salad and serve.