Challenge 1, Day 1: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Brussels Sprouts

Day 1 is tough because I am starting from scratch. I had to find a recipe that I had not done before. That's tough too.  I have several I have done recently that I would have loved to add to this.  Maybe I will but I would have to seriously adjust it for it to be a new recipe.  I saw this recipe on Rachel Ray a few weeks ago. I was determined to make it but it had to go on my wish list... until now.  My goal in this is not just to recreate recipes but also to add my own twist or adjustment to the recipe.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients (2 servings)

2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets

1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin)

Juice of 2 lemons (or lemon juice)

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

Salt and Pepper

1 pint large brussels sprouts

1 clove garlic crushed

1 clove garlic peeled and grated or pasted

About 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

About 1 1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

Grate romano cheese

2 tbsp butter

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

Marinate chicken in enough olive oil to coat, the juice of 1 lemon, thyme, salt and pepper. Marinate about 1/2 to 1 hour.

Bring a medium to large pot of water to a boil.

Using a small, sharp knife, core the Brussels sprouts and separate leaves. Add salt to water. Add all of the baby cabbage leaves to pot.  Let them boil for 30-60 seconds. Drain.  Cold shock the leaves by adding to cold or even Ice water; drain again.  I put them in the frig until ready to serve. I love my lettuce cold.

Heat butter in small skillet with crushed garlic over medium heat, add breadcrumbs and toast to golden brown. Add parsley and remove garlic.   I used the panco breadcrumbs instead of regular progresso type breadcrumbs.  ( These are so yummy. I was eating them by the spoonful.)

Heat a grill pan and grill the chicken about 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally. 

I am addicted to my old George Foreman lately so i just grilled the chicken on there for 4-5 min each.

Side note.... Living in New York, you don't have tons of space and you rarely have a patio to grill. Things like the George Foreman or this Hot Puppy are great buys and can take your cooking to a whole new level. 

Combine the juice of remaining lemon (or 1/4 cup lemon juice), grated or pasted garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire, lots of black pepper and about 1/4 cup of olive oil to a bowl and whisk to make dressing. Add a small handful of cheese once dressing is emulsified.

I pasted the garlic using a zester. 

Toss brussels greens with dressing.  Serve on plates or in a bowl topped with sliced grilled chicken, more cheese and buttery breadcrumbs.

We ate our gorgeous salad with left over White Sangria.  I should list that recipe.... I have to brag on my sangria.  Its pretty awesome.... 

So here you go.  This recipe was fairly easy. The brussels sprouts were the hardest bit.  Coring and pulling the leaves was some what labor intensive but i get a little bit of a high off of that kind of stuff. If you don't have the time or find you don't like brussels sprouts even in this format, you can use romaine lettuce... or whatever you prefer.  Give the brussels sprouts a try though.  They are different but they are yummy in this recipe.

Now the changes to this recipe were minor. I thought about mixing in walnuts with the bread crumbs but forgot in the process.  The original recipe called for anchovy paste instead of soy sauce but i have tons of soy sauce on hand and figured it was just as easy and yummy. It was.  If you want to see the original recipe by Rachel Ray click on the recipe title above. 

Hope you enjoy.