Grilled Chicken and Fruit Summer Salad recipe from Southern Living Country Music’s Greatest Eats: Showstopping Recipes & Riffs from Country’s Biggest Stars

Grilled Chicken and Fruit Summer Salad

Cooks&Books&Recipes {Dee}:

True, when you think about Southern food, “grilled chicken” and “fruit” and “salad” probably aren’t the first words that pop into your mind (maybe you’re thinking about fried chicken, fruit cobbler, and poke salad, plus ribs, hushpuppies, biscuits, & pecan pie?). But hey, ya’ll, Southerners are actually a more diverse bunch of eaters than you might think. There is plenty of evidence for that in the Southern Living Country Music’s Greatest Eats cookbook.

This recipe for Grilled Chicken and Fruit Summer Salad is provided by the country group Gloriana. You know them — the ones whose 2011 song “(Kissed You) Good Night” went platinum.

Back to the recipe. It uses the outdoor grill instead of the oven and is easy to put together (even more so if you buy already cubed fruit), meaning very little time in the kitchen. Plus it’s not a heavy dish, though it has plenty of flavor from the marinade and the crunchy pistachios (a new favorite of mine). It’s perfect for a steamy summer night with your s.o.: add a bottle of chilled wine or champagne, put “(Kissed You) Good Night” on the playlist, and see where things go…

Thanks to publisher Oxmoor House, we are giving away a copy of Southern Living Country Music’s Greatest Eats to one lucky Cooks&Books&Recipes reader. Be sure to enter the giveaway here (contest ends 7/27/14).

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Grilled Chicken and Fruit Summer Salad

Featured Recipe From: Southern Living Country Music's Greatest Eats: Showstopping Recipes & Riffs from Country's Biggest Stars

Tom and Mike's* mother learned a lot at culinary school, such as how to jazz up a summer lunch standby like chicken salad with juicy melon and crunchy pistachios.

*Gloriana consists of Tom and Mike Gossin and Rachel Reinert.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 35 min.

Total Time: 2 hours, 50 min.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 3 (4- to 6-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 head romaine lettuce, torn
• 1 apple, cubed
• 3/4 cup diced cantaloupe
• 3/4 cup diced honeydew melon
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup pistachios
• 1 cup reduced-fat honey-Dijon salad dressing

Directions:

1. Whisk together soy sauce and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a large zip-top freezer bag; pour soy sauce mixture over chicken, turning to coat. Seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 1 to 2 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high). Remove chicken from the marinade, discarding marinade in bag.

3. Grill chicken on lightly greased rack, covered with grill lid, 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 165°. Remove chicken from grill; let stand 10 minutes. Slice chicken diagonally; set aside.

4. Combine romaine and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Top with chicken, and drizzle with salad dressing. Serve immediately.

© 2014 Oxmoor House

Reprinted with permission from Southern Living's Country Music’s Greatest Eats: Showstopping Recipes & Riffs from Country's Biggest Stars, by Editors of Southern Living Magazine, with Tanner Latham (Oxmoor House).

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