Secret Recipe Club: Chicken Fried Chicken Salad with Semi-Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

So.
It's time for another episode of the Secret Recipe Club!  When last we left our heroine, she was in a carb coma from amazing scones in May.  Will she solider on?  Or will she fall asleep?
Thankfully, I didn't fall asleep.  Otherwise, I would have missed out on the deliciousness that was this month's assignment!  My monthly email sent me to Sid's Sea Palm Cooking.
Sid is a Dane who loves things spicy.  I spent a long time poking around to find something that looked delicious and that we would enjoy around here.  There were cookies, and Danish specialties which all sounded delicious.  I finally settled on 2 recipes that sounded lovely.  The second is my kick-off post for #HotSummerEats, so you'll have to come back after 9AM EST to see that sweet treat, but I found this yummy looking salad that I wanted to make.
I love fried chicken.  J likes his chicken boneless.  This was the best of both worlds, plus I hadn't tried frying like this before.  I don't recommend it regularly.  There's a smell that hangs around afterwards - even if you use your hood.  Also, there's the whole pesky calorie thing.  But that's why we put it on top of vegetables.  Right?
I present to you now Sid's Sea Palm Cooking's Chicken Fried Chicken Salad with Semi-Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing:

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 chicken breast, cut into 2 cutlets
3/4 c buttermilk
1 Tbsp hot sauce (such as Garlic Goodness hot sauce)
Salt and Pepper to taste
3/4 c flour
2 tsp chipotle chili powder
Vegetable oil, for frying
8 oz Baby Spianch
12 cherry tomatoes
For the salad dressing:
1/2 c ranch salad dressing
2 Tbsp buttermilk
1 oz crumbled blue cheese

Method:
1.  In a bowl, combine buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and pepper.  Add chicken to marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours up to overnight.
2.  In a second bowl, combine flour, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Pour oil into a deep frying pan, and heat to about 350F (the oil will appear to shimmer in the pan).  Lift chicken from buttermilk and dredge in the flour mixture.  Return to the buttermilk, and then the flour before laying chicken in the hot oil.
3.  Fry chicken on both sides until golden, turning with tongs and cooking and done.  Drain on paper towels and keep warm in oven.
4.  As the chicken cooks, combine salad dressing, buttermilk and blue cheese in a blender.  Process briefly until well combined.  Add more buttermilk if the dressing is too thick.
5.  On a dinner plate, place a bed of baby spinach.  Scatter with cherry tomatoes and drizzle with dressing.  Top with warm chicken cutlet and serve.

From Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

With #HotSummerEats, I got a variety of sponsor products.  This was one.  Garlic Hot Sauce.  Sid used cayenne and onion powder in the marinade, but I thought this would work just as well.  The garlic flavour shone through, and it stirred easily into the buttermilk.  There's also a really nice kick.  J and I loved it.

As I said, frying like this isn't for everyday.  But this was probably the best crust I've ever achieved on chicken.  The chipotle in the flour also added to the kick in the chicken.

But isn't this a pretty salad?  J and I both enjoyed it.  Next time, I'd want to add a little red onion.  But the blue cheese was yummy along with everything else.  Thanks for a great dinner suggestion Sid!  Stay tuned for dessert!









*Full Disclosure: I received a bottle of Garlic Goodness from Intensity Academy for participating in #HotSummerEats. Feel free to use whatever hot sauce you have on-hand. I received no additional compensation for this post; all comments are 100% accurate and 100% my own.

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