An Inspired Cook

I haven’t had a cobb salad in ages They are traditionally made with a bed of romaine lettuce topped with sliced chicken breast, bacon bits, tomatoes, onions, avocado, hard boiled eggs and crumbled bleu cheese. I changed it up a bit to fit our tastes and substituted sliced green onions for the red onion and crumbled goat cheese for the bleu cheese. Joe suggested he would like deviled eggs instead of plain hard boiled eggs so that’s our twist on this classic salad. It tasted so good and with a simple vinaigrette drizzled over top. I prepped the eggs and bacon earlier in the day when it was cooler so as to avoid the afternoon heat. This salad was more than enough for the two of us plus leftovers for lunch the next day. Whether the idea of deviled eggs with a cobb salad sounds intriguing to your taste buds or not, cobb salad is a classic for a reason. You can take this tried and true recipe and change it up to make it your own.

First thing I did was make the dressing in the morning so that it would have time to marinate all the flavors together. This simple vinaigrette includes dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, olive oil, a pinch of sugar and salt & pepper to taste.

Whisk the ingredients together until it has emulsified. This amount made just enough for this salad. I poured it into a half pint jar and refrigerated for several hours.

Next I made our favorite Deviled Eggs. I scaled down the recipe to make 6 eggs. When I make deviled eggs I have to make extra for Joe. These were also prepped and made earlier in the day.

I have given up frying bacon on top of the stove and instead have found I can make crisp tasty bacon in the microwave. I have discovered that microwaving bacon on this “Nordic Ware” plate is so much easier and less mess. It comes with a lid that vents the steam and leaves bacon crispy and tastes just like you fried it. It took approximately 3 1/2 minutes to prepare the bacon perfectly crisp. I chopped it into bite sized bits for the salad.

Grill a chicken breast with your favorite seasoning. It can be simply salt and pepper or whatever you like. While the chicken is on the grill you can prep your salad by chopping the lettuce and slicing the green onion, tomatoes, avocado. If you don’t have goat cheese crumbles, you can make crumbles by picking it apart with 2 forks.

To assemble the salad, fill a large bowl with your chopped romaine lettuce. Arrange sliced grilled chicken in the center on top of the lettuce. Add sliced avocado on either side as well as tomatoes, chopped bacon and sprinkle with goat cheese crumbles and sliced green onion. Set a couple of deviled eggs around the edge and drizzle with vinaigrette over top of the salad. As we ate this we kept adding another deviled egg or two which made this salad so filling.

Deviled Egg Cobb Salad

1 small head Romaine Lettuce, chopped

6 Deviled Eggs, recipe follows

1 Chicken Breast, grilled and sliced

4 slices Bacon, cooked and chopped into bits

1/2 Avocado, sliced

1/2 pint Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half

2 tablespoons Green Onion, sliced

1/4 cup Crumbled Goat Cheese

Simple Mustard Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Season chicken with your favorite seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil. Grill over medium high heat approximately 400 degrees. Turn the chicken every 10 minutes and grill until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. An instant read thermometer will be helpful to ensure a safe internal temperature. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

To assemble salad: Fill a large bowl with the romaine lettuce. Lay the sliced chicken in the center on top of the lettuce and add sliced avocado along the side as well as the tomatoes and cooked bacon. Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese and sliced green onion over top. Add a couple of deviled eggs on the side of the salad and drizzle vinaigrette over top.

2 -3 Servings

Simple Mustard Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder or 1 Garlic Clove, minced

1/8 teaspoon Sugar

1/3 cup Olive Oil

Whisk all ingredients together until the vinaigrette has emulsified. Place in a jar with a lid and refrigerate.

Classic Deviled Eggs

6 Hard Boiled Eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 – 2 dashes of Hot Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Pinch of Salt
Paprika to sprinkle over top

Place eggs in a 3 quart heavy bottomed saucepan and fill with enough water to cover eggs.  Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 2 minutes.  Turn heat off, cover pot with a lid and let sit for 10 minutes.  Remove eggs with a slotted spoon to a large bowl filled with cold water for 1 minute.  Place eggs on a towel to dry.

Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise.  Carefully remove yolks to a medium sized bowl.  Mash yolks with a pastry blender.

Whisk together mayonnaise and next 6 ingredients to make a dressing.  Pour dressing in with the mashed yolks and stir until well blended and creamy.  Place a dollop of yolk mixture into each egg white half.  Sprinkle with paprika.