Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad is one of my all-time favorite salads.  This recipe is originally from America's Test Kitchen, with only a few changes by me.  It is a little more time-consuming to make than your average throw-it-all-together salad, but it doesn't take much longer than making an average cooked dinner.  And since its so delicious and covers your basic dinner needs (i.e., protein and veggies), you can eat it as a meal in and of itself.  Which is what I did tonight.  Since it's a salad, you can leave out an ingredient or two and it won't horribly change the overall flavor.  It also keeps pretty well for an extra day, so you can have the leftovers for lunch.

Cobb Salad

Chicken Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T salt
1/2 cup sugar

Dissolve salt and sugar in 1 qt cool water in a large Ziplock bag.  Submerge the chicken and let brine in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Adjust oven rack so it is 6 inches from the broiler element.  Remove chicken from the brine solution and dry with paper towels.  Place on a greased broiler pan and broil 3 1/2 to 4 minutes per side, or until lightly browned and cooked throughout.
Slice chicken on the bias into 1/4-inch-thick pieces; set aside.

Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 small clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 t)
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 t sugar
1/4 t salt
pinch ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.  Set aside.

Salad Ingredients:
8 cups salad greens (romaine, Boston, iceberg, endive, watercress, arugula, etc.  I usually buy the Organics mix)
2 hard-boiled eggs, each sliced into 8 slices
2 avocados, sliced into 1/2" wide slices
2 medium tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4" wedges
6 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1 T minced fresh chives
2 oz blue or feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)

Toss the salad greens with 1/3 cup of the dressing in a large salad bowl.  Arrange chicken slices and wedges of hard-boiled egg on top of greens and drizzle with 2 T of the dressing.  Toss the avocados and tomatoes in the remaining dressing, then arrange over the salad.  Sprinkle bacon, chives, and cheese over the salad.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 as a main course.