T.G.I. Friday: Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad


Restaurant: T.G.I. Friday
Chef: Todd Wilbur
Meats: chicken breast
Produce: cranberries, celery, mandarin orange segments, romaine lettuce
Dairy: blue cheese, eggs, milk
Spices: salt, sugar, garlic, dark brown sugar
Sauces & Broth: balsamic vinegar, Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
Other: flour, pecans, canola oil, corn flake crumbs
Cooking Method: 
Total Time: Less than 30 minutes
Serves: 4


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Pecan-Crusted Chicken Ingredients:
4 chicken breast fillets, skinless
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup canola oil

Balsamic vinaigrette Ingredients:
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
4 teaspoons mustard (Grey Poupon Dijon)
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic, minced (2 cloves)

Salad Ingredients:
1 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
12 cups copped romaine lettuce (2 heads)
1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)
2 cans mandarin orange segments, drained (11-ounce cans)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Procedure:
We'll make the pecan-crusted chicken first since it is served cold. Pound each chicken fillet to about 1/2-inch thick. You can do this easily by covering each chicken breast in plastic wrap and pounding away with a kitchen mallet.
Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, corn flake crumbs and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow bowl. Combine milk with beaten eggs in another shallow bowl. Dump the flour into another shallow bowl.
Bread each chicken breast by coating each with flour. Dip the flour-dusted chicken into the egg mixture, and then coat the chicken with a thick coating of the pecans and corn flake crumbs.
Preheat 1/2 cup of canola oil in a large skillet over medium/low heat. When the oil is hot, saute the chicken fillets for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Cool chicken on a rack or paper towels. When you can handle the chicken, cover it and refrigerate for at least two hours.
As the chicken chills, you can make the balsamic vinaigrette by combining 1 cup canola oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender. Blend on low speed for just a few seconds, or until the dressing begins to thicken. Don't blend too long or your vinaigrette will get too thick, like mayonnaise. Pour vinaigrette into a small bowl and mix in minced garlic. Chill this until you're ready to use it.
When you're ready to build your salads, toss lettuce and celery with about 3/4 cup of the balsamic vinaigrette.
Arrange the lettuce on four plates, then sprinkle the cranberries over the lettuce (about 1/4 cup per serving).
Combine the 3 tablespoons of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of this mixture on each salad.
Sprinkle about 1/2 can of drained mandarin segments over each salad, followed by about 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese.
Slice each fillet into thin strips. Arrange one sliced chicken fillet on top of each salad and serve.



Restaurant: T.G.I. Friday
Recipe Type: Copycat
Recipe Author: Chef Todd Wilbur
Original Photograph By:
Photograph Retouched By: Recipe Spy
Recipe Source: http://abcnews.go.com

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