Grilled Spicy Chicken Salad with Honey Mango Vinaigrette

Crisp Romaine lettuce is the base for this salad. Add some spicy grilled chicken tenders, fresh strawberries, red onions, fresh blueberries, toasted almonds and a sweet and vinegary mango dressing and you have a summer salad that will knock their socks off. The heat from the spicy chicken, the fresh fruit and the sweet but tart dressing, the nutty flavor of the almonds, the crisp romaine and the bite of the onion all blend together to give you a flavor sensation that is out of this world. I really think you're going to love this one. Lets get started by making the vinaigrette. Here's what you will need:

Fresh Mango, peel, seed and chop small             1
Champagne Vinegar                                           1/4 cup
Water                                                                1/4 cup
Red Onion, minced                                            2 Tbsp
Fresh Garlic, minced                                          2 cloves
Fresh Jalapeno, seed and mince                          1 each
Lime Juice                                                         from 1 lime
Black Pepper, fresh ground                                about 10 turns
Honey                                                               1/2 cup
Dijon Mustard                                                   2 Tbsp
Extra Virgin Olive Oil                                        1/2 cup

In a food processor or blender combine chopped mango, vinegar and water, process until mixture is pureed smooth. Pour into a mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients except the olive oil.  If you have an immersion blender you can just start with the mixing bowl to puree the mango. Any way you have all the ingredients together except the oil, mix these ingredients well and then slowly whip in the olive oil. This should all blend together well with no separation. Cover and set aside for service. Chill if you like. Yields about 2 cups.

Rinse and quarter about a pound of strawberries, rinse about a 1/2 pint of blueberries and toast a couple of ounces of almonds. About 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven should do it. Cut 1/4 red onion in strips. Rinse and chop 1 head romaine lettuce.

Now the chicken. I guess the amount depends on how many people you want to feed. Figure about 4 ounces of chicken per person or salad. I made about 2 pounds of chicken so we would have plenty of leftovers. Rinse the chicken with cold water and drain well. Put the chicken in a bowl and add a little salad oil, just enough to lightly coat as it will flame up when you put it on the grill if you use too much. Add a generous amount of your favorite Cajun spice and mix it well. Now chicken tenders are kind of small so they will cook quickly. In order to get some nice color you will want to have a pretty hot grill. About 5 or 6 minutes on each side on a good hot grill and your chicken should be done. Cut the chicken in chunks and build the salad. There is really no rhyme or reason for this step. Start with a bed of lettuce and top it with the rest. The important part is to make it look pretty. Serve this up with some nice grilled whole grain garlic bread and you have a nice refreshing summer meal that you're sure to enjoy!!!