Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad

I’ve been on a weeklong hiatus because I went to New York and became a Godmomma! What I’ve decided: When you have an infant, every task becomes a superhuman feat. I couldn’t pour syrup on my waffles Sunday morning. Actually, I couldn’t even get the waffle on my plate. Babies are definitely a two-handed job. Big props to all the cooking and/or blogging mommas out there with babes and tots on their hands!

My vacation was full of celebratory food and drink — that’s how my family does it. Then yesterday, the BBF and I went for a nice evening to celebrate our 13 months together (we missed month 12!), which included more celebratory food and drink. Hence, the salad for dinner this evening.

I know this salad will be a hit with the BBF because he loves wings and buffalo chicken dip and blue cheese and all combinations of thereof. I’m taking all those flavors, but adding a ton of zero-calorie* lettuce to get a big, tasty bang for a low-calorie buck.

*Lettuce actually has about 8 calories per shredded cup — negligible enough that I’m going to call it a “zero-calorie” food.

Adapted from SHAPE Magazine’s May 2014 issue

Serves: 4 Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 8 minutes

For the salad

16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup hot sauce (such as Texas Pete) (Made in Winston Salem, y’all!)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
6 cups romaine lettuce
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 ounce crumbled blue cheese

For the dressing

1/3 cup lowfat buttermilk, well shaken
2 tablespoons light mayo (I like Hellman’s with the Carolina Blue label)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh chives, plus more for garnish
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Gently pound chicken breasts to an even thickness. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush chicken with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Let rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine hot sauce, butter, honey, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Set aside.
To make the dressing, combine buttermilk, mayo, vinegar, honey, garlic, and chives in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add romaine and celery. Toss well and divide among four serving plates.
Slice the chicken crosswise against the grain into 3/4-inch-thick pieces. Add to the bowl with the hot sauce mixture and toss well to coat. Arrange chicken evenly over salad. Sprinkle with blue cheese and additional chives.

Nutrition facts per serving: 255 calories, 12 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 9 g carbs, 27 g protein, 2 g fiber, 790 mg sodium

What I did differently: I didn’t use celery because I strongly dislike raw celery (and vaguely dislike cooked celery). The dressing is a little plain, but leaves room for the intense flavors of the buffalo sauce and the blue cheese.

My rating: 4/5 stars. I don’t really care for buffalo sauce. (I don’t care for buffalo wings and I’ll take artichoke dip over spicy chicken dip any day.)

The BBF’s rating: The BBF is on his way over to taste now. But his preliminary rating via text: