Buffalo wing sauce is basically what my dreams are made of. It’s pretty much sacred to me. As are many condiments – but this one is right up there at the top of my list. Throw it on a salad with a dollop or five of ranch dressing, and I’m in heaven.
Oh, and can we chat for a second about salads? Because honestly, I’m kind of a high-maintenance salad person – but for completely good reason. So, a couple of things: do you ever see salad listed on a menu, and it has like three things on it [like, including lettuce…]? Unless it’s a Caesar salad [which totally doesn’t count because the dressing is gold, and that’s why I eat it], then I’m completely of the belief that it should be packed with different toppings, flavors, and textures.
For instance, we threw a few spoonfuls of this black bean and corn salad on top, and it adds sooooo much. Not to mention gorgeous heirloom grape tomatoes, carrots, and of course, cheese.
And I totally have a confession to make here, speaking of cheese. I know there are tons of blue cheese lovers out there — and don’t hold back, you can absolutely swap out the jack cheese for blue cheese. But it’s just not my thing. Never has been.
In fact, the sous chef totally shamed me for not putting blue cheese on this baby. Oh, and for using ranch dressing. Because he’s just a blue cheese kinda guy. And some people are. But for those of you who aren’t, jack cheese is perfect for this salad. Soft, creamy, spicy — the best.
Now last thing on salads: I loatheeeee when you order a salad and it’s not chopped! Because who wants to eat an entire mouthful of just onion? Or spend 15 minutes chopping it yourself, to make sure that you get a little bit of everything on each perfect bite? Not me. In fact, little secret: we take all of these pretty salad pictures, and immediately return all of the salad ingredients to a cutting board and chop away once we’re done with the photos. Because, well, flavor! Duh!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 chicken breasts trimmed, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce (we used Sweet Baby Ray's)
- 2 heads romaine lettuce coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup black bean and corn salad (recipe here: http://ahintofwine.com/recipe/black-bean-corn-salad-20-minute-side-dish/)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup baby carrots chopped
- 1/2 cup jack cheese grated
- ranch or blue cheese dressing for serving
Ingredients
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- In a saute pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the seasoned chicken breasts and sear on each side for 6-7 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, shred or slice the chicken for serving, and toss with buffalo wing sauce. Set aside
- Divide the romaine lettuce between the plates. Top the romaine with the black bean and corn salsa, grape tomatoes, red onion, baby carrots, jack cheese, and buffalo chicken.
- Serve with ranch dressing or blue cheese, and eat up!
Our wine choice: the 2009 Salneval Albariño, D.O. Rías Baixas, Spain. We thought a crisp, refreshing white with notes of citrus and stone fruit would be the perfect wine to stand up to the spice of the buffalo sauce. Cheers!
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