Warm Chicken BLT Salad

Yield: Makes 4 main-dish servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast halves (3 to 4), fat trimmed
• 14 ounces butter lettuce (2 heads), leaves separated, rinsed, crisped, and torn into 3-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups cherry or small, pear-shaped tomatoes (red and/or yellow), rinsed and cut in half
• 1 firm-ripe avocado (12 oz.)
• 8 slices applewood-smoked or regular bacon (10 oz. total), chopped
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar
• About 1/4 teaspoon salt
• About 1/4 teaspoon pepper

PREPARATION

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry, and cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces.
2. Put lettuce and tomatoes in a salad bowl. Pit and peel avocado. Cut into quarters, then thinly slice crosswise. Add to salad.
3. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, stir bacon often until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan.
4. Add chicken to pan; stir often over medium-high heat until no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in olive oil, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
5. Add chicken mixture and bacon to salad and mix gently. Add more salt and pepper to taste

Serve with Round Barn Pinot Gris - Lake Michigan Shore.