Lemon Fried Goat Cheese Salad

This recipe was created after dining in a great little restaurant in Frederick, Maryland called Acacia. They had a wonderful, soft, brined chicken quarter, served over a lemony salad with goat cheese. It was delicious, light, and extremely satisfying. So, I wondered how I could make my rendition of this at home, perhaps a little quicker, and this is what I came up with. You can easily make this recipe for one or many, here is what you need, on a per person basis. Be forewarned, goat cheese is very pungent and has a tang to it, perhaps described as a little sour. There are people who love it and people who hate it, you may want to try it ahead of time.

Ingredients:

3 raw chicken tenders (per person)

lemon pepper

butter

spring mix salad

walnuts

lemon vinaigrette

1 oz. goat cheese ( per person)

1 1/4 tsp heavy cream (per person)

flour

egg

italian bread crumbs (or bread crumbs and a little italian seasoning)

water

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but most of these I have sitting around my house and it is still quick to throw together. Here goes. Throw a little butter in a small skillet, on medium high heat. Throw in the chicken and sprinkle with the lemon pepper (to taste), brown on all sides and cook through. Assemble salad with spring mix on bottom, pour over vinaigrette and sprinkle with walnuts. Don't place chicken on top yet, you do not want the salad to wilt under the heat of the chicken. Now for the star of the salad, the fried goat cheese balls. Take the goat cheese and mix with the heavy cream to give a consistency you can roll into a ball. Add a few walnuts and make two balls per ounce. Roll them in the flour making sure to coat all sides, then roll in an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 3 -4 tsp water), then roll in the italian bread crumbs (or bread crumbs with a small pinch of italian seasoning mixed in). You can use a deep fryer if you have one, or use the smallest saucepan you have and fill with cooking oil a little over 1/2 inch high. Heat to about 360 degrees and place cheese balls in. Fry for approximately 30 to 35 seconds per side. If the cheese starts to come out they are done. Top salad with chicken and fried goat cheese and eat. ***I have also seen restaurants serve fried goat cheese balls as tapas (spanish hor devours) with a little shallot vinaigrette (also great).***