Introducing your new favorite dinner salad (unless you've already tried our Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Salad at one of our Nordstrom Cafe locations). With layers of satisfying flavor, if a salad can be comfort food, this guy is it.

We toss together mixed baby greens with ripe tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, roasted corn, smoky bacon (!) and tender chicken cooked until its Parmesan breading is crisp and golden brown. Clinging to it all: a quick and delicious honey-dijon dressing that's spiked with a bit of ginger and a handful of fresh cilantro. This is the kind of salad you'll want to make again and again, because once you've tried a gratifying forkful, it'll be hard to stop thinking about having another.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Salad
From our Nordstrom Cafe
(Makes 10 servings)

Honey-Dijon Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup shallots, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 ounce cilantro, chopped

1. In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, add all ingredients.
2. Cover and blend until completely combined, about two minutes.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
2 pounds chicken breasts
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Canola oil for frying

1. Wash chicken, pat dry with paper towels and cut into two-ounce portions. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and water.
3. In a rimmed plate, combine flour, salt and pepper.
4. In another rimmed plate, add the Parmesan.
5. Lightly dust the chicken in the flour mixture, then dip into egg mixture. Let excess egg drain off before rolling chicken in cheese until all sides are evenly coated. Repeat for all chicken pieces, placing them on a piece of parchment paper.
6. Pour enough canola oil into a large Dutch oven to reach 3 inches up the sides, then heat to 350°F.
7. Fry chicken in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding the pot, for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the pieces registers 165°F.
8. Transfer chicken to a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet to drain and cool.

Salad Assembly
Fried chicken pieces, diced 1/2 inch thick
1 pound mixed baby greens
3 ears corn, roasted and sliced from cob
4 medium tomatoes, diced 1/2 inch thick
10 slices cooked bacon, diced 1/2 inch thick
10 hard-boiled eggs, diced 1/2 inch thick
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 avocados, pitted and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Cilantro sprigs for garnish

1. In a large stainless-steel bowl, add the Honey-Dijon Dressing followed by the mixed greens, corn, tomatoes, bacon, salt and pepper.
2. Toss until all ingredients are coated with the dressing. Shake the bowl so the heavier ingredients fall to the bottom and the lettuce rises to the top.
3. Into chilled salad bowls, divide the greens by stacking them in a crisscross pattern, creating height in the center, then add the remaining toppings among the greens.
4. Arrange chicken pieces on top, dividing them among the salads. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro and a fan of sliced avocado.

-Jeff Powell (Photos and Intro)