Caribbean Breeze

Since we had some time to wait for our table at Bonefish Mac's the other day, I perused the menu and jotted down some notes of things that looked interesting. I ended up ordering the Fish and Chips, while Wayne had their "Crack" Mac 'n Cheese, but everything on the menu looked delicious.

So, when "chicken salad" was on our dinner calendar, I decided to create my own Caribbean Breeze Salad. The description from their menu said "Crisp salad greens, smoked chicken, pineapple, mandarin oranges, carrots, tomato and glazed pecans* served with our tangy Key Lime dressing."

I couldn't find Bonefish Mac's dressing recipe, but I found several possibilities online and then created my own. I also couldn't decide between a vinaigrette or creamy dressing, but noticed that the creamy versions were really just the vinaigrette mixed with some mayonnaise. So, last night we tried the salad with the vinaigrette. Later we'll try it again after making creamy version. It wasn't Wayne's favorite combination for a dinner salad, but I liked it. I did use pre-cooked dark meat chicken; it would probably be more appealing with chicken breast slices. I also used crushed pineapple because that was the oldest can of pineapple in the pantry; chunks would have been better.

Key Lime Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup key lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar. Close lid tightly and shake. Chill for several hours.

*Glazed Pecans - Combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons butter and 2 teaspoons light corn syrup in a frying pan on medium heat. After the butter melts, stir in 1 cup pecan halves. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Spread coated pecans on waxed paper to cool completely before using to garnish salad.

Note: This was our first visit to Bonefish Mac's and we understand why it was rated one of the top restaurants in Wellington. The service was great, the food was delicious, the servings were enormous, the prices were reasonable, and the atmosphere was fun and Floridian and family friendly. We're looking forward to bringing out of town guests here in the future.

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese on Monday, and Fish Burgers and Fries on Tuesday.

We went the week after my camera landed at the bottom of the Loxahatchee River, so no pictures of the beautiful presentation, but we brought home enough leftovers for two more meals. That's a pretty good deal in our book.