- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, unskinned
- 4 (6 ounce) boned, skinned chicken breast halves
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon Safeway SELECT Verdi Olive Oil
- 2 firm-ripe Comice or Bosc pears
- 1 pound apples, see Notes
- 2 tablespoons Lucerne Sweet Cream Butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cups Safeway SELECT Seasoned Rice Vinegar
- 1 cup Safeway SELECT Orange Juice
- 8 cups baby lettuce mix
- 2 ounces Safeway SELECT Primo Taglio Imported Danish Blue Cheese
- Place hazelnuts in an 8- to 9-inch baking pan and bake in a 350 degree F oven until golden beneath skins, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour from pan onto a clean towel. When cool enough to handle, rub nuts in towel to loosen skins. Lift nuts from towel and coarsely chop; discard skins.
- While nuts bake, rinse chicken and pat dry. Place chicken between sheets of plastic wrap and pound gently with a mallet until about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12- to 14-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken and turn occasionally until pieces are lightly browned and no longer pink in center (cut to test), about 6 minutes total. Transfer to a plate; cover with foil to keep warm.
- While chicken cooks, rinse, peel, and core pears and apples. Cut each lengthwise into 8 wedges. After removing chicken, add butter and brown sugar to frying pan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Add fruit and stir often until fruit begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar and orange juice. Bring to a boil; boil over high heat, stirring often, until fruit is tender when pierced and liquid is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
- Divide salad greens equally between 4 dinner plates and set a chicken breast half on each mound. Spoon hot fruit and liquid over chicken and greens. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and blue cheese. Add more salt and pepper to taste.