Paint with All the Colors of the Cobb (Salad)

If you've ever had a Cobb Salad before, I think you'd agree that the most compelling parts of the salad are the melange of textures and tastes presented in a colorful rainbow on top of the salad. That's why I've taken the toppings of a Cobb and stuffed them into a lettuce leaf for a hand-held potluck appetizer, or a plated salad course that's as delicious as it is fun to eat.

A Cobb is relatively straight forward and most of the effort is spent on preparing each topping, but there are three key things to get right. The first is that you don't want to overcook the chicken. Chicken breasts can easily turn dry and pasty if they are overcooked, which is why I've outlined my poaching method to gently cook the chicken.

The second key point is to make sure the bacon is fully crisped. You want the bacon to be a crisp smoky boost to the salad, not a chewy gristly drag.

Lastly, be sure the boiled eggs are cooked long enough to fully set the yolks, but not so long that the yolks turn green. Check out my post on Perfect Boiled Eggs for a explanation on how to consistently get the kind of eggs you want.

The toppings for this Cobb Salad Wrap can all be prepared ahead of time, leaving only the assembly when you're ready to serve them. I've mirrored a more traditional Cobb in the presentation, but if you need to make a large batch, you can just toss all the topping ingredient together with the dressing and spoon the salad into the lettuce cups.