Summer Salads

[Alix]

YUM! Breezy those sound wonderful!

Here's another one that Ken and I love. (Kids hate it though. LOL)

Head of romaine lettuce, torn up.
2/3 cup toasted slivered almonds and sunflower seeds (I do them in the microwave)
1 avocado in chunks (can omit this if you like)
3 or 4 green onions or some chives

Dressing:

2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
pinch or two of dry mustard
1 clove minced garlic
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup EVOO

Shake dressing and pour over salad. OH...you can also add mandarin orange pieces to this salad but we never do. I bet it would be yummy with some other berries too.

 

[SharonT]

Cobb Salad

We never get tired of a classic Cobb Salad.
Cobb Salad
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
1 ripe avocado, split, pitted, and diced
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons crumbled bacon
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup blue cheese dressing

In a large salad bowl, layer the Romaine, avocado, tomato and eggs, seasoning them with salt and pepper, to taste, as you go. Top with the chicken and bacon. Toss with the dressing so all the ingredients are evenly mixed together. Makes about 8 cups.
For a wrap – Spread softened cream cheese around edge of 10- or 12-inch flour tortilla. Measure 1 1/3 cups of salad onto center of tortilla and spread to meet border of cream cheese. Fold outside edges and roll. Cut in half diagonally.

 

[SharonT]

Tarragon Chicken Salad

This is one of my all-time favorite salads:
Tarragon Chicken Salad
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow squash
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup chopped celery with leaves
Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegars, salt, sugar and pepper in small bowl until smooth. Combine chicken, red onion, squash, carrots and celery in large bowl. Add mayonnaise mixture; stir until blended. Serve on spring salad mix or in a spinach tortilla wrap. To do the wraps, spread softened cream cheese around border of wrap, place green leaf lettuce on the tortilla and spread a cup of the salad. Wrap and fold. Cut in half diagonally.
Makes about 4 cups.

 

[Constance]

mmmm, poppy seeds have just found a new use in our house, besides bagels. gonna haveta try that. thanks alix!

I should warn you that you cannot pass a drug test if you have eaten poppy seeds.
Just a word to the wise.

 

[Lynan]

Good point Constance!!

I make Poppyseed and Lemon muffins often so must remember to not give them to any visiting sports teams. ( and we have a lot of teams visit!)
That recipe uses a cup of the seeds!!!

 

[Alix]

LMAO!!! I never thought much about the poppyseed/drug testing thing. I know it is true, just never gave it a thought. I have a question about this, but will post it elsewhere to keep this thread on track.

 

[beaulana2]

I put cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, chopped green pepper and pour italian salad dressing over it.

 

[cara]

salads are great for warm days...
we do our usual salad, lollo rosso or iceberg lettuce with carrots, sometimes paprika, apples, cheese etc with a vinegraitte (balsamico, olive oil, herbs) and sunflower seeds or pine nuts.
and as we like roasted turkey breast, roasted Maultaschen, bacon, cooked eggs and so on....

 

[Half Baked]

a little passe' i restaurants around here nowadays, but i still like a good mesculun salad with lots of frisse leaves, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, and goat cheese puppies (dollops of goat cheese rolled in fine, toasted breadcrumbs), in a sweet balsamic viniagrette.

That's my kind of salad.

 

[cjs]

What a great thread this is!! Can't beat a good salad.

Here's one for the wonderful tomatoes we're getting right now -

Chunk up 2-3 tomatoes (heirlooms if you can get them)
1 avocado, chunk it up
salt & pepper
feta cheese chunks
julienned basil
kalamata olives, halvd
hazelnuts and pinenuts, chopped and roasted

make a red wine vinegar, oil and honey mustard vinaigrette and pour over.

Oh my!! so good.

 

[Alix]

cjs, oh my goodness! That sounds SOOOOOOOOOO good! I am an olive freak. Thanks!

 

[Bridgett]

Wow, there are some good ideas here. I'll be trying out a few of these salads!

My favourite salad is thoroughly summery. In my house we crack it out only when fresh mangos appear on the shelves, and for poolside barbies.
It's pretty much illegal to have it in the cool weather.

500g Chicken breast, grilled or sauteed with pineapple juice
Mixed Salad greens
5 thick pineapple rings, cubed
1-2 mangos, sliced
1-2 avocadoes, sliced
Macadamia nuts

Dressing

In a frypan:
1 onion, diced, sauteed in butter
Add 1 tbsp curry powder to pan
Add 4 teasp mango chutney, stir.

Remove from heat, stir in 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup greek or vanilla yoghurt and a few drops of pineapple juice.

 

[Sephora]

My favorite salad is fresh spring greens, chopped walnuts, feta cheese, and pears with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, usually Newman's since I can't get the dressing right making it at home. I love it when the weather is warm.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Summer's almost gone now, but we had a dinner party last night and I made this:
1 large butter lettuce
1 small red radicchio
1 pkt arugula
1 medium fennel bulb
8 oz Emmenthal cheese, cubed
(for the dressing)
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 medium orange, juiced and zested
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup EVOO
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsps moutarde a l'ancienne ("Ancient Mustard")
Sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces and toss into a large bowl with the arugula, Finely slice the fennel bulb and place into iced water with lemon juice until ready to serve.
Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and taste! The dressing is fairly thin ( or at least, mine was because the orange was juicier than I thought!) but should be well-balanced between sweet, citrus and oil.

Place the greens on a plate. Drain and pat dry the fennel , and scatter it over the lettuce. Place a few cubes of cheese on top, drizzle with the dressing and serve.

We followed this with some pumpkin-stuffed tortelloni, with sage butter.

 

[Romany123]

That sounds nice Clive, I have copied it for future use ...Thanks

 

[TATTRAT]

I am a big fan of paper thin Vidallia Onion, thin Sliced Hothouse cucumbers, Hierloom tomatoes, some crumbled feta, olive oil and champagne vineagar with a little dijon mixed in. Great by its self or atop field greens or lettuce of choice.

Though not really a salad, I love hulled strawberries stuffed with whiped goats cheese and then dusted in cracked black peper. Some balsamic and honey reduction is a nice addition too. Makes for a nice outdoors summer finger snack.

 

[ChefJune]

I made an amazing extemporaneous salad the other night.... based on the beautiful heirloom tomatoes we are getting in profusion right now...

I used very ripe Green Zebras; mixed green, including Frisee, red chard, sucrine, red oak leaf; incredible lower-salt Feta cheese; Nyons olives; used Maldon sea salt and freshly ground Tellicherry pepper, and a vinaigrette of tarragon dijon mustard, a smashed (fresh) garlic clove and evoo.... FPTCF drank the dressing that was left in the bowl, all mixed up with tomato juice and little crumbs of Feta!

 

[Alix]

Sounds wonderful. Can I ask what FPTCF means? Thats one I haven't seen before.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Federally Protected Tasmanian Chef Friend?

Fennel, Pineapple, Tomato and Carrot Fiend?

Famous Person from the Tobruk Chef's Federation?

I couldn't work it out either Alix.
In fact, I got stuck with the Green Zebras - I thought they were all black and white !

 

[cjs]

Favorite Person To Cook For....I think