"I just want to focus on my salad."

[helen jackson]

Anyone besides me put in cantaloupe balls?

Yes... and blueberies, apples, strawberries and so on. Salads are a good place for an unexpected ingredient.

I am so not with you.

I cannot stand sweet surprises in my salads.

toasted pine nuts, seeds, crispy prosciutto etc... are all great and fine but as for fruit - keep it for the fruit salad as dessert.

My only exception with fruit in salads is sliced pear tossed with rocket (arugula), parmigiano, crispy prosciutto, good balsamic and evoo. Simply delicious.

Oh I lie - of course melon or balsamic strawbs are great with prosciutto but then that is hardly a salad.

[helen jackson]

vinaigrettes are my favorite but they are far more complicated and tricky than one might think....

Why are vinaigrettes complicated and tricky?

Mine are not but maybe I am not making them right.

[Jaymes]

Anyone besides me put in cantaloupe balls?

Yes... and blueberies, apples, strawberries and so on. Salads are a good place for an unexpected ingredient.

I am so not with you.

I cannot stand sweet surprises in my salads.

toasted pine nuts, seeds, crispy prosciutto etc... are all great and fine but as for fruit - keep it for the fruit salad as dessert.

My only exception with fruit in salads is sliced pear tossed with rocket (arugula), parmigiano, crispy prosciutto, good balsamic and evoo. Simply delicious.

Oh I lie - of course melon or balsamic strawbs are great with prosciutto but then that is hardly a salad.

Actually, canteloupe is not all that sweet... not much sweeter than tomatoes and not as sweet, to me, as pears. I've served cantaloupe balls in salads (but only with some type of vinaigrette...not blue cheese or ranch or any other creamy dressing) for years and there are never any left on the salad plate. So someone else besides me must think they're tasty there.

Thought of this thread when I read the following description in a recent rave review in the Austin Statesman of one of our top restaurants:

"Executive chef John Maxwell's food is marked by extensive preparation that takes it beyond that of most restaurants in Austin. Maxwell, who has been at Zoot three years and who subtly manipulates flavors to produce his exceptional plates, used the same multistep technique in his Butter Lettuce Salad ($8.95).

The greens were deveined and tossed with a dressing of crème frâiche, lightly whipped cream, lemon juice and lemon zest and were topped with blue-vein goat cheese, toasted pecans and fire-roasted peaches. Roasting the peaches, for example, added a dimension found in few salads."

[stellabella]

i made a vinaigrette the other night which was very nice:

EVOO

red wine vinegar

whole mustard

chopped fresh mint

sea salt

it was very tangy so i tossed a little blue cheese into the salad to cut it a bit.

i find dressings to be tricky--it's probably me.

[mixmaster b]

lots of you mention "chopped/minced herbs"--be more specific--which ones, in which combos?  just curious.  at this time of year i always have thyme, oregano, basil and rosemary on hand but i never use them all together.  should i?  what else might be added?  vinaigrettes are my favorite but they are far more complicated and tricky than one might think....

Your herbs are lovely for salads, though I would omit the rosemary from a mixed herb salad--for me, the flavor is too strong. You can use the rosemary (alone or combined w/ oregano, thyme, garlic) to flavor croutons.

I would use liberal amounts of basil chiffonade, a bit of thyme, and some oregano in a salad. Beware of the oregano if it is mature and strong in taste--just use a bit less. I would add Italian parsley, spring onions, or chives into the mix if possible--these have flavors that are a bit milder and more easily associated with salad--though of course it is all personal taste. Dill and chervil are lovely as well, as is mint.

Chop everything finely and toss with some butter/Boston lettuce (my fave) or perhaps some baby romaine or micro greens. You can really use lots of herbs here, especially if you don't put in anything else (a medium sized handful to each small head of lettuce). Use a simple red wine or sherry vinaigrette.

This is my standard approach to herb salads--I would love to know of recipes that integrate a specific herb (or herbs) into the salad. I could imagine that a thyme-shallot dressing would be nice with something that had pancetta...

You could also do a nice fresh mozzarella & tomato salad with the basil and some oregano. I like to cube the cheese and toss with herbs, greens, halved cherry tomatoes, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, and red wine vinegar--no need for vinaigrette there.

taste. Dill and chervil are lovely as well, as is mint.

Chop eveything finely and toss with some butter/boston lettuce (my fave) or perhaps some baby romaine or microgreens. You can really use lots of herbs here, especially if you don't put in anything else (a medium sized handful to each small head of lettuce). Use a simple red wine or sherry vinaigrette.

This is my standard approach to herb salads--I would love to know of recipes that integrate a specific herb (or herbs) into the salad. I could imagine that a thyme-shallot dressing would be nice with something that had pancetta...

You could also do a nice fresh mozzarella & tomato salad with the basil and some oregano. I like to cube the chesse and toss with herbs, greens, halved cherry tomatoes, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, and red wine vinegar--no need for vinaigrette there.

I also remember doing a very interesting salad that consited almost exclusively of curly parsley. I think the recipe came from Saveur but I don't remember. It was strong but actually quite good. I need to track down the recipe...

[Stone]

I'm supposed to make a "healthy salad" for pre-yom kippur dinner tomorrow. I understand the request meant healthy in the "promoting good health" sense, as opposed to "copious and large".

I assume the easiest thing to do is to get a few bags of mixed greens from the local market.

Does anyone have any better ideas? Ideas for a good dressing would also be appreciated.

[SobaAddict70]

When in doubt, go for minimalism: EVOO, lemon juice, salt, pepper, maybe mustard if you want.

If that doesn't grab you, what kind of dressings do you like? Thick gloppy ones, or thin, runny ones?

Any food allergies you or your friends have?

SA

[snowangel]

Since tomatoes are in their prime, how about sliced tomatoes, plain, or layered with very thin slices of red onions, drizzled with EVOO and balsamic vinegar? Artifully place a few basil leaves on top?

[Jaymes]

Since tomatoes are in their prime, how about sliced tomatoes, plain, or layered with very thin slices of red onions, drizzled with EVOO and balsamic vinegar?  Artifully place a few basil leaves on top?

That's my favorite salad.... but with Greek feta instead of the basil, and a few olives. My very favorite.

[rozrapp]

Since tomatoes are in their prime, how about sliced tomatoes, plain, or layered with very thin slices of red onions, drizzled with EVOO and balsamic vinegar?  Artifully place a few basil leaves on top?

That's my favorite salad.... but with Greek feta instead of the basil, and a few olives. My very favorite.

Somehow, this doesn't seem quite right for a pre-Yom Kippur dinner. How about an Israeli-style chopped salad dressed simply with oil (I prefer peanut for this situation) and vinegar dressing? That's what I usually serve for Jewish holiday dinners. Goes very well with first courses like gefilte fish and chopped liver.

[Rachel Perlow]

Just curious, but you weren't requested to make "health salad" (as opposed to "a healthy salad"), were you? Health Salad is a specific thing in my area, kind of like a sweet and vinegary coleslaw. And you should have made it a couple days ago because it needs to sit before being served. If you think this is what you are supposed to make email me ASAP and I'll call my mom for the recipe.

[Fat Guy]

Yes, I was going to say that in my neck of the woods -- which is pretty much Rachel's -- there's a specific meaning. It's shredded cabbage, carrots, green peppers, and cucumbers in a sugar, oil, and white-vinegar dressing kind of like a European-style cucumber salad.

How much do you care about the people you're bringing this for and what will be the format of the meal? Women on diets in particular hate pre-dressed salads, as do all picky eaters. Yet pre-dressed and tossed yields the superior salad. Still, many people appreciate being able to dress their own, despite the inferiority of the process. If you have more involvement, you can toss each person's to specifications.

A good basic salad for a crowd -- one that will appeal to a big cross-section of eaters -- is a bag or two of costco mesclun plus cucumber, tomato, dried cranberries, crumbled blue cheese, and pistachios with a mustard-balsamic vinaigrette. I don't actually approve of such an overbearing and gloppy salad but time and again it has drawn raves. And if you offer the cheese, pistachios, and dressings on the side you'll make the neurotic people and the allergic people very happy.

[Rachel Perlow]

Whether your hosts are kosher or not, I would skip the cheese during an Erev Yom Kippur, presumably meat, meal. Or, at least leave it on the side as suggested above.

[Fat Guy]

In his family, I'm sure bacon bits would be fine too.

[phaelon56]

Lately I have been served salads that havce a fruit accent. It has ranged from fresh raspberries to citrus to the dried sweetened cranberries that are now so readily available. If using raisins, currants or any other dried fruits just let them soak in a small amount of white wine or cranberry juice overnight ebfore ading to the salad and they plump up beautifully. The contrast of the fruit's sweetness with a good vinegar in the dressing is wonderful.

[Jaymes]

Since tomatoes are in their prime, how about sliced tomatoes, plain, or layered with very thin slices of red onions, drizzled with EVOO and balsamic vinegar?  Artifully place a few basil leaves on top?

That's my favorite salad.... but with Greek feta instead of the basil, and a few olives. My very favorite.

Somehow, this doesn't seem quite right for a pre-Yom Kippur dinner. How about an Israeli-style chopped salad dressed simply with oil (I prefer peanut for this situation) and vinegar dressing? That's what I usually serve for Jewish holiday dinners. Goes very well with first courses like gefilte fish and chopped liver.

Whoops.

Guess from now on I should stick to advice as to what to take to a Southern Christian potluck.

[Suzanne F]

If you really want "healthy" make sure you rinse the bagged greens. Those mothers can carry all sorts of little (microscopic) bugs. Then spin dry, dress with good oil, then good vinegar, and a little S & P. That's all, folks!

[rozrapp]

Since tomatoes are in their prime, how about sliced tomatoes, plain, or layered with very thin slices of red onions, drizzled with EVOO and balsamic vinegar?  Artifully place a few basil leaves on top?

That's my favorite salad.... but with Greek feta instead of the basil, and a few olives. My very favorite.

Somehow, this doesn't seem quite right for a pre-Yom Kippur dinner. How about an Israeli-style chopped salad dressed simply with oil (I prefer peanut for this situation) and vinegar dressing? That's what I usually serve for Jewish holiday dinners. Goes very well with first courses like gefilte fish and chopped liver.

Whoops.

Guess from now on I should stick to advice as to what to take to a Southern Christian potluck.

Jaymes, I never meant my comment to be casting aspersions on anyone's religious affiliation. I actually like the salad suggestions you and snowangel offered. I often make those types. It's just that for Jewish holiday dinners, they don't appeal to me because I find they don't quite "go" in terms of ingredients (e.g. feta cheese, particularly if the meal is kosher) and taste with the kinds of traditional Jewish dishes that I mentioned. But that, of course, is a totally personal thing. As for a Southern Christian potluck, let me know if there's going to be one, and I'll take a stab at coming up with a suggestion.

[Jaymes]

Please don't forget to tell us what you took and how it went.

Was it supposed to be the traditional "health salad" that several people mentioned earlier in the thread?

[SobaAddict70]

And if you offer the cheese, pistachios, and dressings on the side you'll make the neurotic people and the allergic people very happy.

Neurotic people?

I'm a stranger to this term in this context....so pls explain if you please.

SA

[Rachel Perlow]

Coincidentally, my mom included a Health Salad on Sunday night. It was really good. She bought it instead of making it herself. That may be why. (no one is allowed to email this thread to my mom)

[tommy]

slightly off-topic. has anyone heard the lastest radio bud light commercial? i laughed out loud this morning as the announcer spoke highly of "mr giant taco salad maker," suggesting something like "who else could have come up with the unfathomable: at twelve hundred calorie salad."

i guess you have to hear it.

[Jaymes]

Coincidentally, my mom included a Health Salad on Sunday night. It was really good. She bought it instead of making it herself. That may be why. (no one is allowed to email this thread to my mom)

Didn't you graciously offer to get Mom's recipe and give it to D to make for his meal?

Good thing he didn't take you up on it!!

[Rachel Perlow]

I don't remember her recipe being bad, but we all just usually had some with dinner and there'd be a lot left over because she'd make soooo much (have to use that whole cabbage, you know). Buying it makes a lot more sense, because you can just buy a pint or quart of it, instead of having a huge vat of it in the fridge (she usually used a gallon pitcher to store it in). This way we aren't all forced to eat it for a week or two.

[Stone]

Please don't forget to tell us what you took and how it went.

Was it supposed to be the traditional "health salad" that several people mentioned earlier in the thread?

Here's what I did: Large bunch of mixed greens; dried cranberries; toasted coconut (couldn't find shelled pistachios); quarters of ruby grapefruit (they were sitting around). It was supposed to have "and two types of blue chees" added because I had two hunks o' cheese sitting in the fridge for weeks, but I forgot.

For the dressing -- about a tsp of red onion and 1/2 tsp of Guldens (didn't have Dijon handy) mustard in my little braun hand blender processor. Added "balsamic", s&p, worcestershestershire, dash of garlic powder (it was sitting right there), copious fresh lemon juice and evoo. Blurped it up real good.

It all got ate.

Sep 17 2002,06:25 AM]

slightly off-topic. has anyone heard the lastest radio bud light commercial? i laughed out loud this morning as the announcer spoke highly of "mr giant taco salad maker," suggesting something like "who else could have come up with the unfathomable: at twelve hundred calorie salad.

I remember at college some woman came back from the salad bar, I looked at the huge pile of cheese, sunflower seeds, garbanzos, russian dressing etc., and said, "with all that suff on there, you could have a cheeseburger and actually enjoy your lunch." Needless to say, no nookie for Dave that night.