31. Mexican Caesar Salad

Friends often send me suggestions and recipes for salads, and I love to try them and share them here.  Earlier this week my friend, Aracely White, sent me a text, suggesting I try a Mexican Caesar Salad with a Cilantro Dressing.  My first thought was, “isn’t Caesar Salad already Mexican?”   I double-checked that fact, and yep.  Originally made by Caesar Cardini in Tijuana, Mexico.  So I had to figure out what sets this salad apart.

The only resemblance between the two salads appears to be the romaine lettuce.  I did some research and found the cilantro dressing that both looks legit, and most popular.  Honestly, it was love at first taste when this stuff came out of the food processor.  The salad itself is quite simple.  Since I’ve never had it before, I don’t know if I jazzed it up too much beyond its simple origins.  But I have to say that it’s beyond yummy, and may take the place of my coveted classic Caesar in the future!

Ingredients

2 romaine hearts, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped (my garden is full of tomatoes so I used 1 red and 1 orange heirloom)

1 small red onion, chopped

1/3 cup green pepitas, roasted (green raw pumpkin seeds)

1 cup grated Cotija cheese (crumbly, salty Mexican cheese)

4 corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried to crispy

2 Tbsp salad oil (for frying the corn tortillas)

Cilantro Dressing

2 medium Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/3 cup green pepitas, roasted 

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

8 oz light olive oil or other mild salad oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

5 Tbsp grated Cotija cheese 

2 medium bunches of cilantro

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

The dressing is definitely the labor intensive part of this salad.  You want to make it first and get it in the fridge.  You can actually make it a day or two ahead of time.  Apparently it tastes “even better,” although I don’t see how that’s possible as it’s already uber delish.  

First roast the chiles.  I’ll admit I was winging it a bit here.  I coated them lightly in olive oil, set them on a cookie sheet in a 450〫oven, and let the heat do the rest.  Check on them after 10 minutes; you’ll notice that the outer skin is starting to blister and turn brown.  Rotate them and leave them for another 10 minutes.  They should be golden to dark brown in color.  Remove them from the oven, and if you have time, set them aside.  I was in a hurry to get the dressing done so I put the hot peppers in ice water, which worked great.  Peel the blistered skin off the outside, trim off the tops and remove the seeds.  

While your chiles are in the oven, roast your pepitas.  You can easily do this on the stove top.  Add green pepitas to a heavy, hot skillet.  They’ll start to pop almost right away.  You want to flip them regularly so they don’t burn.  You’re going for an overall golden color.  When you get them to that point, remove from the heat and from the pan so they stop cooking.

Place all of the dressing ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a food processor.  Process well until it looks combined and uniform.  Then, add the cilantro, 1/3 at a time, and process each addition until it’s smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and the water until smooth.  Then add it to the food processor with the rest of dressing and pulse until well combined.

Transfer the dressing into a quart jar and refrigerate.

Now assemble the salad.  Choose a large, flat-ish bowl.  Start with the romaine, then add the chopped tomatoes, onions, cheese and roasted pepitas.  Top with the fried corn tortilla strips and serve with the dressing.  

Grilled chicken would be great with this salad, and would turn it into a dinner salad.

Enjoy!

Serves 4

30. Buffalo Chicken Salad

We’re big fans of buffalo wings in my family.  I love that spicy Frank’s Red Hot with cool blue cheese dressing and crunchy celery.  So why not combine them all in a salad?  Pure brilliance.

This is a very hearty, very flavorful salad.  It's very much like having wings, with all the flavors and textures you would expect.   It can definitely stand alone as the main event for dinner, with 2 lbs of chicken tenders.  

I thought about making individual salads, but I got lazy at the last minute and made it into one big family style salad.  If you want to do individual dinner salads, this recipe makes 4 very large (restaurant size), or 6 good-sized individual salads.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken tenders, grilled

3 romaine hearts, chopped

3 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

1/4 lb crumbed blue cheese

1/2 stick butter

3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 shallot, minced

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp chives, chopped

1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 lb blue cheese, crumbled

1/2 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Make the dressing ahead of time to let the flavors mingle.  Combine all but the blue cheese in a large bowl and whisk.  Fold in the blue cheese.  Transfer to a covered jar and refrigerate.

Grill the chicken tenders (don’t overcook!) and set aside on a plate.  Combine the romaine, celery, onion, tomatoes and blue cheese crumbles in a large, wide bowl.

You can chop the cooked chicken tenders or keep them whole (or a combination of the two).  Melt the butter in a heavy skillet.  As soon as it’s bubbly, add the Frank’s Red Hot sauce and stir to combine.  Transfer the chicken to the pan and stir to coat.  Top the salad with the warm, spicy chicken and serve right away, with dressing on the side.

If you're not a fan of blue cheese, just leave it out and serve with ranch dressing.

Serves 4-8

29. Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

This salad and I go way back.  I remember the first time I ever had it, circa 1970-something.  I knew then that it was something special, something different than the normal iceberg lettuce salads of the day.  Despite its old school status, it’s stood the test of time.  

I’ve seen a few variations of it over the years.  My friend, Bernie McCarthy shared her favorite version with me--a lemon juice and olive oil dressing that sounds delicious.  I’ve  seen it get fancier.  But I love the original version, the one that so impressed me so many years ago. 

Use really good, thick bacon for best results.  Slice your onions paper thin.  Don’t overcook your eggs (start the eggs in cold water, then 10 minutes once the water is boiling).  Follow the directions for the dressing and you’ll have that perfectly wilted spinach, salty bacon, creamy egg combination....yum.  

Thanks to Smitten Kitchen and Alton Brown for the dressing.  It’s exactly as I remember it!

4 oz baby spinach

4-5 white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 large eggs, boiled, cooled, peeled and sliced

4 pieces thick-sliced bacon (about 4 oz), drained and diced

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place the spinach in a large, wide bowl OR 2 individual salad bowls.  Scatter the mushrooms and onions.  Distribute the egg slices and bacon.  

Make the dressing by pouring out all but 2 Tbsp of the bacon fat after removing the bacon to drain on paper towels.  Return the pan to the heat, add the vinegar, dijon and honey.  Whisk it up, and immediately pour over the salad(s).  Season with salt and pepper, toss gently and serve immediately.

Serves 4 (or 2 big salads)

28. Frito Salad

I come from a big family, the youngest of 10 kids.  Every other year one of us takes a turn to host a family reunion.  This year we all converged on the small town of Fremont, Michigan, where many of us grew up.  We laugh, we play, we cook, we eat, and cook and eat some more.  When you have so many cooks in the kitchen, you’re bound to get a wide array of dishes.  

Witness salads 27 & 28:  Kale on one side, Fritos on the other.  My niece, Jill Smolinski, shared this salad.  We joked about it, and I daresay she was even mocked for it.  The word “appalling” might have been thrown around.  But when that salad hit the table, it wasn’t appalling that you heard, but amazing.  I can best describe it in her own words:  “The powder from the chili cheese fritos blends with the mayonnaise, and creates this deliciousness.”  That might be a misquote, but you get the gist.

This salad is pretty amazing.  You’re not going to win any healthy awards, but I guarantee it’ll be the first one to disappear from the potluck table.  

Ingredients

42 oz canned corn, drained

1/4 red pepper, diced

1/4 green pepper, diced

1/4 red onion, diced

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

9 1/4 oz bag Chili Cheese Fritos

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.  Fold in the mayo and fritos.  Let the flavors mingle for 10-15 minutes before serving (so the powder from the fritos and the mayo can do their magic), but not too long or the fritos will get soggy.

27. Kale Salad with Green Garlic Dressing

My sister, Karin, is a great cook.  She’s been gluten- and dairy-free for many years, and she definitely has her finger on the pulse of good health and good food.  She shared this salad at our recent family reunion.  Since I helped (a little bit), I’m including it in my 60 salads of summer.  

Ingredients

1/2 bunch kale, destemmed, torn into pieces
4-5 farmers' market carrots, very thinly sliced
1 small bulb of fennel, transparently sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes
a big handful of almond slices, toasted 

optional:  handful of pumpkin seeds and golden raisins

Green Garlic Dressing

2 stalks green garlic (or scallions), rinsed and chopped (~1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ripe avocado
1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
fresh pepper to taste

Make the dressing by using a hand blender or food processor to puree the green garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado, honey, and pepper until smooth. Taste, and adjust with more salt, or honey, or lemon juice.  

Before you're ready to serve, combine the kale with about half of the dressing in a large bowl use your hands to work the dressing into the kale, softening up the kale a bit in the process. Add the carrots, and fennel, more dressing, and a couple pinches of salt, and toss again. Taste, and add the last of the dressing if needed. This is a salad I like quite heavily dressed. Add the avocados and almonds and give one last gentle toss.

Serves 2-4.

26. Avocado, Corn and Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

One of my favorite summer activities includes movies under the stars in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Cinespia has been screening movies on the Fairbanks Lawn for 12 years.  The movies are old favorites, you pack a picnic and grab a bottle of wine and a blanket and join 6000 of your closest friends.

I’m always in charge of the picnic.  Sometimes I go with a theme (Italian food and wine with “Roman Holiday,”  Pub fare and Newcastle Ale with “American Werewolf in London.”  Tonight we saw “Empire Records.”  I wasn’t feeling a theme, so I opted for summer favorites:  sliders, melon, chips and a salad filled with summer flavors that travel well.  

The thing about packing up a salad for a picnic is that it doesn’t always work out.  If you dress it ahead of time, it can get soggy by the time you’re ready to eat.  If you wait, it’s a hassle to cart along the dressing and try to toss outside.  This salad was perfect picnic fare.  Fresh sweet corn and cool avocado stood up well to the honey lime dressing.  This is a wonderful summer salad.

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half

2 ripe avocados, cubed

2 ears of fresh sweet corn, removed from the cob

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing

Juice of 1 lime plus zest

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

Dash of cayenne pepper

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or jar with a lid and shake or whisk until well blended.  Pour over ingredients and toss.  Let it sit for 10-15 minutes or more to let the flavors mingle.  Can be made and refrigerated a few hours ahead of time.

Makes 1 quart

25. Melon and Prosciutto with Mozzarella

This salad is a classic, and a great appetizer on a hot summer day.  I love the combination of sweet and salty.  Ripe, cool melon perfectly complements salty prosciutto.  Throw in a little fresh mozzarella and voila!  

Ingredients

1/2 cantaloupe melon, seeds removed and sliced

4 slices prosciutto

12 mozzarella balls (ciliegine)

1 cup wild arugula

Dressing

1 oz balsamic vinegar

1 oz olive oil

1 tsp honey

1 tsp dijon mustard

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut the melon into 4 slices.  Divide the arugula between 4 salad plates and place the melon on it.  Top each with prosciutto, mozzarella on the side.  

Blend the dressing and drizzle.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Serves 4

24. Bosc Pears with Blue Cheese and Candied Pecans

I’ve been out of town, visiting family in Michigan.  Today I decided I needed to get back to my challenge, so I invited a friend over to sample salads.  We shared a good red wine and sampled infused balsamic vinegars.  I’m a big fan of the Ojai Olive Oil Company’s aged infused balsamics, and have tried many.  While I was in Michigan, I traded some peach vinegar with my sister for a bottle of her North Carolina chocolate-espresso balsamic.  Yup, chocolate-espresso vinegar.  This vinegar is ridiculously good.  I’m not sure if I want to serve it over ice cream or make a salad with it.  Maybe both.

But I digress.  I’ve been wanting to do something with pears.  I love them, grew up with pear trees in our yard, and thought the combination of sweet pears and salty, savory blue cheese would work.  It did, in a big way.  

As we were putting the finishing touches on the salad, my friend, Dot, had this great idea to combine the chocolate-espresso balsamic with the blue cheese, and drizzle it over the pears.  Wow.  Delicious.  If you can get your hands on this vinegar (and I'll try to find a link from my sister), you won’t be disappointed.  But as it’s not necessarily on most grocery shelves, just reserve some of the dressing and mash it with the extra blue cheese.  You’ll get a similar effect.

Ingredients

3-4 cups wild arugula

1 Bosc pear, cored and sliced lengthwise

1/3-1/2 cup candied pecans

1 oz good blue cheese, crumbled + 1 Tbsp

Dressing

1 oz balsamic vinegar

1 oz olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Reserve about 1/4 of the dressing, and set aside.  Divide the arugula between two salad bowls or plates and lightly toss with the remaining dressing.  Top with pecans and blue cheese.  Arrange the sliced pears.  

Mix the remaining dressing with the extra Tbsp of blue cheese.  Drizzle over the pears.

Serves 2

23. Salad Bar

This salad is a good solution for those times when you really just don’t feel like coming up with another idea for a salad.  It’s a crowd pleaser, and your options are limitless.

I tend to keep it along a mediterranean theme, but really you can do whatever you like.  Keep ingredients complementary.  Combine fresh ingredients with marinated, and add a protein or two.  Cheese, nuts and beans work well.  Here’s what I used:

6 oz herb greens (one bag)

cherry tomatoes (baby heirlooms), cut in half

persian or baby seedless cucumbers, chopped

garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 red onion, sliced

blueberries

haas avocado, chopped

marinated sundried tomatoes

marinated artichoke hearts

greek kalamata olives

feta cheese

Directions:  I think you can figure it out!

I made a pomegranate vinaigrette to go with this.  It was delicious, and went well with these ingredients.  Again, use a dressing that complements the ingredients you've chosen.   

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pomegranate balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground pepper

I used my nutribullet on this and it was very well combined, and the consistency of honey, not oily at all.  You can use a blender or food processor, put it in a jar with a lid and shake, or simply whisk it all together.  

Pomegranate balsamic vinegar can be purchased from Ojai Olive Oil Company in Ojai, CA.  Visit their website at ojaioliveoil.com.

22. Watermelon Radishes with Ahi Tuna and Ginger Vinaigrette

This is another salad inspired by the Lemonade Cookbook. 

Prior to this year I’d neither heard of nor seen a watermelon radish.  But recently I’ve noticed them popping up in fancy salads in trendy restaurants.  First of all, they’re beautiful.  They look like watermelon, with their rosy flesh inside and green and white "rinds" on the outside.  Second, they’re crunchy and delicious and make a nice statement in a salad.  Combined with the ahi tuna and ginger dressing, they’re a beautiful and unusual light salad.

Ingredients

8 oz. tuna steak, preferably sushi grade

1 Tbsp coarse salt, plus more to taste

8 oz. sugar snap peas, strings discarded, cut crosswise into 1” pieces

¼ cup roughly chopped mint

1 tsp black sesame seeds, lightly toasted

2 watermelon radishes, thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)

Dressing

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

2 tsp honey

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp white sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1 clove garlic, smashed

1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup canola oil

Combine all dressing ingredients except the oil in a blender; blend until smooth.  With the motor still running, slowly add the oil until emulsified.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Lightly oil a heavy skillet and heat to medium high heat.  Season tuna with salt and pepper.  Cook, flipping once, until medium rare (2-4 minutes).  Let cool, then cut into 1/2” pieces and transfer to a bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and gently toss to combine.  Let sit 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 4