Yummy Wedge Salad

by Filed Under: Salads 2 Comments

I love Wedge Salads! Before I even knew what they were called, way back in the 70’s, I loved Wedge Salads! There was a restaurant in the town where I went to college,  that we would walk to every now and then. They served a wedge of lettuce with bacon and tomatoes on the top and drowned it in Thousand Island dressing.  It was my favorite thing on the menu and for a carb-lover like me, that’s saying something (of course I didn’t know what carbs were back in the 70’s either!).

It’s a simple salad with an easy-to-throw-together dressing. At the risk of sounding like Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, who says the same thing on every one of her shows about at least one ingredient: The key to this salad is a GOOD balsamic vinegar. It’s the vinegar that really makes it special. Every show, she says, “Get a “really GOOD parmesan cheese” or a “really GOOD tomato” or a “really GOOD quality steak””, like her viewers would intentionally buy a “BAD cheese or tomato or steak or whatever”. I get kind of tired of it (or maybe you guessed that). So, even if it sounds a bit snooty, get your balsamic vinegar at a specialty store. It will last forever and only gets better with age (if you keep it sealed tightly). I buy 18 year old balsamic vinegar, plain, no fruity flavors, at an olive oil and vinegar store and it is terrific! It’s a great $20.00 investment.

One thing I tend to do on this salad that is different than the recipe above is that I divide the lettuce and topping ingredients into 6 parts instead of 4. With some heads of lettuce, a quarter of a head is just too big for a salad unless you are eating it for an whole meal.

Trust me on the vinegar thing! :)

Wedge Salad

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Wedge Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 head Iceberg Lettuce (cut into 4 quarters)
  • 8 thick slices Pepper Bacon (diced and fried until crisp)
  • 1 Medium Tomato (chopped and dried slightly with a paper towel)
  • 1/4 cup Red Onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
  • 4 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar

Dressing

  • 1 cup Buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 3/4 cups Crumbled Blue Cheese
  • 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Re Pepper (Cayenne)
  • 1 dash Tabasco Sauce

Directions

Dressing
Step 1
Whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, red onion, blue cheese, lime juice, salt, cayenne pepper & tabasco sauce. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow flavors to blend.
Step 2
To assemble salad: Get 4 salad plates and drizzle 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar on plate. Place lettuce wedge on plate. Pour desired amount of salad dressing on lettuce and top with 1/4 or bacon, tomato and blue cheese. Serve immediately.
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Spinach Salad #2, page 2

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I intended to include both dressing recipes in the Spinach Salad #2 post, but I didn’t have enough room to include the blue cheese dressing. And since I’m already frustrated to my eyebrows with computer programs today, I just conceded and am writing a separate post for this dressing. The dressing is very good as a dip for hot wings, on wedge salads, etc, besides this salad, so hmmm, I guess I really planned this glitch all along.

Spinach Salad #2, Part 2 Blue Cheese Dressing

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I intended to include both dressing recipes in the Spinach Salad #2 post, but I didn't have enough room to include the blue cheese dressing. And since I'm already frustrated to my eyebrows with computer programs today, I just conceded and am writing a separate post for this dressing. The dressing is very good as a dip for hot wings, on wedge salads, etc, besides this salad, so hmmm, I guess I really planned this all along. NOT!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup sour cream (can substitute plain Greek yogurt)
  • 1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
  • 3/4 cups blue cheese (crumbled)
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Step 1
Combine all ingredients and chill at least an hour to blend flavors.
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It’s Salad Time!

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Spinach Salad & dressing

With the weather getting warmer, we’re making that transition from soups to salads at our house. Grill a chop or a burger and serve this salad for a great summertime meal.

I like spinach salad because it is so versatile. Use this recipe or get creative by adding other ingredients: use green onions instead of red onions (red onions are prettier against the deep green of the spinach but their taste may be too strong for some), add sliced almonds or candied pecans, add yellow or red peppers (again, prettier than green peppers) exclude the shrimp (or in my bowl, the mushrooms). Or you can start with a completely blank canvas, then add fruits of your choice to a bed of spinach, with a sweet dressing like a raspberry vinaigrette (see post from a couple of weeks ago).

One of the dressing options shown here is also a sweet vinaigrette (courtesy of Daughter 1) that works well with the ingredients above. The blue cheese dressing is more substantial and creamier. I like them both!

If you are in a hurry, grab a bag of store-bought croutons to top this salad, but at least once, try the homemade croutons. They are garlicky and crunchy and delicious!  I swear you will find yourself grabbing the leftover croutons for a snack instead of potato chips or pretzels, they are that good! They don’t keep well (they get chewy), so you don’t even have to feel guilty about finishing them off 2 hours after dinner!

Spinach is a great source of Vitamin A, the B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Vitamin E (it has lots more nutrients than lettuces and has a nice chewiness. It also seems to fill you up more quickly than lettuce. If you are not a raw spinach fan, try mixing lettuce with spinach and giving it all a rough chop so you get both greens when you dig in (it’s a little sneaky, but it works!).

Spinach Salad #2

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Ingredients

Salad

  • 1 bag baby spinach
  • 4 to 6 Large fresh mushrooms (sliced)
  • 4 Large eggs (hard-boiled and cooled)
  • 1/2 Small red onion (thinly sliced)
  • 4 thick slices pepper bacon (cooked until crisp and chopped into half inch pieces)
  • 12 Medium shrimp (boiled and cooled)
  • 2 cups croutons (see directions below)

Croutons

  • 1/2 Loaf French bread
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt

Orange Vinaigrette

  • 2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions

Salad
Step 1
Place prepared spinach on a large platter and arrange toppings over top. Chill until ready to eat (don’t add croutons until the last minute or they will get soft).
Croutons
Step 2
Peel and roughly chop garlic cloves. Place in food processor (mini processor is best as it gets closer to the bottom of the container and chops this small amount of garlic better). Add olive oil and pulse until garlic is minced and the mixture is yellow in color (maybe 30 seconds). Let rest 1 hour (minimum) so oil can absorb the garlic flavor. Cut bread into ¾ inch to 1 inch size cubes and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with ½ to 1 Tbs of Kosher salt.
Croutons 1
Step 3
Pour garlic oil mixture into a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl, pressing with your fingers (or a spoon if you don’t want to smell of eau de garlic the rest of the day) to get all of the oil into the bowl, leaving the garlic in the sieve (I use some of the squeezed garlic remains in a Caesar salad dressing, but this post is getting too complicated already-I’ll do that recipe another time!). Pour oil over bread crumbs, stirring lightly and pour all into a preheated, large frying pan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, let bread cubes brown on all sides. This will take 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on cookie sheet.
Croutons 3
Orange Vinaigrette
Step 4
Whisk all ingredients together. Chill and whisk again right before serving.
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Shower of Blessings

by Filed Under: Salads 4 Comments

Erin, Deb, Gail

Youngest sister and I were thrilled to host a wedding shower last Saturday for our niece and her fiance. Their wedding is next month and it is exciting to share in their happiness.

Erin & Tylor

We decided on a brunch couples shower (yes, the men had to suffer through oohing and aahing over sheets and kitchen gadgets, but we had lots of food and drink to compensate for it!)

Food on counterBubbly Bar

We served pasta salad, spinach salad, ham biscuit sliders, pulled pork sliders, mini quiches, tea sandwiches and a hit among the men attending-bacon wrapped tater tots!  For dessert, we served a beautiful amaretto & apricot cake, chocolate-toffee truffles and mini fruit pizza cups.

Erin cutting cake

It was a great party and bride and groom received several lovely gifts. Best wishes to them!

Spinach & Fruit Salad

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Spinach & Fruit Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 bag fresh baby spinach
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • 3/4 cups mandarin oranges
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions
  • 1/2 cup sliced flavored almonds (available in the salad section of the grocery store)
  • 1 cup raspberry vinaigrette ((purchased))

Note

You can add blueberries or raspberries in place of (or in addition to) the strawberries.

Directions

Step 1
Wash and dry spinach. Place in large serving bowl. Add strawberries, oranges, green onions. Toss with salad dressing and sprinkle almonds on top. Serve immediately.
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