Cherry Wild Rice Salad with Mango Vinaigrette

I RECENTLY PARTICIPATED IN A GROUP DISCUSSION facilitated by a Registered Dietitian who advocates following an anti-inflammatory diet. The RD was obviously very well educated and knowledgeable. He was also relaxed and likeable in an unassuming and appealing way.

More importantly, for me,  he was a cook and gave a lot of helpful food preparation tips. He also had personal experience with many of the fantastic grocery stores and specialty markets in our area, regarding specific product availability and also pricing comparisons. And his shopping research covered stores from the discount box to the most shi-shi boutique.

The anti-inflammatory diet is based on fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans and legumes, healthy fats, fish and seafood (and more) while eliminating refined flours, sugars, and processed foods. It was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, on the belief that chronic inflammation is at the root of many serious illnesses.  The diet promotes the foods which reduce inflammation while providing steady energy and plenty of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and dietary fiber. 

I really enjoyed the meeting because the study of nutrition and health has been near and dear to my heart all my life.

The secret to this wild rice salad is the dressing and the secret ingredient of the dressing is mango chutney. Which is not on the anti-inflammatory diet pyramid. Otherwise this salad as a meal perfectly fits the bill.

Over the years I have made this salad with different fruits; apples and grapes in fall, dried apricots and raisins in winter. I have used sliced almonds or walnuts rather than the toasted pecans I have used here. The original recipe came from the one-of-a-kind, and now defunct, Blue Moon Bakery in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. I savored their Wild Rice Salad so many times, always trying to analyze it so I could make it myself.

It was years later that I finally learned the secret ingredient. I wrote about it once before, here at my blog.

Wild Rice Salad with Mango Vinaigrette
8 oz. wild rice, cooked according to package directions, and cooled
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 green onions, sliced
1 small sweet onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and sliced
1 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 bunch (approx. 1/2 cup) minced parsley

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Dress with the following dressing.


Mango Vinaigrette
1/4 cup mango chutney
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Puree the chutney and vinegar, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Mix the dressing into the rice mixture. Adjust the vinegar, salt and pepper, to taste.

Mom's Coleslaw

LAST WEEKEND, FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY, we went to a back yard barbecue about an hour-and-a-half drive, down hill, off our mountain and into the foothills. We had a great time swimming, blowing bubbles, eating grilled hotdogs and hamburgers, salads, juicy watermelon and creamy desserts.

It was dark when we drove back home and I got a blister on my toe. How the heck did that happen while riding in the car? Well. . . I pay careful attention to the road and traffic while riding as a passenger. (I call it "helping Pritchard Parker drive"). If I stop concentrating on the road, I might overreact to a situation which he has under perfect control.

And that is what happened. On the road ahead, in the dark, there was a confusion of red and blinking lights. I couldn't tell if they were IN the road or on the shoulder. I put on "brakes" so hard, on the passenger side of the car, that I got my pinky toe stuck between the body of the car and the door. With my bare foot. I didn't know that was possible. But I yanked my toe free and surveyed the damage when we got home.

I usually slice the cabbage for this creamy, no-mayo coleslaw, but this time I decided to shred it thinking it would be more complementary to hot dogs and sandwiches. See the sliced version here. 

Mom's Coleslaw
1 head cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 tsp. celery seed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 medium onion, cut into chunks

In a large bowl, toss cabbage, carrots, and celery seed. Place the oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard, and onion in a blender. Cover and process until combined and creamy. Pour over cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Chill before serving with a slotted spoon.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Broccoli Rice Bowl with Fresh Spinach

 OVEN ROASTING VEGETABLES is efficient and delicious and one of my favorite ways to cook them. I love vegetables, every one. I love how they look so beautiful and healthful in produce displays. To me, working with fresh vegetables is the most pleasant and pleasurable part of cooking.

I place a cutting board beside my sink. My sharp knives are close at hand. Above the sink, a window looks into my backyard. I love staring out that window while I work, whether it is rainy or snowy or foggy and overcast. Now, I am watching the greening of grass and trees and the blossoming of flowers.  The birds are back, singing and frolicking.  In my quiet kitchen, I wash, peel, slice and dice vegetables into beautiful shapes. It is so relaxing and calming. This window faces west so I watch the sunset as I prepare our evening meal.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Broccoli

Tiny Heirloom Tomatoes

Roasted Sweet Potato and Broccoli Rice Bowl with Fresh Spinach
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 sweet potatoes
1 bunch broccoli
1 - 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch spinach
Garnishes and Dressing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place into a mixing bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss together very well. Spread onto a large rimmed baking pan and place into preheated oven. Roast for 15 minutes.

Wash and cut the broccoli into pieces. Place into the same bowl used for the sweet potatoes, drizzle with more olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss together.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven; they should be golden brown on the bottom. Turn them over and push to one side of the pan. On the other side, spread the broccoli pieces. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 10 - 20 minutes. The broccoli should be browned at the edges and the sweet potatoes should be bronzed and tender.

Cut off the large stems from the bunched spinach. Wash very thoroughly to remove any grit. Tear into bite-sized pieces and dry in a lettuce spinner or with a clean kitchen towel.

Place rice into individual serving bowl and arrange the roasted sweet potato and roasted broccoli and spinach as desired.

Top with dressing of choice and also any garnishes desired.

This Miso Tahini Sauce is delicious and so is this Fresh Ginger Dressing.

Suggested garnishes include chopped nuts, toasted sesame seeds, raisins or dried cranberries, tomatoes, radish slices. As you can see, I even added a dollop of guacamole.

Ten Layer Salad with Fresh Ginger Dressing

FOR A RECENT LADIES LUNCH, I was asked to bring a salad. People often ask me to bring the salad because they know I will actually make a nice salad, rather than stopping by the grocery store deli for potato salad, or bringing a bag of lettuce, a box of jaw breaker croutons and a bottle of dressing.



















I knew all the ladies attending the luncheon favored THE seven layer salad. You know the one, right? It has been a staple at picnics forever and consists of lettuce (iceberg), boiled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, peas, cucumbers, and tomatoes all layered in a pretty glass bowl. The deal breaker with that salad is what goes on top. I have never seen one that did not have a thick layer of mayonnaise to seal in the fresh ingredients below it.

No. I just have to say no, absolutely not, to a thick layer of mayo on my salad.

I designed this salad after a vegetable juice I had bought, a few days earlier, at the health food store and adored. The flavors were just fantastic together. Of course my juice blend did not include quinoa but I wanted this salad to be substantial so I added it here with great result.

Ten Layer Salad
Quinoa
Scallions
Bok Choy
Cucumber
Pineapple
Parsley
Red Bell Pepper
Celery
Crisp apple plus lemon juice to prevent discoloration
Alfalfa Sprouts

Cook quinoa according to package directions and let cool. Wash all vegetables, including the alfalfa sprouts. Slice the bok choy, cucumber, scallions, and celery. Dice fresh pineapple which was previously peeled and cored, and also dice red bell pepper. Remove large stems from a handful or two of fresh parsley. Peel and dice apple, drizzle with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and toss to coat.

Layer ingredients in a pretty clear glass bowl in the order given.

I also made marinated cheese (recipe forthcoming in another post) which can be used as an alternate dressing to make the salad even more substantial.

Extra ingredients can be layered in jars and saved in the refrigerator for several days.



















Fresh Ginger Salad Dressing
1/2 cup salad oil
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 T. fresh grated ginger
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Place all ingredients in a jar and shake to blend (or use electric blender)

Place salad layers into a bowl and toss to combine. This really is a terrific combination of flavors.

Catalina Carrots

 There is a very old recipe which has cycled in and out of popularity over the years called Copper Pennies. It is a salad made with thinly sliced carrots (pennies) along with onion and bell pepper and dressed with a sweet and tangy tomatoey dressing.

Most recipes I have seen for Copper Pennies use canned tomato soup along with a LOT of sugar and the carrots are literally swimming in dressing.

This recipe is reminiscent of that but I have taken a slight curve from the original. I used carrots only and dressed them lightly in a homemade Catalina dressing. I loved Catalina dressing as a kid and recently discovered after not eating it for years that I still love it.

Pritchard Parker came home from one of his thrift shop adventures with a small crinkle cutter so I decided to try it out. I cut a few slices before I thought to myself, "Since you are going to steam these carrots anyway, wouldn't be easier to cut them afterwards?" 

I put 4 large carrots in the microwave for 4 minutes only and they were as tender as I wanted them. And yes indeed, they were much easier to slice with the rather dull cutter. After they are steamed and sliced, dress them lightly in Catalina dressing.  If you have time, chill before serving.

Catalina Dressing
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup canola oil
1 small onion, grated

Combine all ingredients in a jar. Shake until well blended.

This dressing is good on all lettuce salads and also delicious on a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich.

Citrus Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

I had been obsessing about thinking of this salad since before Christmas.  Fresh, seasonal citrus fruit is certainly one of the most cheerful things about winter. Even before the first taste, the aroma is already lifting your spirits. 

The salad was featured in the December, 2012 issue of Food and Wine Magazine. I was intrigued by the recipe not only because of the three kinds of citrus, the addition of the mildly onion flavor from the shallots, the fresh slightly grassy flavor of the parsley, both of which brought the salad to a more savory level, but also because I looked forward to trying the dressing with its unique flavors of sour cream, lemon zest, honey, and poppy seeds. It was delicious and did not disappoint. In fact, it really set this salad apart.

My husband and I both loved this healthful and refreshing salad one recent cold winter evening and then actually talked about it for a few days.  I must make it again.

Citrus Salad
6 oranges
2 red grapefruits
2 limes
1 large shallot, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Carefully peel the oranges, red grapefruits, and limes, removing all the bitter white pith.  Working over a bowl to catch the juices, cut fruit in between membranes to release the sections. Transfer all the fruit to a serving platter and top with the sliced shallot and parsley. (Reserve the juices for another use). 

 Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. poppy seeds
Salt

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, sour cream, honey, and poppy seeds. Season the dressing lightly with salt.

 

Pour the dressing over the fruit and serve right away.

 

 

 

Spa Vinaigrette

I have jumped on the "salad in a jar" bandwagon. I was recently piqued with this concept by a photo I saw on Photograzing which was submitted by Skinny Girl Trapped in a Fat Body.

I take my lunch to work everyday because it is easier, quicker, healthier, cheaper, and much, much tastier. Normally, I take leftovers from whatever I cooked for dinner and I pack it as I clean the kitchen. Every now and then, I don't have any leftovers and will make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Even peanut butter crackers and an apple. In a pinch, even a can of Campbell's cream of tomato soup. Anything from home is better than facing a fast-food-drive-thru.  And I don't have to get in my car and fight traffic just to get some hideous "food". I can sit in the breakroom, read, chat with coworkers about things other than work, make personal phone calls, and relax.  

In my next post, I will show you some of the different salads I have made for work and share some strategies.  For now, I will talk about dressing. 

Homemade salad dressing is a must for me. It is easy to make and admit it, salads are a bit of work to put together. Why spoil all the freshness with commercial, heavy dressings?  I especially like this very light, yet super flavorful dressing for spring.

Spa Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sparkling mineral water (I like Perrier)

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. (more to taste) grainy mustard

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

1/4 tsp. each, salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar with tight fitting lid. Shake to emulsify. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes 1 cup of dressing.

Enjoy.

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Homemade is always better. One of the reasons I insist on making food from scratch is the fact that it gives me something I can control. There are so many things going on in the world over which I am powerless. But I can, and do control what I eat and what I feed to the people I love. 

Making homemade salad dressing is not difficult at all. Not only does it taste so-ooo-o much better and fresher, you have the added bonus of avoiding ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial flavorings and colors, propylene glycol, polysorbate, xanthum gum, and even EDTA (yikes!) as a preservative.  Even if these ingredients are "safe", what cook has such items on hand to add to their food? 

When I was a girl helping my Mother in the kitchen, one of my jobs was making the salad. Mama, who is an incredible cook, and who loves a good salad, just does not like making them. I have known other people who feel the same way. And from the looks of the bagged salads in the produce department an entire industry has been built upon those sentiments. I have been on my soapbox before about bagged lettuces, so I will skip that rant for now.

When it is too hot to cook, I make a lot of fresh salads to serve as the main dish, with maybe a sandwich on the side, or a cold soup.  I take just as much care making salads as I do with any other dish.  I find the handling and washing all the fresh ingredients to be very pleasant. Maybe because my Mother praised me so much for the beautiful salads I made? 

I just made a salad with baby romaine lettuce from our next door neighbor's garden, a Kirby cucumber from my Mother-in-law's garden, thinly sliced red onion, fresh cherries, toasted pecans, homemade croutons, and served it with homemade blue cheese dressing. 




Blue Cheese Dressing
1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (more to taste)

In a blender, blend together the garlic paste, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, along with salt and pepper to taste.  With the motor running, add the oil and blend the mixture until it is combined well.  Add the sour cream, the cheese, and 2 Tbsp. water, or enough to obtain the desired consistency.  Blend the dressing until it is combined well, then transfer to a bowl.  Stir in additional crumbled cheese, if desired, and correct seasonings.

Lemon Tahini Sauce

This is the sauce I served with my Falafel dinner. It also serves very well as a satisfying lunch, with pita bread and raw vegetables--carrots, celery, cucumber, radishes, scallions, bell peppers for dipping. Or if you prefer, you can thin it out with additional yogurt to make a delicious salad dressing. It pairs especially nicely with grilled eggplant and brown rice.

Lemon Tahini Sauce
(Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen)
1 1/2 cups tahini
1 1/2 cup yogurt
1 -2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. tamari (or soy sauce)
Pinch or two of cayenne pepper
Salt to taste, if desired

Beat everything together with a whisk or wooden spoon. The more you whip it the thicker it becomes, so follow your own desires.

Salad Nicoise

A good Nicoise Salad, a la Julia Child, is a fulfilling meal on a scorching summer evening. I love making this classic salad with sweet and buttery Bibb lettuce. But I happened to have some lettuce grown in my next door neighbor's garden so I used that, of course. Chef Child recommended a simple viniagrette for dressing this salad. I made my dressing a little sweeter because of the strong flavors in the salad, plus the home grown lettuce was a slightly peppery.



Honey Mustard Viniagrette
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 plump clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Few drops hot sauce, to taste

Put all ingredients into a small jar which has a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously until emulsified. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired. Place into refrigerator to chill and for flavors to develop, while composing your salad.

Salad Nicoise
Lettuce
Tuna
Green beans, cooked until tender crisp
Potaotes, cooked and cubed
Slices of fresh tomato
Sliced boiled egg
Anchovies
Capers
Oil cured black olives
Minced shallot

Arrange salad on plates, sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle with Vinagrette.

Wild Rice Salad

Several years ago, my coworkers and I would sometimes send out for lunch from a local bakery, which baked the most delicious breads they would then use at lunch-time to make unique and tasty sandwiches. They also offered scratch made soups every day, along with an array of salads, not to mention their beautiful pastries.

We loved and always ordered the Wild Rice Salad. We were all avid cooks and food lovers but we could never figure out that salad. We would pick out all the individual components--the wild rice, of course, the red bell pepper, the scallions, the almonds, and we could tell it had a vinaigrette dressing, but there was a very distinct background flavor we simply could not identify.

A couple of years ago, through a serendipitious meeting, a woman who was once the pastry chef at this bakery gave me the recipe. As I scanned the list of ingredients, I quickly identified the elusive flavor component--Mango Chutney!


Wild Rice Salad with Mango Viniagrette
8 oz. wild rice, cooked according to package directions, and cooled
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 green onions, sliced
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 bunch (approx. 1/2 cup) minced parsley

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Dress with the following dressing.

Mango Viniagrette
1/4 cup mango chutney
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Puree the chutney and vinegar, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Mix the dressing into the rice mixture. Adjust the vinegar, salt and pepper, to taste.



Sadly, after almost 20 years, the bakery is no longer in business. They could not compete with the two corporate bakery giants who moved into town.

Cobb Salad on a Croissant

For this sandwich, I bought some mesquite smoked turkey from the deli. Leftover roasted chicken would be even more perfect. I really love putting together great sandwiches.


Cobb Salad on a Croissant
Split croissants
Turkey or chicken
Lettuce
Bacon
Tomato slices
Avocado slices
Sliced hard boiled egg
Drizzle with blue cheese dressing

Classic Caesar Salad

This is the salad for my Saturday Steak Dinner. I adapted it only slightly from a recipe of the esteemed Deerpark Restaurant, which is located on the beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. All the components of this salad can be prepared ahead of time.

Caesar Salad
4 -5 anchovy fillets
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
Dash of hot sauce
3/4 cup olive oil
1 small baguette
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 large head romaine lettuce
Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Freshly grated black pepper

Prepare the dressing by processing first 3 ingredients in an electric blender at low speed until smooth. Add next 7 ingredients and process until well blended. Cover and chill.

Trim romaine lettuce core and separate into leaves. Tear into pieces and plunge into a sinkful of cold water. Lift lettuce from the water and spin dry. Wrap in paper towels and place into a plastic bag. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more.

Make the croutons by cutting the baguette into bite sized pieces. Heat the 2 Tbsp. olive and 1 Tbsp. butter and add the garlic cloves. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove the garlic and add the cubed bread, stirring until it is all coated. Spread onto a sheet pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until toasty.

In a salad bowl, combine the lettuce with the croutons. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing, tossing gently. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese and freshly grated black pepper.

Stuffing or Dressing? How about Stuffed Dressing

The same questions arise every Thanksgiving. . .yams or sweet potatoes and stuffing or dressing. The answers are easy if you want to get technical, but let's not. When families come together for a bountiful meal, whether they call it stuffing and yams, or dressing and sweet potatoes, may they be blessed and enjoy. For the record, I am in the latter group.

I was surveying my kitchen inventory recently, after we'd had a weekend visit from out-of-town family, planning uses for all the leftovers. I saw leftover cornbread, extra sandwich bread, and a few biscuits left from breakfast. As I thought of the sliced turkey, bought for sandwiches, left in the fridge, I had an aha! moment. I would make simple turkey and dressing.

Not knowing exactly how this was going to come together, I starting crumbling the cornbread, biscuits, and a few slices of sandwich bread into a large bowl. I sliced a few stalks of celery and chopped a large, sweet onion, then sauteed them in about 6 tablespoons of butter. I was visualizing as I was crumbling and chopping and it came to me what I would do.

I added the sauteed vegetables to the crumbled bread mixture, added a couple of beaten eggs, a can of chicken broth, a couple of teaspoons of poultry seasoning, along with some salt and pepper, plus some chopped parsley. I wished it were moister, so I added some milk until it was the very moist consistency I was looking for.

I put half the mixture in the bottom of a baking pan and topped it with sliced turkey. Over the turkey, I added a layer of cranberry sauce. Then I added the remainder of the dressing mixture and baked it in in a 375 degree oven for about 50 minutes, until it was firm and nicely browned.

I served it with extra cranberry sauce but gravy (or both) would also be good. It was while I was eating it that I came up with the name for it--Stuffed Dressing. Pritchard Parker said, Mmmm!!

Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Sauce

I almost always have a batch of the hot and sharp Eastern North Carolina barbeque sauce on hand because my husband loves it so much. It is best served with smoked pulled pork, of course, the traditional way, but it also enhances other meats, including the pork loin I recently oven roasted.

Eastern North Carolina Barbeque Sauce
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. (up to 1 Tbsp.) cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco or Texas Pete
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake very well to combine, then refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using, shaking every now and then.

Cobb Salad

I finally made it to see Julie and Julia today and I loved it! Really though, what wouldn't I love? Julia Child is a longtime hero of mine, add a food blogger becoming a stellar success, and Meryl Streep on top of that?

I didn't know when I decided to make Cobb Salad last night, for the first time, there would be a restaurant scene in the movie, with Cobb Salads ordered all around. I didn't even know, yet, I was going to see the movie today. I am so glad my husband asked me out, on a rainy afternoon, to see a matinee.

I used the traditional ingredients for the salad; chicken, bacon, blue cheese, avocado, tomato, egg, plus lettuce. I handled all my ingredients very carefully. I bought a head of Romaine lettuce, which I washed, snaped into pieces (never wrung, twisted, or cut with a knife) then spun dry. I wrapped it in kitchen towels, then refrigerated until it became extra crisp. I cooked the bacon, then chicken breasts, which I cut into strips, on my stovetop grill pan.

I did not use a traditional composition for the salad. In the original, the toppings were diced and arranged in rows covering the lettuce. I didn't chop the ingredients too much so I could have more control of fork by forkful tasting. I wanted to choose just the right amount of say, chicken and tomato, bacon and avocado, egg to cheese.

Here is the dressing I made, which maintains the Worchestershire of the original, but not nearly the amount of oil.

Cobb Salad Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Whisk together all ingredients except the oil. Then, add in a slow, steady stream, the olive oil, whisking briskly, until all is blended.

Bon Appetit!

Dressing for Chicken Salad

I don't enjoy mayonnaise, but have discovered there really is no equal for its binding quality in salads and spreads. Marvelous things happen when this dressing is allowed to sit, refrigerated, overnight. It develops a very silky texture, unlike the globiness of mayo and that mayonnaise-y smell disappears.

Flavorful Dressing for Chicken Salad

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

3 plump cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

Mix everything together and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight. Makes enough for about a pound of chicken, plus whatever fruits and vegetables you wish to add. Any combination of apples, grapes, celery, toasted sliced almonds, chopped red pepper, feta cheese, are all delicious.