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I am making the salad as one of my contributions to Christmas Eve dinner. I think I am going to do a big Italian style salad with lettuce that I shred up thinly (romaine, yes the humble iceburg and radicchio). I will add halved kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, marinated artichokes, thinly sliced pepperoncini and top all with homemade croutons, crispy capers and plenty of freshly grated parmesan. To make crispy capers, heat a small skillet and add capers (no juice). Let them sizzle away and they will dry out and get crispy. They are a delicious bit of salty crunch on top of your salad.
In a large bowl, mash the garlic to a paste with a generous pinch of salt. Whisk in the mayonnaise, vinegar, and oregano, then whisk in the olive oil. Season with pepper. Add all of the remaining ingredients and toss well. Serve right away.
I've seen some beautiful pears this week and blood oranges are just about in season, so I may change my mind and do something along those lines too.
As long as the salad is labeled as having nuts, it's fine. Many people would not expect a salad to have nuts, so I would hope someone made it clear that nuts were included before beforehand. Or, bring the nuts separately and people can add them if they want.
I make what I make, if someone has a concern, then they can ask. We've hosted a dinner where I knew one of the guests was vegan, so the whole meal was vegan and something the omnivores would enjoy as well. If I don't know ahead if someone has an allergy, not my problem. When I do a crawfish boil or steam a mess of blue crab, if someone doesn't like them, either don't come or be satisfied with the sides. BTW, I will show someone how to open, clean and pick a steamed crab once, after that I have business to attend to, crab and beer. Little kids are the only exception.
So I thinking: I like figs. Even dried figs. Figs are unusual, regarded as kinda special. So I googled salad with dried figs (can't get fresh this time of year.)
And I found this recipe from Susan Spicer. I rarely pay much attention to what chef (if any) developed the recipe. But one of my most memorable meals ever was at Bayonne, Spicer's restaurant in New Orleans. We're talking 15+ years ago.
I'm hesitant to include the capers. And no, I'm not likely to do a test run. Thoughts?
So I made this last night to go with dinner. Damn, it was GOOD.
This sounded so good and so weird that I did something I hardle ever do: A test run. I used black mission figs, and would probably opt for golden figs next time. (SO GREAT that this calls for dried figs instead of the hard-to-source and limited season fresh figs). I used baby spring greens, and would do the same but add more arugula (the bitter taste of those greens will mix very nicely with the sweet taste of the salad). And I only had crappy blue cheese, which will be upgraded to the good stuff for Christmas.
Highly recommend this one for something very usual and still light.
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Originally Posted by Jkgourmet After the iceberg lettuce thread, I'm now thinking small wedge salads with blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes and a homemade blue cheese dressing. Hmmmmm
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Originally Posted by HomeIsWhere...
I agree and this is a delicious alternative to just a plain salad.
The problem was that an entire wedge is just too large for this meal. smaller wedges just didn't 'hold together' well. So it would have ended up a deconstructed wedge salad, which tastes wonderful, but doens't look very pretty. . .
Place the sliced fennel in a salad bowl. Slice oranges to divide flesh sections and add to bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. Toss, top with sweetened cranberries and serve.
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When I do a crawfish boil or steam a mess of blue crab, if someone doesn't like them, either don't come or be satisfied with the sides. BTW, I will show someone how to open, clean and pick a steamed crab once, after that I have business to attend to, crab and beer.
Little kids are the only exception.
