World's Best Salad

There's a certain restaurant we like to frequent. Every single time we go, I get this tri-tip steak salad. It. is. the. bomb. Do people still say that? Anyway, I decided to recreate it at home and I think it is pretty spot on. It is a little time consuming, and to have all the ingredients on hand can be a little pricey, but here's how I make it easier. I buy in bulk at Costco and I cook everything up on a day where I have some extra time for food prep. Then I have enough for a dozen or so salads. Pretty awesome. Here is the recipe to make 2 large salads (although you will have ingredients for dayz to make more salads or if you are feeding a larger group.  Give 'er a try!

2 servings Tri-Tip (6-8 ounces), sliced thin and in small pieces
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped 
2-3 ounces Arugula (3-5 loosely packed cups, depending on your taste)
4-6 sprigs of Cilantro
2-4 Tablespoons Chopped Scallions
1/2 Roasted red pepper, cut into thin strips
4 Tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
Dried cherries (a handful)
Feta Cheese
Cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half (a handful or so)
Lemon-Cilantro Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1. We used this recipe for marinating the tri-tip. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bbq-with-bobby-flay/6-hour-tri-tip-marinade-recipe/index.html. We used olive oil instead of soybean oil, and I used real onions instead of dried, and lastly, I used Lawry’s seasoning salt instead of garlic salt.
2. We followed these instructions for grilling the tri-tip. http://www.wikihow.com/Grill-Tri-Tip . It turned out PERFECT.
3. We used this recipe by Ina Garten to roast the red pepper. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-red-peppers-recipe/index.html)

Assembling the salad:
Combine your lettuce, arugula, and scallions. Divide between two large bowls. Divide the cilantro sprigs between the two bowls as well. Then sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on both salads, adjusting amounts to your taste. Right before serving, drizzle on the Lemon-Cilantro Vinaigrette.

Lemon-Cilantro Vinaigrette
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 bunch cilantro (rinsed well, patted dry, and just the ends trimmed)
1 heaping Tablespoon brown sugar (or honey)
1 clove garlic
¼ tsp. sea salt
¾ tsp. spicy brown mustard
¼ cup olive oil
Dash of Chipotle chili powder
I threw all the ingredients for the dressing in my Blendtec and voila! It was blended up perfectly. The dressing is supposed to be on the thicker side. Drizzle to taste (usually about ¼ cup for a salad that big!) The dressing will last in the fridge for 3-5 days.

eating salad: strawberry spinach salad

This is from a family cookbook. My lovely sister-in-law makes it often and has perfected the dressing that accompanies this salad. This is great on its own or as an addition to any meal.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

1 bag spinach

1 cup sliced strawberries

2 kiwi or 1-2 cans mandarin oranges (I never use the oranges)

Dressing

1/2 cup sugar (you can use another sweetener such as honey)

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds (optional-i never use this either)

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp. minced onion

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

Mix and serve over salad. Serve immediately.

eating salad: apple walnut salad

Okay. The truth. I hate salad! I love eating healthy, but the only way I can choke down a salad if it's full of tasty things and an excellent dressing. By the time you add all that, it's usually no longer healthy. I am forcing myself to eat salad everyday this week and make it healthy and tasty. Here's my first attempt.

Apple Walnut Salad on Spring Greens with Sweet Poppy Seed Dressing

Spring mix lettuce

2 Fuji apples, chopped (leave skins on)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped*

1/2 cup craisins

1 small cucumber, chopped

These are just my estimates, but really you can add more or less ingredients to taste. I usually purchase my lettuces at Costco. This is the Organic Spring Mix or something like that. Any poppy seed dressing or other fruity viniagrette will do. See the recipe for the dressing I used below.

1.  Prepare dressing and set aside or refrigerate while making salad.

2.  Rinse and spin or pat dry the desired amount of lettuce. Place prepared lettuce in salad bowl.

3.  Add prepared apples, walnuts, craisins, and cucumbers. Toss.

4.  Serve in individual bowls and drizzle with dressing.

Sweet Poppy Seed Dressing

1/3 cup red wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)

3/4 cup sugar (you can also use honey to taste)
1 teaspoon ground mustard
3/4 cup teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Blend the first five ingredients in blender until smooth. Then add oil and pulse. Stir in poppy seeds by hand.

This salad was very refreshing to me and I ate a lot of it. Let me know if you have a good dressing for salad that you like to use.

*I like to toast the walnuts also. To do this, set your oven at 350 degrees. Spread the chopped nuts evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-6 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Another delicious dressing with this salad:
Cranberry Vinaigrette (from my aunt)
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. honey
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Blend cranberries in blender until smooth. Add vinegar, sugar, onion, and honey; process until blended. With blender running, gradually add oil. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

italian salad

The salad looks kind of bland and dressing-less in the pictures, but it's covered in a delightful mixture of seasonings and oil.

This is one of those test and taste recipes. There are no specific measurements.

Ingredients:
2 heads of romaine lettuce
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
rice vinegar
salt
basil leaves
grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Mince fresh garlic and spread on the bottom and sides of your bowl (1-2 depending on the size of the bowl/salad)
2. Wash and chop romaine lettuce, put in bowl
3. Sprinkle olive oil over entire salad
4. Sprinkle rice vinegar over entire salad
5. Sprinkle salt
6. Sprinkle Basil leaves (you can probably use dried if you want)
   
7. Mince at least 1 clove of fresh garlic on top of lettuce
8. Toss salad, taste. Add more oil, vinegar, salt, basil or garlic as needed
9. Right before serving, add grated parmesan cheese on top

Add chicken to make a complete meal.

Spinach and pasta salad with grilled chicken

I know salads are considered chick food, but this is a salad that even the manliest of men could eat. At least I think so. HF loves it and he's pretty manly. This is a versatile dish. Ingredients can be added or removed to make it to your liking.






1 small package of fresh spinach

1 – 8 oz package of bowtie pasta – cooked, drained and cooled

2-4 TBLS sesame seeds

½ cup sliced almonds (I used the toasted and unsalted)

3 chicken breasts – seasoned heavily with lemon pepper seasoning, grilled and cut into bite sizes.

1 cup bean sprouts

Mix all ingredients and toss with the dressing just before serving.

Dressing:

½ cup oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame seeds

3 TBLS soy sauce

2 TBLS rice vinegar

½ tsp sesame seed oil

1 tsp grated fresh garlic (about 2 cloves)

Stir ingredients well to dissolve sugar, store in refrigerator. Let dressing warm to room temperature before tossing into salad.

To keep the leftovers from getting soggy, we usually keep the spinach and bean sprouts seperate from the rest of the salad and when serving, make a bed of spinach and bean sprouts and then spoon the chicken and dressing mixture on top. This is always a hit at get togethers. There are no leftovers usually.