Salad Party

One of my favorites is and "Italian salad" my mom made it growing up and that's what we always called it lol

Lettuce (whatever you like, I like romaine)
Salami
Pepperoni
2 jars of marinated artichokes
diced Mozzerella
Sunflower seeds

Toss altogether and YUMMY!

I just hosted book club last week and made three salads for something easy and no-cook. They were a hit!

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Easiest: Shaved Fennel and Apple Salad

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (2 cups)
½ large green apple, thinly sliced (½ cup)
¼ cup lemon juice
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. chopped fennel fronds

Toss together all ingredients in bowl. Let stand 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

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Most talked about dressing/sauce: Cucumber Salad w/Peanut-Lime Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette
1 Tbs. lime juice
1 Tbs. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbs. grapeseed or peanut oil
1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

Salad
4 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs. cilantro leaves

Whisk together lime juice and peanut butter in small bowl. Whisk in grapeseed and sesame oils until emulsified. Whisk in salt, if using.

Arrange cucumbers in single or double layer on platter. Drizzle with vinaigrette (and a touch of sriracha sauce if you want). Sprinkle with cilantro (and chopped peanuts if you want).

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Most flavorful: Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

2 1/2 lb. heirloom tomatoes (combo cherry and beefsteak/big)
1 1/2 lb. nectarines cut into wedges (says to peel; i didn't)
1 bunch green onions, white and most of green parts thinly sliced
3 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. orange juice
2 Tbs. sherry vinegar
2 tsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (i am veg!)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (optional)
1 cup small mint and basil leaves

Core and chunk/wedge large tomatoes; cut cherry tomatoes in half. Toss in bowl. Add nectarines and green onions.

Whisk together oil, orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, salt. Pour over fruit/veg in bowl. Add 3/4 cup herbs and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining herbs.

All of these recipes are from Vegetarian Times, with a few modifications for laziness on my part. I didn't peel the nectarines, butchered the tomato cutting, guessed on the herbs as I grabbed them from my garden, didn't realize the maple syrup came out so fast, failed to thinly sliced the apples or fennel, doubled the apples, and only had the time to peel/cut 1 large cucumber. That's what makes salads fun, right?

My fav is "watermelon salad" - thinly slice and dice red onion (maybe half an onion if you are making a HUGE salad. I like just a little onion, like two or three slivers for my personal bowl). So slice the red onion, add to your serving bowl with lime juice, sprinkle some salt. Add diced katamala olives. Since you're going to a party, dice bite-size watermelon and put in a different tupperware. Get feta cheese. At the party, put the watermelon and feta in the serving bowl and toss. Add fresh basil if you have it.

You could always just dice fruit, add some orange juice concentrate (yes, a few large spoonfuls of the slushy frozen stuff), stir, and have fruit salad.

Spinach Salad

1 spinach, clean and torn into pieces (or just use 2 big bags of baby spinach)
1 pt. strawberries, sliced
½ cup toasted chunky crunched pecans or almonds
crumbled bacon
sliced mushrooms

Dressing:
1/3 cup red wine raspberry cider vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1T. poppy seeds (I reduce)
2 T. sesame seeds (optional)
1 T. minced onions

Make dressing the day ahead; shake dressing WELL and pour over spinach & strawberries. Top the whole salad with the toasted nuts.

****I have never served this salad and not had more than one person ask me for the recipe!

Tortellini Salad

6-7 oz frozen or dried tortellini
¼ cup olive oil
3 T white or rose wine
2 T lemon juice
1 T fresh basil or 1 t dried basil
1 t honey
½ t salt
2 cups torned salad green
1 small cucumber, peeled, halfed, sliced
(okay to substitute with broccoli)
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup pine nuts

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside. Mix olive oil, wine, lemon juice, basil, honey and salt. Pour over tortellini. Chill for 2-24 hours. Combine pasta, lettuce, cheese and nuts. Serve immediately.

Adding cooked chicken to this salad makes a hearty meal.

There are so many salads it's hard to pick!
Cucumber salad (cukes, sour cream, lemon juice, salt pepper).
Bean salad
Zucchini salad
Chicken salad
Broccoli salad (has bacon and shredded cheddar in it).
Fruit salad
Waldorf salad
Potato salad
Leafy greens salad
Cole slaw
Spinach salad

http://allrecipes.com/search/default.aspx?qt=k&wt=sal...

One of my favorite is Caprese Salad. Very easy to make.

Slices of tomatoes
Slices of Mozarella (the soft kind that is kept in water)
Fresh basil leafs
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and pepper

Taco Salad

You will need:
1/2 lb ground beef
Taco season package
1 small dices yellow onion

head of iceberg lettuce
4 green onions sliced thin
box of cherry tomatos (sliced in halves)
1 or 2 avacados (dinced/cubed)

Homemade or bottled 1000 Island Dressing (I like Frenches)

Freitos Corn Chips

Saute about 1/2 lb ground beef with a diced, small yellow, w/ Taco season salt and pepper to taste (drain and set aside)

Make a salad of:
Lettuce, green (or purple onions), tomato, avacado (squeez lemon juice on avacado to keep from discoloring)

When ready to serve toss in ground beef and dressing to taste and then the corn chips....check for salt and pepper (additional seasoning) and serve.

It's tastey!

Try a caprese salad. Easy and yummy!

'Corleone salad' -
Potatoes - cut into largish cubes, and cooked in pot of salted water for about 4 min
Red onions - chopped into large pieces
Sun-dried tomatoes - roughly chopped
Capers - drained and washed
Golden corn - thawed
Iceberg Lettuce - roughly chopped

Dressing - Red wine vinegar (or your favorite flavor), EVOO

Soak the red onion pieces in the vinegar for about half hr before mixing the salad. If the sun-dried tomatoes are dry, soak them in some warm EVOO to re-hydrate them a bit - abt 15 min.
For mixing, drain both and reserve both the vinegar and the tomato flavored EVOO. Arrange the lettuce on the salad bowl. Toss the rest of the ingredients with the reserved EVOO, and the vinegar (be careful to add vinegar little by little, to taste). Add a pinch of salt if needed.
Pour over the lettuce. Good eaten warm, or at room temperature.

Stays pretty fresh for couple of hrs. I'd carry the lettuce separately and mix finally before serving, perhaps.

This stuff is SO good!! Broccoli Slaw:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/broccoli-co...

It looks salad-y enough to me!!