The Perfect Salad
Mixed greens
1 chicken breast
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 dollop of Dijon mustard
6 or so strawberries (if strawberries aren't in season, dried cranberries are also awesome)
an inch or so of goat cheese
a small handful of candied pecans (Trader Joe's has the BEST CANDIED PECANS EVER)
Pound out your chicken flat. This is really easy to do. You can use a meat tenderizer (the smooth side) or the bottom of a skillet. Wrap the chicken loosely in plastic wrap. This prevents tiny raw chicken pieces or chicken water splattering everywhere. Then pound away until the chicken is about half as thick as it was. This is a great stress reliever. Your boss Mr. Benson make you angry? Name your raw chicken Mr. Benson and POUND POUND POUND! Eat that Mr. Benson. Place your flat chicken into a baggie and add 2 tablespoons of balsamic, 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil (depending on how strong you like your balsamic taste), rosemary, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Marinate the chicken for at least 20 minutes.
Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of balsamic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the dollop of Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Shake to combine.
Heat a skillet to high and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the chicken. The chicken is super thin and can be cooked really fast. Brown each side of the chicken on high and then turn down the heat to low and caramelize each side. I discovered this trick when I was trying to hold this chicken for a late dinner guest. I almost blackened the chicken on each side and then I left it in the pan on low and all of a sudden this amazing thing happened...dark carmel liquid was coating each side of the chicken. Apparently the sugars in the balsamic were melting and becoming this amazing sweet coating on the chicken. So. Good.
Slice the chicken and let cool while you assemble the greens, sliced strawberries, crumbled goat cheese, and candied pecans. Drizzle with your homemade balsamic vinaigrette and top with the warm chicken. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get in this salad.
Whenever I hear someone say that they don't like salad, I think to myself 'they've never had my salads'. I think many people picture salads as those sad iceberg lettuce Titanic nightmares that have almost frozen cherry tomatoes on the side, two wedges of cucumber and the entire frightful thing is drowning in Hidden Valley Ranch knockoff dressing. Enter salad number two.
Bacon Lettuce Tomato Goat Cheese Carrot Egg Tomato Salad (also known as the BLTGCCETS)
3 strips bacon
couple handfuls of the greens of your choice
Tomatoes (I love cherry tomatoes slice in half for this, but you can also chop up a full sized garden tomato)
1 carrot peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 inch of goat cheese
1 hard boiled egg
drizzle of your favorite tomato vinaigrette salad dressing
Cook your bacon and crumble it over the greens. (You only need 2 strips for the salad, the third strip is for munching on while you finish the rest of the assembly. You can thank me later for this little tip because if you're like me, you'd finish the bacon before the salad is ready. Oooohhh bacon, my loins do quiver for you!) Toss on tomatoes and carrots, crumble up your goat cheese and egg over the salad, and drizzle with the tomato vinaigrette. If you want to make your own dressing, be my guest. Here's a link to tell you how: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,171,155168-245193,00.html but I'm using the stuff I bought. Let me know how the scratch turns out.
I wondered where the term 'salad days' came from and I found out that the origin is from a Shakespeare play in which Cleopatra refers to her 'salad days' meaning that she was green, carefree, youthful and inexperienced. I always assumed it meant something about trying to stay thin. Damn this body obsessed culture of ours! Salads are fun, carefree and youthful. Here is a whimsical salad that reminds me of how fun salads can be.
Brie and Champagne salad
5 thin slices of the creamiest brie you can find
a couple handfuls of your favorite greens
1/4th of a green apple sliced waffer thin
2 tablespoons champagne (my favorite is prosecco, but Trader Joe's has a bottle of Asti that's like $5...who can resist $5 champagne?!)
2 tablespoons of your favorite honey mustard dressing
Combine the champagne and honey mustard dressing. Arrange the brie and apple slices on top of the greens. I do a pretty spiral pattern, but I guess that's masturbatory. Top with the champagne-honey mustard dressing. Creamy, dreamy, crisp...good.
Salads don't have to have lettuce greens in them of course. Salads can be any food mixture tossed with a moist dressing. Ewwww. I hate the word 'moist'. Okay, I like the word when in conjunction with the word 'cake; but other than that, it creeps me out. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. See, it's weird isn't it? Anyway, we all know there are fruit salads and macaroni salad etc etc. Here is my favorite non-lettuce salad.
Tomato-Mozzarella-Basil-Balsamic salad
Garden fresh tomatoes (any in-season fresh tomato will work. Do Not Attempt With A Rock Hard Crap Tomato From Your Megamart In December. It. Will. Not. Do. It. Justice.)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh basil ripped or chopped
a golf ball size chunk of mozzarella (This is the stuff you find in the cheese section of your deli. The stuff in water, not the pre-shredded stuff by the pull-n-bake cookies. God those cookies are good. Damn them for making cookies so delicious and easy!)
Simmer the balsamic until it is reduced into a syrup about the consistency of maple syrup. When it cools, it will get thicker...so watch out. Chunk up your mozzarella into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl. Chop tomatoes and place in the bowl. Lightly salt and pepper the tomatoes. Top with the basil. Pour the balsamic glaze over the entire thing. Eat with a spoon and try not to moan so loud you wake the neighbors.
So there you have it. My favorite salads. What are your favorite salads?
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