Summer Salads

In our house, we eat well.  In fact, I think a lot of the time that the food that Brian makes is better than most restaurant food that we get to have.  I'm not being braggy...ok maybe a little.  But in terms of cooking, I've always said that he is exceptional whereas my cooking is good for everyday.

Speaking of restaurant food...there is one food that I've always found better at a restaurant than at home.  Salads.  

Salads just taste better at a restaurant.  The produce is fresher, the presentation, the variety of ingredients.  Until recently, salads at our house were just green salads with a little tomato and cucumber on top.  Maybe some celery or carrots, and almost always featured "bag-o-salad."  You know, the big bag of mixed lettuce that you buy at the grocery store and pray that it will still be good in two days.  (It usually isn't.)

I'm starting to change my mind about salads....a couple of weeks ago Brian and I made a Chinese chicken salad using romaine, rotisserie chicken, oriental noodles, toasted almonds, mandarin orange slices, etc.  It was delicious!  It was also huge--and would've made great leftovers if we hadn't dressed the whole thing.  It was a soggy mess the next day.  So I've learned a few things:  the secret to a great salad is in the dressing.  Homemade is best, and honestly, it's not difficult or really time-consuming.  Plus, you know what's going into it and can adjust it to your taste.

So Brian and I have resolved to a salad dinner once a week, and here was last night's:

Rib-eye steak over watercress, radish and a little blue cheese, with a wine vinegar dressing.  

It was quite good and surprisingly, filled us up.  Can't wait to see what the next salad turns up like!