Salads

Warm salads are one of life's many wonderful things, and this salad is no exception to that rule. The roasted potatoes, the smooth texture of the salmon, and the subtle spiciness of the vinegar in this dressing worked so nicely with the bite of the arugula greens in this dish, making a subtly warm salad that was interesting to eat and delicious at the same time. This salad also came together very quickly, with few steps, that made it perfect for a weeknight meal that turned out marvelously with little effort.

This recipe served as a great reminder to us how important it is to read through the instructions for a dish carefully and completely before embarking on your shopping trip. Because we did not read down to the bottom of the recipe and simply wrote down the ingredients list, we forgot some of the toppings that would have made this dish outstanding, such as avocado and pepper jack cheese. Even without those extras, this salad was a simple and festive dish that was quick enough to make after work without feeling bogged down in the kitchen. We particularly enjoyed the dressing, which was fresh and had an oil/lime base, a nice departure from a salsa dressing on a taco salad. We were able to improvise (using cheese curds sliced thin instead of pepper jack which was much better than you would expect), the salad turned out nicely, and we were subtly reminded to follow our own advice of careful planning. All and all, we think the meal turned out well.

As you may be aware, the food menu during Autumn in Vermont is full of two things: apples and maple syrup (well, maple syrup is pretty much a staple year round, but that is for another review!). With so many apples sitting around, we found ourselves looking for ways to work the fruit into our dinners instead of focusing only on pies and sweet treats. This salad, which appeared in a Fall inspired issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray, fit that description nicely. The savory combination of mustard, nuts, greens, grapes and apples was delicious, making it a complete light meal. This salad would be perfect for a weekend afternoon when you are looking for something to fill you up without causing feelings of sleepiness to creep in.

It seems that using rotisserie chicken is all the rage in quick weeknight recipes. Although we do not typically use rotisserie chicken, given the popularity, we thought we would capitalize on this trend to try this rich and tasty salad. Despite Corey's distaste of citrus dressings, the variety of vegetables and the crunch of the cabbage made a great base that he could put another dressing on and still enjoy. Personally, I thought this was the best salad that I have had in a long time, and enjoyed the leftovers throughly in my lunch the next day. Highly recommended for a quick and simple dinner.

Our opinion of this salad was definitely split. Leslie found it fresh and enjoyed the summery taste that the homemade dressing added to the crunchy texture of the pita. Corey, in contrast, thought the salad had a distinct taste of lemon scented furniture polish (apparently he is NOT a fan of lemon dressings). Overall, this was a fresh dinner that could be quickly made with garden vegetables and things in your refrigerator. If you tend to have a strong reaction to lemon dressing or furniture polish, you will want to avoid this salad.