Friends took me out for lunch today and I ordered a BLT salad. It was not very good, not restaurant quality. I really like chopped salads that restaurants have been serving for several years. In case you've never had one, the salad components are chopped smaller than we would do at home, and served very cold. What makes it work for me is that because it's chopped small, you get some of everything in each bite.

California Pizza Kitchen Chopped Salad

1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 teaspoons shallots, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/3 cups olive oil, mild flavored
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

Salad
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped into 1/8 inch wide strips
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped into 1/8 inch wide strips
12 leaves basil, chopped into fine strips
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup garbanzo beans
4 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 cups turkey breast, diced
1/2 cup salami, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons scallions, chopped


For salad, toss together the ingredients in a large bowl and chill in your refrigerator. For dressing, whisk together ingredients in a small bowl and chill for an hour. Just before serving, toss dressing with salad and serve on small individual plates. Can serve 4 for a main dish or 8 for small side salads.

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I've had this sort of salad at potlucks. This recipe is a bit special because the crunchy ingredients get browned first so would have a better flavor.

Crunchy Salad
1 pound cabbage, chopped (or packaged cole slaw mix)
5 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 package chicken ramen noodles
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Dressing:
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
Seasoning from the Ramen noodle package

Crush the noodles and brown with the sunflower seeds and almonds. Just before serving toss the cabbage, seeds, almonds, noodles, and onions with the dressing.

Pasta Cabbage Salad
8 oz vermicelli (or angel hair pasta)
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
2 grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup grated onion (or less)
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar
Salt, to taste

Cut the vegetables. Cook the vermicelli according to directions. Combine the sour cream, sugar, mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt. Mix all together and chill.

These last two recipes are from the excellent "The Madison County Cookbook" from Winterset, Iowa.