Skip to main content

California Pizza Kitchen's Chopped Salad with Herb Vinaigrette

By
Just as Brian doesn't consider it a meal without meat of some kind, I need a vegetable or a salad to call it good. I elected to make a version of California Pizza Kitchen's Chopped Salad, skipping the salami and turkey, substituting red bell peppers and cucumbers instead.


The original salad is made with iceberg and romaine lettuces. I feel about iceberg about the same way I feel about Velveeta. But I did buy some butter lettuce for the same look.

Funny story, as I was unloading the shopping basket I hear an indignant little voice beside me: "Mommy, why are you buying iceberg lettuce? You said that it has no nutritional value." Heads turn to stare. Shhh...it's not iceberg lettuce, it's butter lettuce. And it's for Uncle Brian's birthday. "It looks like iceberg. Didn't you say that we should always eat lettuces that are dark green or even red?!" More stares. Yes, darling, but every once in a while it's OK. Just like you eat ice cream or chips every now and then, light colored lettuce is okay sometimes.

butter lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
baby romaine, chopped into bite-sized pieces
fresh basil, rough-chopped
organic garbanzo beans
heirloom tomatoes, chopped
cucumbers, chopped
red bell peppers, deseeded and chopped
shredded parmesan cheese

Herb-Mustard Vinaigrette

1 t minced fresh garlic
2 t minced fresh shallot
2 T Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1 t dried dill
freshly ground smoked sea salt and flower pepper
1/4 C unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 C olive oil

Place all ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar. Shake till emulsified. Dress the salad right before serving.
Labels:

Comments

  1. thewoodenspoongirlJanuary 14, 2012 at 10:25 PM

    Good heavens. This food all looks so good. How long did it take to make? The salad especially, yum, yum, YUM. I quite like this blog. =D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Camilla M. MannJanuary 16, 2012 at 11:14 AM

    Thanks, thewoodenspoongirl. The cooking took awhile, but most of it was cooking, then waiting, then cooking some more. So, it was punctuated with fun stuff out of the kitchen as well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

By
This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...
5 comments
Read more

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

By
Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event."  Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry...
6 comments
Read more

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

By
If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce...
1 comment
Read more