Salad for Dinner

Welcome to Family Bites' book week! I'll be sharing a week's worth of my favourite recent reads, giving you the chance to win a copy or two, as well. 

I’m going to go out on a limb here, and suggest that the latest food trend to hit cookbook shelves is books based on vegetables, as evidenced by the photo below. Each of the titles you see arrived on my doorstep within days of each other, and since then, two others have joined the group. I like them all, and have found valuable information tucked between the pages, but without a doubt, my favourite of the lot is Salad for Dinner, by Jeanne Kelley.

At first glance you might think this looks like a nice book about healthy dinners, but in reality it’s a treasure trove of information dedicated to the subject. If you were only ever going to buy one book about making salad, this would be it.

Divided into four parts – vegetarian salads, salads with fish and seafood, salads with poultry, and salads with meat – this is a book you’ll reach for time and time again, regardless of whether you’re planning a family dinner or a weekend party for a crowd.

The beginning chapter is a primer on salad, and includes information about the differences between baby greens, mixed greens, and peppery greens; a glossary of different greens, when their grown, and what they taste nice with; foraging for salad, and how to do it; washing and storage; make-ahead salads; how to dress a salad appropriately; and the salad code – a chart dedicated to coming up with your own salad creations using the right balance of ingredients. In short, everything you could ever want to know about making a great salad.

If that hasn’t sold you on the title, the recipes just might sway you: kale with lemon, Parmesan, and almonds; Indonesian chicken salad with pineapple slaw; and salmon with quinoa, sorrel, and yogurt. And, let’s not forget about the meals that are made into salads, or in other words, how I get my boys to like salad, and they include: Korean barbecue beef salad; duck confit with fingerlings and frisée; and buttermilk fried chicken salad.

I have a copy of Salad for Dinner to give away to one Family Bites reader. To enter, leave a comment and let me know what your favourite type of salad is. I’ll draw a name at random on Friday May 10^th. 

 

Comments

[Jennifer Hicks]

Oooh...I love the idea of introducing more salads to my family. Anything other than Caesar salad goes over like a lead balloon. I'm partial to a Nicoise Salad. My mother made one for me after the birth of each of my children, because she thought I needed the extra protein in those first few post-partum days.

[Mama B @ My Edible Journey]

Favourite type of salad? That's a toughie. It really depends on the season and my mood. In the winter, I love green salads with nuts, dried cranberries, crumbled feta and a sweet/savoury dressing. But right now I'm craving things like macaroni salad with tuna and crunchy veggie bits, lentil and grain salad with herbs and anything with a variety of veggies. Later in the summer it will be garden fresh tabbouleh, Asian inspired slaws, grilled salads, Salad Nicoise, and salads with grilled steak, sharp cheddar and a creamy fresh horseradish dressing.

[Jennifer]

I love a nice fresh summer salad with sweet ripe strawberries, almond slivers and a balsamic dressing!

[Chavala Crawley]

It would have to be Roquefort , walnuts and apples!!!!

[Sheena Bier]

Our family ALL love salads ~ even the boys (8,7,5,1 yr) we typically have Greek type salads, spinach or mixed greens with strawberries, almonds, goats cheese etc and quinoa salad. I would love to have this book full of inspiration to make complete meals out of a salad :)

[Allison]

I love salads. My mom makes a spinach salad with blue cheese and olives that I adore.

[brandy]

My favourite kind of salad... Hmmm.... That's a tough one. I'd say a salad with greens, roasted beets and goat cheese and balsamic dressing would be my fave. But I'm a huge fan of salads. Right now in my fridge I have a salad made with: chick peas, pecans, mandarin oranges, parsley, green onions, tomatoes, peppers and feta. I serve it over a bed of lettuce. Yum!

[Val]

Kale with bacon and balsamic!

[Johanna Calamusa]

Any salad that I can get my entire family excited about

[Carlinne @Cook with 2 Chicks]

My favorite salad is a kale salad with roasted beets, goat cheese and almonds. Really, any kale salad.

[Anne]

Quinoa and Beet!

[Frances]

I love lentils, argula and goat cheese - yum!

[Carolyn]

Probably sounds so boring, but spinach salad with mushrooms, cucumbers, tomato, and pepper with some sort of protien added. It's what I eat 4-5 days a week for lunch.

[Gena]

On hot summer days salad as a meal is my choice! My family lives chicken Caesar salad, Thai noodle salad or BBQ flank steak and Panzanella.

[Susan]

My favorite salad currently is Julie's kale and brussels sprout one. A few ingredients and a bowl of goodness !

[Deidre]

Salad nicoise! Thanks for the chance to win!

[Krista]

So hard to choose. We have salads all the time and it's rubbed off on my 3yr old. Yeah! Tonight we had romaine and swiss chard with cucumber, fresh oregano and Italian Dressing. Love salads!

[Jaime]

I so love a dinner salad! I get stuck making the same basic 2-3 though as I run out of ideas! I guess my favorite is cobb salad. This book sounds great!

[ColleenB.]

I enjoy a pasta garden salad.
Thank you
ColleenB.

[Sherry]

Green papaya salad is my favourite, I learned to make it watching the street venders in Thailand. It hits all the right notes-sweet, sour, spicy and savoury. Sorry, I believe I inadvertdently emailed you thinking it was the comment section.

[Heidi]

My favourite salad right now is Greek quinoa, followed closely by kale and greens with nuts and berries and poppyseed dressing.

[Cheryl]

My current favorite is a Lemony Kale salad with just juice from the accompanying oranges and maple syrup as dressing. But any salad that someone else makes s always a hit with me,, I get tired of washing and chopping.

[marsha]

I love to top mixed baby green with roasted veggies and goat cheese. Then top it with some nuts and balsamic.

[Toni Manesis]

I love salads...but my favourite are the ones that combine the savoury and the sweet with different textures. Spring mix (including arugula)with strawberries, feta, avocado, cucumber, shredded carrots and nuts and seeds with a balsamic vinegrette.

[Heather]

Orzo with fresh flat leaf parsley, dill, feta, red onion, and cucumber. Simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and s & p