I should really not be posting right now.
I am up to my eyeballs in dirty dishes and laundry, laundry, laundry.
Toys tumbling across my floor in every single bedroom. . .
Really.
I've been super busy getting ready for last night's Enrichment (Or RS Non-Enrichment, as the case may be) on how "Baby Steps for Reducing the Processed Foods in your Diet"). How well it ended up going, I don't know, but it is over so I should at least be working on last night's neglected dishes, right?
But I'm not.
Instead I've been dreaming about this salad I had last week at a restaurant called Bandera in Scottsdale. It was called the "Macho Salad" and is likely the best restaurant salad I've ever had. Top five for sure. It had sliced greens, some cabbagey stuff, too sliced real fine, almonds, gads of smooshed avacado, a very few crusty croutons --these hidden little surprises--corn, tomatoes and dates. DATES! They were very surprising and so amazing. Some cut up and some left whole. Some shredded chicken, too. 5 days later and I'm still dreaming about that salad! Did I mention it had goat cheese? Creamy, luscious goat cheese, oh it was heavenly!
So I found myself googling "Bandera Macho Salad" this morning and guess what. I'm not the only one who loves this salad. Everybody loves this salad! Even the pioneer woman likes this salad folks. Turns out Bandera is a chain, with lots of different names. . .who knew? Scroll down PW's link for a gorgeous salad photo.
And even though I'd like to eat this salad for lunch, (heck, I'd eat it for breakfast)
I really should be doing last night's dinner dishes, right?
So I'm tucking this recipe away right here for safe keeping. Rest assured, I'll be chomping down on this date filled deliciousness soon.
Bandera's Macho Salad
Cherry Creek Grill/Bandera's "Macho" Salad
(Source: Malisa's Food Blog)
fresh greens
diced chicken or turkey (I cheated and shredded up some breast from a deli roaster)
chopped tomatoes (I will add these when mine are finally ripe)
chopped dates (this is the key ingredient--I love the sweetness they add!)
diced avocado
crumbled goat cheese
sliced, toasted almonds
cornbread croutons (I've substituted focaccia croutons and in a pinch, used a handful of seasoned cornbread stuffing cubes)
freshly-ground black pepper
Dressing (this is easily enough for 4 to 6 entree salads):
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced (I doubled this, as is my way!)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh)
1 1/4 cup olive oil (I used half olive and half canola oil)
I will play around with this little recipe here and see what I come up with.
6 comments:
You did great last night. I thought your information was interesting and very compelling.
I want to hear more about your lesson!
P.S. I got a new broom thing at Target, and I used it right away. I've never been so excited about cleaning! It worked like a charm. Thanks!
That salad sounds amazing. Dates? Never have tried that in a salad.
So tell us some of your baby steps for eliminating processed food. The salad sounds great. I used to think I wouldn't like the little bits of sweet in an otherwise savory salad, but have learned that I really do like things like raison, craisins, dates, etc. in such a salad.
Oh boy, I am going to find a reason to make this salad. Thanks for sharing. If I make it for my friends and they start to adore me, I'll give you all of the credit.
FYI, Rebecca, your friends already adore you. This would be because you are completely adorable. But the salad is amazing at the restaurant, I'm hoping it turns out good at home. I'm making the dressing right NOW.
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