California Chicken Caesar Salad

Avocado, tomato, and bacon give this classic Caesar Salad a California twist. It’s my new favorite for lunch!

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped Romain lettuce

• 1 ripe California avocado, cut into bite sized pieces

• 1 ripe tomato, cut into bite sized pieces

• 2 tablespoons very thinly sliced white onion (I use a mandoline slicer on the thinnest slice setting), coarsely chopped

• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

• 2 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled

• 1 grilled chicken breast, coated with olive oil, salt & pepper

• 1.5 tablespoon creamy Caesar salad dressing (I used Ken’s)

• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional, I prefer a fishier dressing, especially without anchovies)

• Ground pepper

How To Make It

1. Turn on grill. While the grill is heating rub chicken breast with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. When grill is ready, grill chicken breast for about 5 minutes on both sides.

2. Cook two strips of bacon to crispy (we prefer super cripsy)

3. Toss together Romain lettuce, pieces of avocado and tomato, and chopped onion.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese and crumbled bacon.

5. Whisk together the Caesar salad dressing and fish sauce. Add this to the salad and toss thoroughly.

6. Let the grilled chicken breast set for 5 minutes or so. Then thinly slice lengthwise.

7. Plate the salad mixture and add sliced grilled chicken over. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of grated cheese and grind pepper over.

8. ENJOY!

Zucchini Carpaccio Take Two

As mentioned in an earlier post, Chef Emma from Sur la Table introduced me to Zucchini Carpaccio, which I found to be surprisingly refreshing and delicious! It's the perfect side for these summer evenings. Zucchini Carpaccio Take Two is a slightly refined recipe from the previously posted version. I added a small amount of minced garlic and fresh basil, giving it just what was needed for a perfectly balanced set of flavors. Also, the cheese is shaved versus grated — a minor change but an improvement nonetheless, in my opinion.

HOW TO MAKE IT

• 2 large zucchini

• a good sized handful of arugula

• juice of 1 lemon

• 2 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic, mushed into a paste

• 1 teaspoon minced fresh basil

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon diced blanched almond slivers

• 2 tablespoons freshly shaved Romano cheese

Thinly slice the zucchini using a mandoline or spiralizer. Set it in a strainer and sprinkle salt generously over. Allow it to sit for 20 minutes. The salt will extract much of the liquid. Thoroughly rinse the zucchini and pat dry with a towel.

In a small blow, stir together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together reserving half of the cheese and a little of the almonds to sprinkle on top. And there you go!

Tuna Tartare Salad With Chipotle Aioli Dressing

Michael loves a good low-carb, high-protein salad after a hard run to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. This one uses the left over miso marinaded ahi tuna (from ahi tuna tacos the night before -- be careful not to save left over raw fish recipes for more than 12 hours or so)  atop chopped romaine lettuce, tomatoes, shredded jack cheese and delicious chipotle aioli dressing.

Lettuce-less Summer Salad

I went through a serious salad phase. At one point, I was just tired of lettuce. This lettuce-less salad is a great summer-time complement to any main course. Or add some protein and make it your main course. Salmon or shrimp make great toppers.

How to Make It:

• 3 Roma tomatoes

• 1 orange bell pepper

• 1 very ripe avocado

• 1 fresh ear of corn

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

• 2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese

• 1 lime

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Chop the tomatoes and bell pepper into bit sized pieces. Dice the avocado. Scrape the corn from the cob. Add chopped cilantro and crumbled goat cheese. Squeeze in lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Then toss it all. It's important that the avocado is very ripe because it blends with the lime, salt & pepper to make a wonderful fresh dressing.

Caprese Salad

This delicious, fresh salad is a regular side in our household. And one of Michael's favorites!

How to Make It:

Dice about 1 teaspoon shallots and let that marinade with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Halve some grape or cherry tomatoes. Cut up some fresh mozzarella cheese into bite sized pieces. Slice fresh basil into strips. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with your shallot/balsamic mix. Add salt and fresh ground pepper and you've got a simple, great side!