I need a really good recipe for a salad to bring to a benefit luncheon. Maybe something with spinich...?

Question

I'd like something different and interesting. I'm the chairperson for this fund raising effort and I'd like to set a good example.

I'm loving all the suggestions so far! Thank you all so much. I don't see a bad idea in the bunch. Wow.

Answer 1

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Answer 2

A good spinach one is a light Medditeranean salad.

You'd need a bag of baby spinach leaves, some Romaine lettuce to add a different color to it if you'd like, red, green and yellow "bell"/"sweet" peppers, cherry tomatoes, and a brick of feta cheese, a fine quality Italian dressing.

Take the Romaine and spinach leaves, lightly toss and then cut the larger leaves so its something you can managably spear onto a fork.

Cube the feta cheese into it; make sure they're squares of about 1/3 inch by 1/3 inch; otherwise crumble it if you don't want the bother, but it looks neater that way.

Slice in half, pit out the seeds, and cut the peppers, so they're about 1/2 inch long, 1/4 inch wide strips.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes and add in.

Mix it all together, add the light vinaigrette or Italian dressing; opt for clear dressings; cream-based ones and "colored" ones are too thick, heavy and distracting to the texture.

Answer 3

Avocado Grapefruit Salad
From: The Four Ingredient Cookbooks
By: Linda Coffee and Emily Cale

Ingredients:
1 Jar (26 ounces) Grapefruit sections (drained)
2 Ripe avocados (peeled, sliced)
½ cup red onion (thinly sliced)
Prepared Poppy Seed Dressing
Methods:
Combine grapefruit, avocados, and onions. Serve with dressing on a bed of
lettuce.


Beet and Onion Salad
From: The Four Ingredients Cookbook
By: Linda Coffee and Emily Cale

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 can (16 ounces) sliced beets (undrained)
1/2 onion (sliced in rings)

Methods:
Combine above ingredients and marinate at room temperature at least 30 minutes
before serving. Stir every 10 minutes.


Carrot Salad
From: The Four Ingredient Cookbooks
By: Linda Coffee and Emily Cale

Ingredients:

2 cups Grated Carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1 can (8 3/4 ounces) pineapple Tidbits (drained)
1/3 cup Mayonnaise

Methods:
Combine above ingredients and serve on a crisp bed of lettuce


Cucumber Salad
From: The Four Ingredient Cookbook
By: Linda Coffee and Emily Cale

Ingredients:
4 large cucumbers (peeled and sliced)
2 onions (sliced)
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup sour cream

Methods:
Place cucumbers and onions in bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Add sour cream and
mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for several hours.


Corn Salad
From: The Four Ingredient Cookbooks
By: Linda Coffee and Emily Cale

Ingredients:
2 cans (16 ounces each) Mexicorn (drained)
1 Green pepper (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 cup Catalina Salad Dressing

Methods:
Combine ingredients. Chill several hours. Serve cold.

Answer 4

Fresh Baby Spinach
Fresh Romaine
Fresh sliced strawberries
Fresh chunked cantaloupe
Baby Salad Shrimp on the top
Marzetti's Poppy Seed Dressing

Absolutely delicious!

Answer 5

How about a classic spinach salad, with baby spinach, hard-boiled eggs, crumbled bacon and bleu cheese (or a dressier version with pancetta, goat cheese and walnuts)? Try adding fruits: oranges, apples, and pears all go well with spinach. So do grilled chicken or shrimp.

If you don't want spinach to be the main ingredient, how about an orzo or wild rice salad? Just saute garlic, onion, and mushrooms (all go well with spinach), and toss with rice or orzo and a drizzle of olive oil. Add any kind or nuts or cheese to make it a bit more substantial--parmesan would be yummy with the orzo!

Hope this gives you some ideas!

Answer 6

Buy a bag of baby spinach, almond slivers, mandarin orange slices, dried cranberries and maybe some good quality blue cheese (this can get expensive) and just before serving add a nice balsamic vinegarette or a cranberry vinegarette. Take along some sliced toasted french bread that has been sprayed or brushed with olive oil.


This sounds good for dinner tonight!!!

Answer 7

Spinach, Greek Fetta Cheese, Walnuts or Cashew Nuts, a little of the best Virgin Olive oil for dressing and a squeeze of Lemon Juice...Toss lovingly together and present in a nice bowl as a Salad!

Answer 8

California Apple Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup cored and diced Granny Smith and Gala apples
1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1/4 cup sliced green onions, including tops
1 1/2 cup torn Bibb or butter lettuce
1 1/2 cup torn fresh spinach
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/4 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese
***Dressing:***
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Dash of pepper

Directions:
Combine all ingredients for dressing in bottle or jar. Shake well and refrigerate several hours to meld flavors. Just before serving, gently toss apples mushrooms and onions together in a large bowl. Add lettuce, spinach, bacon and dressing; blend well.

Serve with cheese sprinkled on top.
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Spinach Salad with Raspberry Dressing Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon or honey mustard
2 teaspoons raspberry-flavored vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups baby spinach, washed well
4 mushrooms, sliced
4 strawberries, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, halved and sliced
Candied Almonds, recipe follows

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, mustard, vinegar, pepper, garlic salt, dried basil, sugar, and salt until dressing is well combined.
In another large bowl, combine the spinach, mushrooms, strawberries, and red onion. Add the dressing and toss well. Sprinkle with the Candied Almonds.


Candied Slivered Almonds:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup slivered almonds

In a saute pan over medium heat, add the sugar and heat until it melts, about 6 minutes. Add the slivered almonds and cook until the sugar has caramelized, stirring constantly. Remove from the pan to a parchment lined sheet pan and cool. Once it has cooled, break into small pieces and set aside.

Answer 9

My favourite spinach salad recipe has spinach (of course), with the following additions:

roasted red pepper, diced
crumbled chevre (goat cheese)
toasted pecans
caramalized onions

Use a dressing of 3 parts olive oil, 2 parts balsamic vinegar, and 1 part maple syrup.

Both the caramalized onions and the roasted red peppers can be done in advance and frozen or refrigerated. (I do large batches and keep on hand in the freezer.)

This salad is both beautiful and delicious.

Answer 10

Baby Spinach Salad with Tomato and Mozzarella

Fresh herbs really bring out the flavor of this refreshing and satisfying salad.
Original recipe yield: 2 servings.

INGREDIENTS:
5 ounces baby spinach leaves
1 beefsteak tomato, cut thinly crosswise
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1/4 pound part-skim mozzarella, diced
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped fine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Alternate layers of spinach and tomato across plate. Top with basil, mozzarella, and oregano. Dress with oil and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.