Counting Down To Christmas – Day 10 – Better In A Bowl

The last couple of years, we’ve been eating practically every meal out of a bowl. To me, the presentation of the food is simply more appealing. Many of my favorite restaurants serve food this way, so I was inspired to adopt the practice at home.  From a tossed or layered salad to a simple composition of scrambled eggs, avocado and tomato, a bowl somehow makes it appear more appetizing. I use the creamy white Marin pasta bowl from Crate and Barrel. It’s hard to beat for its size, range of colors and price point, but actually, any low pasta bowl does the trick.

We eat a lot of salads, year round, usually adding a protein to some sort of creative tasty mix of greens and vegetables. Hands down, a favorite among family and friends is The Macho Salad from Bandera restaurant. I posted a pretty close version of the recipe here, and the response from everyone who tried it was great. So, in case you missed it, read on and enjoy!

The recipe below is my slightly altered version from the one on Tasty Kitchen. It serves 4 and can be easily doubled.

Macho Salad

6 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce
1 head of Savoy Cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 pound shredded Chicken Breast*
1 Avocado, chopped
4 oz crumbled Goat Cheese
4 Roma Tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup chopped, toasted Almonds
1 cup fresh Corn
16 Dates, sliced
1 1/2 cups Cornbread Croutons**

Dressing:

2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Lemon, juiced
1 tsp Champagne Vinegar
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Fresh Black Pepper
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Dried Basil
1/3 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 cup Olive Oil

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients and toss with salad.

*Time saver…I pick up an already roasted chicken at the market.

**When I don’t have time to make the cornbread, recipe here, I buy store made from the market. Cut them up into large cubes, toss them with olive oil and salt and broil them until they brown on the edges with a crispy edge. Cool before you toss in the salad or they may fall apart.