Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Summer Fruit Salad



Long ago and in a land far, far away I worked as a paralegal.  I ran the firm for an attorney who never came in the office until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, had lovely lunches out every day, and was able to hire a great staff who did most of the typing leaving me to do what I loved at the time….research and writing briefs.   One of my favorite places to have lunch was Cashin’s at Merchant’s Walk.    I loved their salads but was more in love with their poppy seed dressing.   It was great on a salad or their chicken fingers.
I miss Jack Cashin’s restaurant…..so very much.   When I noticed this salad called for poppy seed dressing I had to dry it.
Plus, it’s just lovely to look at.

1 cup bottled poppy seed dressing
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 avocados, thinly sliced
4 cups loosely packed arugula
2 cups halved seedless green grapes
1 mango, julienned
1 cup diced fresh strawberries
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Whisk together dressing and grated ginger in a large bowl.  Cut avocado slices in half crosswise; gently toss with dressing mixture.  Add arugula and remaining ingredients; gently toss to coat.  Serve immediately.
8-10 appetizer servings





Chicken and Tortellini Salad

I saw this in a Southern Living magazine and it looked intriguing.  

I mean seriously…..chicken, and tortellini?   You can’t go wrong.

….and I didn’t.  It was good.  Very good, except for the flat leaf parsley.   Very attractive in the salad, and perhaps I’m just becoming a little old lady, but the texture of the parsley was a little difficult to eat.  

I’m thinking next time I’ll cut the amount of parsley down…..and perhaps add in some salad greens such as arugula or romaine.

Try it for yourself and see what you think….
2 (8 oz.) packages refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
½ cup olive oil
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare tortellini according to package directions.  
Process olive oil and next 4 ingredients in a blender until smooth. 

Toss olive oil mixture with tortellini, chicken, and next 3 ingredients.  
Add salt and pepper to taste.

12 to 15 appetizer servings.
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