Hey there internet, did you miss me? I sure did miss you! While La Petite Pancake was taking a little hiatus from blogging, the internet was pulling late night hours organizing a salad week for you all. How splendid!
Seriously though, the folks that brought you Cake Week, Pie Week, etc., have turned a new leaf (that was a play-on word) to celebrate Salad Week!
I have a bit of a secret though…
I’m a salad snob.
Big time.
If a salad doesn’t have lots of ingredients (usually gourmet), I gag. Chopped carrots over a head of iceberg with ranch will make me shudder and convulse. I’m not usually a picky eater, but you couldn’t pay me to eat that cafeteria crap.
Thank goodness the Barefoot Contessa is also the Queen of Salads. She pulled out a winner with her Grilled Filet Steak and Arugula Salad. I make this salad sans-steak every other week, and I keep the dressing around to spice up sandwiches, roasted veggies, and pizzas. “How easy is that?” (Barefoot Contessa jokes, anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)
For the salad, you will need:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Bunch of arugula (Ina calls for baby arugula, but I like the bite of the adult middle-aged over-the-hill arugula)
1 (4-ounce) chunk good Parmesan cheese
Lots of good stuff happening here. (Please use better olive oil and mustard than I did.)
When you don’t have a salad spinner, your counter will ultimately look like this:
Rabbit Food
Mix all of the ingredients together, except for the Parmesan. I use a Mason Jar so I can shake it up without spilling and save the leftovers easily.
Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake your dressing
The perfect way to transform any dish into something that looks fancy shmancy is to use the vegetable peeler. Et voila:
We topped our salad with grilled steak and thinly sliced red onions. If you’re feeling frisky, toss the leftover salad into a pita pocket, and have yourself some tasty next-day lunch!
-Mads
Please check out the other salads from Salad Week for a departure from the blasphemous plain iceberg:
Wannabe a Country Cleaver-Chicken Mole Salad
Comfortably Domestic-Simple Caser Salad
Grier Mountain-Spiced Lamb and Lentil Salad
Inside NanaBread’s Head-Creole Potato Salad
Tenaciously Yours-Cheese and Calavo Salad
Decadent Philistines Save the World-Reworked Cabbage Ramen Salad
Bakeaholic Mama-Ranch BLT Salad in Bacon Cups (6 slices of bacon were involved…6!!!)
The Grom Mom-Tropical Chicken Salad in a Papaya Boat
La Petite Pancake 
Steak grilled to a nice medium-rare is one of my favorite salad toppings, along with bacon. And cheese. Your salad turned out perfectly and I love your simple dressing in a Mason jar. That’s how we roll at my house, too. PS – loved your ‘Boomer’ arugula. Middle-age represent!
PPS – I have missed you, but I keep reminding myself that school is a higher calling. When classes dismiss, however, I expect more Mads. Lots more. And a little Josie action, as well. And maybe some wedding updates, if you don’t mind. 🙂
I second all of that…you know, since you have nothing else to do than update your legions of internet friends.
I’ve missed you ladies too! I can’t wait until I am back to farting around on the internet and cracking up with you two. 🙂
I about died from laughter with the Barefoot Contessa comment, “How easy is that?” This salad looks amazing! Can’t wait to dig in!
Your comment about ranch dressing cemented the fact that the Internet meant for us to become friends. Ew, ew, ew.
But THIS SALAD – gorgeous! Just so, so lovely. What a perfect spring/summer brunching/lunching/dinnering salad. And so many possibilities!
Also, yes, we need to see more Josie.
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You had me at steak… this full bloded carnivore is in love with this salad… though I will admit it… I am kinda ghetto… I love ranch dressing. Like seriously L O V E it. I eat it on everything… hence my salad choice today
What kind of foodie am I!!!
forgive my errors I am kinda special when it comes so typing on a touch pad and tend to ignore auto correct!
Can I just say that we are Meant to Be? Not only do I despise bottled ranch dressing BUT I also referenced KC & the Sunshine Band in my post today. Kismet is real.
The Barefoot Contessa Reference as well as the “good parmesan cheese” slayed me, Mads. I always love when you get to “that” part of one of her recipes, because you totally know it’s coming and that you’re just going to have to deal with scrambling to find something that would qualify as “good” in Ina’s eyes.