I’ve barely torn the fake eyelashes off my eyes and rinsed away last nights wedding festivities for my best friend, but I had to tell you all about this salad. It’s a game changer. If you thought you couldn’t stomach the trendy “super green”, I’d put money on your change of heart. On the other hand, maybe you’re a huge fan of kale like me and just looking for a fresh idea, well read on my friend.
Tyler Florence has a fantastic Instagram account, he’s more active on there than you might expect. Earlier this week, he posted a photo of the modified Waldorf salad from his test kitchen, it was beautiful. Needless to say I was intrigued and owe him the credit for my inspiration. We all remember George’s “big salad” moment, and I wouldn’t want any misunderstandings.
I decided to throw it all together for lunch before heading out the door on Friday afternoon, amazed I had time to even do so. It was exactly the fuel I needed for the jam packed wedding filled weekend that lay ahead of me. Sweet and savory, tangy, crunchy, and filling! Also, It’s apple picking season here in New England (yay!) and a great way to work some local produce into your lunch bag.
I am a list maker, I live by them. I get a quasi-sick satisfaction from crossing things off of them. There are more of you like me out there, right?
Of course I had one ready to go to keep myself straight and on time. My day started off with a much needed hot yoga class with one of my favorite instructors. This was almost as crucial as picking up my dress from the tailor, seriously. Yoga grounds me and I needed it on this particular day to settle the nerves that were building up over the toast I was expected to give the following night. Being in the spotlight has never been easy for me, I shamefully almost failed two different courses in college because of my fear. The Matron of Honor speech was part of the contract. It was the first important one I was responsible for in years and I’m proud to say that I delivered it without falling off of my heels like I thought I might, or blacking out. So cheers to that!
While I’m incredibly jealous that they’ll be honeymooning for the next two weeks in Tahiti (the jerks), I’m also overwhelmed with happiness for them. The weekend was a huge success for all and now sadly, it’s back to reality. Time to get ready for the work week –
Chopped Chicken and Kale Waldorf Salad, Herbed-Buttermilk Dressing
Serves 1 (BIG salad)
Ingredients:
3-4 leaves of curly kale, stem removed and chopped
1 split chicken breast – cooked and chopped
1 handful of red grapes, halved
1/2 of your favorite type of apple, sliced into match sticks
1 rib of celery – roughly chopped
1-2 tbsp of crumbled gorgonzola
2 tbsp of chopped walnuts
Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.
To make the dressing:
1/3 cup of fat free buttermilk
2 tbsp of mayo
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
a palmful of snipped chives and chopped flat leaf parsley
Sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Add everything to a bowl and whisk with a fork until smooth. Adjust the ingredients to your taste. For more body, increase the mayo 1 teaspoon at a time.
~ K
Since this was first posted, I have probably made this salad, or variations on it, at least 20 or so times. I eat salads until I get tired of salads. Then along comes a lovely new combination like this. Kale is the new rock star of the salad world for sure and I loved it in this salad. Over the months, I’ve substituted all kinds of different things, switching out walnuts for almond slices, blue cheese for parmesan, and spinach for kale. The thing that seems to always bring it together is the lovely buttermilk dressing. Now I always have some in the fridge. It’s the most wonderful, lightest, flavorful dressing. I just love it.
Wow! This makes me smile, Mary!