Tuesday, May 01, 2007

I love a Big Salad...


Elaine: They have big salads.
George: I've never seen a big salad.
Elaine: They have a big salad.
George: Is that what I ask for? The BIG salad?
Elaine: It's okay, you don't…
George: No, no, Hey I'll get it. What's in the BIG salad?
Jerry: Big lettuce, big carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs.
Thanks to the character of Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), restaurants everywhere have got the idea that the BIG Salad is dear to the culinary heart of every woman, (it is ... right people?!?) We have some really great big salads around here. I love the sweet pork salad at Costa Vida and the Grilled Lime Chicken Bajio Salad at Bajio. If I have to make it myself, I like to make this BBQ Chicken salad. If you want the recipe... you slow cook some chicken breasts in your favorite BBQ Sauce and shred the chicken once it's cooked and then put whatever you like with it... or in my case, whatever I have on hand. It can be fancier with some corn strips, and drizzled BBQ sauce on top of the whole. I like making a pastry bag by snipping the corner of a baggie, or you can just pile the stuff on and eat it.
I have 2 big salad recipes that I make quite frequently. My family is so over them. But, I like them both because it seems like a lot of food, but calorie wise it is really is not. I always use a low-fat buttermilk based dressing and low-fat cheese on the top and then chicken... after that the rest is vegetable material.
The thing is... I wanted a Big Salad bowl. Putting your Big Salad on a plate is no good and I always spill it that way. Finally after years of searching for the perfect Big Salad bowl, I found the one pictured above for five dollars at Kohls. Happiness. (I bought 3 of them, but have mostly used just one... people around here say... "Um.. can I just have my chicken and a little salad on the side.." They don't get the whole.. "Big Salad" thing.

7 comments:

Michelle said...

Okay now you have done it, I must have a big salad! Wm out of town this week so now I am definitely going to bajio getting me a big salad and renting the queen! Thanks for finishing my great idea!

allison said...

I, too, love a big salad. My perfect salad bowl is from Target. Now, I seriously need to go shopping for some lettuce...

Maya Papaya said...

Hi Tiffany - is there a way I can contact you, I'm not seeing an email address...

Was wanting to ask you if you could make a love box for my Violet. Like a violet(s) and maybe with her name on it???

What do you think?

babyfied (at) bellsouth.net

Janice said...

I've always wanted to try Costa Vida. Is it worth not going to Cafe Rio?

love.boxes said...

Janice, if you like really good tortillas, then you'll love Costa Vida... very, very similar(the sweet pork and lots of the other things are the same recipe), but I love the Costa Tortillas the best. If you go to one that has longboard icecream... try it! It's amazing. :)

Mumsy said...

This totally made me laugh! We must both be on a salad kick. We ate our sweet pork salad for dinner tonight--well, I should say "I" ate it. My husband is so over those, too. But I never will be.

I need to move back to UT and get some Cafe Rio AND Costa Vida.

You are right about the dressing....all about the dressing.

Lilli in Vancouver said...

I'm vegetarian, so no meat in mine. But I put all kinds of other stuff in it...nuts, steamed veggies, beans, etc. I've been eating it out of a big stainless steel mixing bowl, but Golly I've love to have a dedicated "Big Salad Bowl" :)