Shaved Fennel Salad with Maple Smoked Salmon

Shaved Fennel Salad with Maple Smoked Salmon
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Welcome to the salad course of my 2021 Holiday Menu. Admittedly not my favorite course but a necessary course. As I’ve mentioned before, I am no great fan of salads. I do enjoy veggies but I find a bowlful of greens to be a daunting prospect. So generally, I like to distract myself with cheese, nuts, and hunks of bread. This approach works exceptionally well when you’re making a meal out of your salad. It’s not as successful when you’re putting together a salad for a multi-course experience. Consequently, today’s Shaved Fennel Salad is a little overwhelming. It could easily be a meal on its own. But hey, it’s Christmas, so going all out is kind of the name of the game even when it comes to salad.

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Smoked Meat Chopped Salad with Rye Croutons

Smoked Meat Chopped Salad with Rye Croutons
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There are many reasons to love the city of Montreal. But the smoked meat has got to be in the top five. Sure, everyone bangs on about the poutine, but for my money, Montreal’s most iconic culinary achievement is this king among deli meats. If you haven’t had the pleasure of snagging a Montreal smoked meat sandwich before, allow me to explain. Basically, the sandwich is comprised of thin slices of peppercorn-coated meat piled high between two slices of light rye bread. Mustard is an optional component but for me, there is nothing optional about it. Today’s Smoked Meat Chopped Salad attempts to capture the spirit of that legendary sandwich in a salad format. And while it’ll never beat tearing into a smoked meat sandwich in the city that birthed it, this salad does come pretty damn close.

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Caesar Salad – Overthinking Classics

Caesar Salad - Overthinking Classics
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It’s time for another installment of my ongoing video series Overthinking Classics. Today, I’m tackling Caesar Salad. I chose this much-beloved salad as my next subject because I felt it dovetailed nicely with the previous episode, which covered the ins and outs of crafting the perfect Roast Chicken. Chicken Caesar Salad anyone? If you do decide to go all out and make both, I suggest saving the breast meat from your roast chicken for this salad. I’m usually a dark meat person but in the case of salads, I feel white meat is the best option. So let’s dive into this Caesar Salad.

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Whipped Feta and Watermelon Salad

Whipped Feta and Watermelon Salad
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The best part of summer? Chips, dips, and the like become dinner food. In the summer, snacking is king. It makes perfect sense. When we aren’t held to a schedule, I believe humans are natural-born grazers. When there is sun to soak up, who wants to spend time in front of a stove? Almost every crop and piece of produce is at its peak and the less is more approach is the most successful. And when heatwaves roll in, a plate of spaghetti and meatballs isn’t top of mind for anyone. What is far more likely to capture the imagination? Beer, fridge cold hummus, torn pita bread, and this Whipped Feta with Watermelon Salad.  

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