Salad

We always made this to take to Family Night suppers at church. Its official name was Congealed Fruit Salad, but it was known at our house as pink salad, because, well, it’s pink! Besides, anything with the word congealed in the title just sounds gross to me, and this is anything but.

I’m the hick who always asks the uptown restaurant waiter if they have Thousand Island dressing. They usually give me that look (you know the one), then politely inform me it is not on the menu. I know there are lots of wonderful dressings out there, and I’ve sampled most of them, but I always come back to this one. I usually whip it up and pour it over a big iceberg lettuce wedge.

There are as many varieties of coleslaw as there are shades of pink, especially in the South! A lot of coleslaw recipes have sugar as an ingredient, but this one gets that bit of sweetness from sweet salad pickles, which don’t mask the fresh flavors of the cabbage and carrots. We serve this every Fourth of July with Barbecued Pork Ribs (page 84) and Easy Baked Beans (page 133).

When it comes to potato salad, you like what you like. This recipe is mayonnaise-based, but if you like a mustard-based potato salad, just experiment a little. Add some yellow mustard and leave out a little bit of the mayonnaise. Make these recipes your own by finding out what works for you. Our traditional potato salad uses peeled potatoes, but unpeeled work too, and the skins add some color to your dish.

This is a great dressing. We use it on our Parc Vinet Salad (page 190), and it’s also the best with Belgian endive and blue cheese (page 191). Plus, it works to pimp any sauce that needs a sugarvinegar hit, it’s great on top of cold crab or lobster, and it doubles as a verjuice when you need to acidify a jus. If you have easy access to great apples (that is, you live somewhat close to an “apple belt,” as we do), this dressing will become a staple. Just mix it up and pour it into a plastic squirt bottle.

Back in the day, when there was Sally Wong, when there was yellow pepper, and when there was tuna, David was doing endive salad and roast chicken. Although nonrevolutionary, this salad is always delicious. It’s on the menu often, especially in the winter when the garden is under a snowbank and the Parc Vinet Salad (opposite page) is a distant memory. Use Stilton in this salad; it works much better than other blues.

This is only a Parc Vinet salad when the garden is lit with the floodlights of the Parc Vinet ballpark directly behind all three restaurants and we’re harvesting enough greens to fill a bowl. Although this light salad seems a bit un–Joe Beef, it is in fact the best partner to a browned-out meal of wine reductions, marrow, and other consorts. We use whatever herbs and greens we have to make it, and this is what you should do, too. Let’s say 40 percent bitter greens, 40 percent sweet greens, and the rest in fines herbes. Just don’t go and put in rosemary. If it’s got woodsy stems, keep it out of the bowl. And do not use commercial salad mix. That’s not the point of this salad.

Every Super Bowl spread needs a refreshing salad to counterbalance the array of must-have dips, cheesy snacks, and meaty mains. Because the elements of this are all chopped, it's a salad that's easy to toss, easy to serve, and best of all, easy to eat.

Chopped walnuts nicely complement the rich walnut oil in the dressing.

This dish flips conventional Southern cookery on its head. Rather than cooking greens nito submission, they’re quickly brined to soften their texture and mellow their bitterness, then married with the sweet, salty, and creamy elements of a composed salad.

A&M: Teresa wrote: "Seems to me beets and oranges are a classic winter salad combination that you see everywhere." But this is no run-of-the-mill beet and orange salad. Teresa explained, "My friend Sophie's dad, Jim Broderick, gave me the idea that really makes this salad great: fennel and orange rind in the dressing." She's right: this trick gives her winter salad lift and fragrance and makes you want to keep eating it.

This crisp, colorful salad is a refreshing accompaniment to any meal, whether you serve it after, before, or with the main course. The slightly sweet nature of fennel pairs well with radicchio's mild bitterness. The lemony olive vinaigrette and herbs keep the salad vibrant.

This salad is a traditional way to use up day-old bread; the dressing softens the bread and makes it a little more palatable. You can use fresh bread, but stale bread will hold up better under the dressing (super-fresh bread has a tendency to fall apart).

This hearty salad is a near-constant in our deli case and a favorite among guests and staff . Although the beets are the star of the show, the pickled onions play an important supporting role, adding textural interest and a vinegary punch. At the store, we cook the beets by baking them whole, in a deep roasting pan with 1 inch of water. For a small, at-home quantity I suggest steaming. It’s faster because steam gets hotter than boiling water (which maxes out at 212°F) and uses less energy than turning on the oven. However, if you prefer to roast or boil your beets, feel free—the results will be just as tasty.

This salad is a delightful interplay of sweet, creamy, tangy, and peppery flavors. If you prefer, you can swap in ricotta salata or a mild feta for the ricotta; both are saltier than fresh ricotta, so skip the seasoning with zest, salt, and pepper. Apricots have but a brief appearance even at the peak of their season. If you miss them, you can substitute with any other stone fruit. White nectarines, peaches, pluots, or plums would be particularly nice. In the fall, sliced fuyu persimmons are perfect. Whatever fruit you use, just make sure it’s ripe and flavorful.

This salad is a wonderful way to venture into the world of raw squash. Using the truffle version of pecorino isn’t absolutely critical, but its earthiness is a fantastic counterpoint to the brighter flavors of squash and lemon juice. For best results, use the smallest, firmest, freshest squash you can find— they’re easier to grate and taste better than the more mature ones. And because this salad is so simple (almost minimalist), the quality of your olive oil really counts.

This is one of our all-time classic salads. It’s easy to see why it’s so popular: it has the perfect combination of sweet fruit, crunchy nuts, tangy cheese, and tender spinach, bound together by a delicate vinaigrette. It’s substantial yet not too heavy, perfectly suited as an accompaniment to other dishes.

Brussels sprouts are rarely eaten raw, but they are amazing served this way. This salad is great served solo or as an accompaniment for pork chops, roast chicken, or even game meat. The fresh horseradish garnish is optional, but it lends a wonderful kick!