Canlis Salad - wow, amazing recipe

[Tom P]

Saveur did a great cover story on 12 restaurants that matter, with recipes from each. I am working my way through them. From a Seattle restaurant called Canlis was a recipe for their signature salad:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Ca...

I make salads of all kinds all the time. They are good, my salads. People agree. But I've now made this twice, and the consensus is 'This is the best salad you've ever made!' So much for my homemade recipes. Anyway, give it a try. Do it as written the first time... the way you cook the bacon, and the amount of herbs, etc, is just right. I am not even a huge fan of mint but it somehow works.

[The Dairy Queen]

It sounds pretty good. I've bookmarked this thread. Did you check out the other recipes from the same issue? Robuchon's potatoes puree that call for a pound of butter for every 2 lbs of potatoes?

~TDQ

[kchurchill5]

I haven't checked it out yet, but butter and potatoes, what could be bad about that? That is my kind of comfort food

[The Dairy Queen]

Oh, I'm sure it's delicious, but it is remarkably rich.

~TDQ

[kchurchill5]

Just close your eyes and think like Paula Deen :) I don't use too much butter usually but do love it. I indulge now and then, but who doesn't.

[Samalicious]

The guy in The Dean And Deluca Cookbook describes The Robuchon Variation as "a potato-flavored butter puree that makes your whole body glow." Word.

[kchurchill5]

Potato flavored butter, OMG, I've gone to heaven!!

[The Dairy Queen]

HA! That's pretty good.

~TDQ

[Sherri]

The 2# potatoes: 1# butter is same ratio as Robuchon's 1991 book "Simply French" written with Patricia Wells (pg.205). I can tell you these are among the best potatoes I've ever tasted - use great butter and freshly dug potatoes if you can find them. Worth the splurge!

[kchurchill5]

Well never been to Seattle but I just gave this recipe to my friend for Easter dinner and they raved. He had never made it before and said his family couldn't get enough of it. A friend from Plant City FL gave it to me over 20 years ago. We vacationed together at a central FL lake and took turns cooking each night and one night she made an Italian dish wish this salad. Everyone said it was the best ever. And ever since then I make it all the time. A later I take care of and cook for loves it, although it isn't the best health wise for her, but insists I cook it now and then.

It is a similar egg recipe, but for those who like the taste of the above salad I think it may be similar in taste. Mine doesn't have mint, but does have oregano and similar ingredients.

I like mixed greens (but use your favorite greens), grape tomatoes cut in half, thin half moon sliced cucumber, red onion thin sliced and I use turkey bacon, but you can use real if you want. I only use a few slices for flavor. NOTE: feel free to add black olives or red peppers, any of your favorite salad toppings. But these are my favorite for this salad
OPTIONAL: Your favorite croutons

Dressing: It is a slightly warm dressing which is really good with this salad.
2 eggs beaten; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 water/ 14 cup cider vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; s/p to taste. Mix the water, sugar, vinegar and seasoning and nuke for 30 seconds on medium till the sugar dissolves. Add the beaten eggs and stir well. Nuke another 30 sec of medium low, remove and stir, then another 30 secs until the mixture is warm. Cook slow and low so you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Toss the warm dressing with the salad. Quick and easy and a great salad.

Any ways, just thought I would pass it on.

[operagirl]

Darn, when I saw the words "salad" and "amazing," I was expecting something healthy. A cup of cheese, a half pound of bacon, 2 tbsp. of butter, a quarter cup of olive oil, and an egg . . . no wonder it tastes good!

Edit: forgot the 4 slices of white bread. Whoever can eat this salad without ballooning gets my envious glare.

[Tom P]

I am smiling... but why does 'amazing' connote healthy? For me, all the ingredients are at least natural, not processed. I did use a really good rustic bread, though, not white bread, for the croutons, which were as good as could be.

[operagirl]

Oh, I just thought salad sounded healthy, and amazing sounded, well, amazing! Got my ears perked.

[Samalicious]

The recipe serves 4, not 1.

[operagirl]

I know.

[dfrostnh]

That looks pretty good but I have a question. Did you use peppermint or spearmint ?

[Tom P]

You know... I just picked up 'mint' at the store, in the fresh herb section. It did not specify. I'd say if you have a choice, pick the one you most prefer?

[oakjoan]

Thanks for this Tom. I actually have the Saveur and have also eaten at Canlis a couple of times. I'd forgotten all about it, including the salad. Looks like it's a variation of the old standby Caeser Salad. One of my all-time favorite salads. No anchovies, though.

[clepro]

I'd use spearmint. Which is probably what was in your package, because spearmint, and less frequently curly mint, are the most commonly available culinary mints.

Were the leaves kelly green with jagged edges? That's spearmint.
If the leaves were smaller, paler and with curled edges, curly mint.
If small, dark and a little shiny, peppermint.

[dfrostnh]

thanks to both of you for answering this. I generally prefer spearmint or curly mint. Without tasting a recipe ahead of time, I like to make it as close to the original as possible so that surely it will taste like it's suppose to.

[Tom P]

It was indeed spearmint I used (I checked at the market yesterday).

[Tom P]

I checked today - I think it was Spearmint I used