Do they have to be tossed? I make a few different salads and cut the heads like you would cut a loaf of bread. Instead of making 'wedges' I make slices. The dressing then gets into more of the lettuce, the bacon bits and tomatoes don't fall off and you can easily cut it without making a mess. There are three examples in this photo. I use a creamy dressing (pre-made) and everyone can put on as much or little as they'd care for. I cut the slices about 1-1/2 inches thick, but you can do it however you'd like. Top this with bacon bits, carrots, tomatoes, croutons, and the list goes on. Good luck!
Bev, this is my life when my family goes on vacation. Here are my rough recipes: https://food52.com/recipes/18955-beach-house-salad
https://food52.com/recipes/21108-wonderful-salad
Basically you need romaine--so easy to chop up and use as a base-- other greens and herbs that your family likes, some fruit or tomatoes, cheese, nuts or croutons for crunch, anything else your family likes like olives or peppers etc. I make salad every night, but I buy everything every 3-4 days. You can just make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar or lemon, salt, pepper. My family likes bottled dressings and to dress their salad themselves. I don't like that, but I don't fight it. Just make it easy on yourself. Also, figure a beach house won't have everything you need. My mother bought dollar store large plastic bowls and I use those to toss the salad. She could do that because they drove to the house; flying is more challenging but you might want to buy an inexpensive large bowl or two when you get there. If everyone has different food preferences, you could chop everything up and put it in separate bowls and make a salad bar. I've done that, too. The leftovers usually work the next day for a prepared salad. Good luck! And try to have fun......
What a great sounding salad and even better story. I now know what my 88 yo mom means when she says "oh honey, that bread is too bready..get that other one from La Brea tarpits". I giggle inside every time.
Bev, this is my life when my family goes on vacation. Here are my rough recipes: https://food52.com/recipes/18955-beach-house-salad
https://food52.com/recipes/21108-wonderful-salad
Basically you need romaine--so easy to chop up and use as a base-- other greens and herbs that your family likes, some fruit or tomatoes, cheese, nuts or croutons for crunch, anything else your family likes like olives or peppers etc. I make salad every night, but I buy everything every 3-4 days. You can just make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar or lemon, salt, pepper. My family likes bottled dressings and to dress their salad themselves. I don't like that, but I don't fight it. Just make it easy on yourself. Also, figure a beach house won't have everything you need. My mother bought dollar store large plastic bowls and I use those to toss the salad. She could do that because they drove to the house; flying is more challenging but you might want to buy an inexpensive large bowl or two when you get there. If everyone has different food preferences, you could chop everything up and put it in separate bowls and make a salad bar. I've done that, too. The leftovers usually work the next day for a prepared salad. Good luck! And try to have fun......
The set up is intriguing. Are you feeding them anything else? Can they do a rotation?
In any case, to answer the question as put, I would do two or three shops, each to cover 3-5 days and put out different fruits vegetables and nuts in sequence, so they don't feel they are getting (and in fact won't be getting) leftovers.
This is an excellent salad. You roast and dress the vegetables and protein in a nice vinaigrette. Then, after it marinates, you combine it with the salad greens. You can just skip the protein if you just want it to be a side salad. I'm on day 3 of the vegetables and they are even better today.
To minimize your time, my first suggestion is not use recipes which will force you to follow instructions and chase down ingredients.
Here's the approach I would take. Start with bags of prewashed salad greens. Add fresh seasonal items that require minimal prep, like cherry tomatoes, sliced almonds, crumbled cheese. Optionally, you could use leftovers from a previous meal: meats like chicken, pork, beef or random veggies.
For dressings, you will probably want 2-3 on hand and alternate between them. If your diners are picky, make the salads undressed and just put the dressing bottles on the table, let them decide what they want. It's up to you to decide whether you want to make your own dressings or go store bought.
By following this basic M.O., your time in the kitchen should be no more than 15-20 minutes per meal.
One caveat here. "Prewashed" bagged lettuce is ar higher risk for pathogens than head lettuce. The washing process can actually spread nasty bugs through many batches.
One caveat here. "Prewashed" bagged lettuce is ar higher risk for pathogens than head lettuce. The washing process can actually spread nasty bugs through many batches.
10 Comments
https://food52.com/recipes/21108-wonderful-salad
Basically you need romaine--so easy to chop up and use as a base-- other greens and herbs that your family likes, some fruit or tomatoes, cheese, nuts or croutons for crunch, anything else your family likes like olives or peppers etc. I make salad every night, but I buy everything every 3-4 days. You can just make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar or lemon, salt, pepper. My family likes bottled dressings and to dress their salad themselves. I don't like that, but I don't fight it. Just make it easy on yourself. Also, figure a beach house won't have everything you need. My mother bought dollar store large plastic bowls and I use those to toss the salad. She could do that because they drove to the house; flying is more challenging but you might want to buy an inexpensive large bowl or two when you get there. If everyone has different food preferences, you could chop everything up and put it in separate bowls and make a salad bar. I've done that, too. The leftovers usually work the next day for a prepared salad. Good luck! And try to have fun......
https://food52.com/recipes/21108-wonderful-salad
Basically you need romaine--so easy to chop up and use as a base-- other greens and herbs that your family likes, some fruit or tomatoes, cheese, nuts or croutons for crunch, anything else your family likes like olives or peppers etc. I make salad every night, but I buy everything every 3-4 days. You can just make a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar or lemon, salt, pepper. My family likes bottled dressings and to dress their salad themselves. I don't like that, but I don't fight it. Just make it easy on yourself. Also, figure a beach house won't have everything you need. My mother bought dollar store large plastic bowls and I use those to toss the salad. She could do that because they drove to the house; flying is more challenging but you might want to buy an inexpensive large bowl or two when you get there. If everyone has different food preferences, you could chop everything up and put it in separate bowls and make a salad bar. I've done that, too. The leftovers usually work the next day for a prepared salad. Good luck! And try to have fun......
In any case, to answer the question as put, I would do two or three shops, each to cover 3-5 days and put out different fruits vegetables and nuts in sequence, so they don't feel they are getting (and in fact won't be getting) leftovers.
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015005-escabeche-salad?action=click&module=Recipebox®ion=cooked&pgType=recipebox&rank=1
Voted the Best Reply!
Here's the approach I would take. Start with bags of prewashed salad greens. Add fresh seasonal items that require minimal prep, like cherry tomatoes, sliced almonds, crumbled cheese. Optionally, you could use leftovers from a previous meal: meats like chicken, pork, beef or random veggies.
For dressings, you will probably want 2-3 on hand and alternate between them. If your diners are picky, make the salads undressed and just put the dressing bottles on the table, let them decide what they want. It's up to you to decide whether you want to make your own dressings or go store bought.
By following this basic M.O., your time in the kitchen should be no more than 15-20 minutes per meal.
Good luck.