Lately I have improved my salad making according to the family! They love my green leaf salads with fruit, nuts, cheese, and usually some onion, scallions or red onion.
I made this salad recently and it was very good! - no recipe just a list of ingredients:

green and red leaf lettuce - wash, spin dry, chop med. large pieces, a big handful per person
red onion - sliced in very thin rings
Fuji or Gala apple - quartered, cored, sliced thin
toasted walnuts
crumbled bleu cheese
opt. seedless red grapes sliced in half

dressing:
2 TB cider vinegar
2 TB apple juice
1/2 t. salt
dash sugar or honey
1 t. Dijon mustard
6 TB extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

stir vinegar, juice, salt, sugar and mustard together in a bowl
slowly pour in oil while whisking
add pepper to taste

layer greens in a big bowl, then layer on onion, apples, walnuts, cheese, and grapes if using - drizzle on half of mixed dressing, toss well, then drizzle on rest of dressing, toss again, serve immediately

Janet....a simple Caesar would be wonderful as would a bowl of Starticella (sp?) no recipes here at the cottage but it's so easy.

I make it without egg. Place finely sliced spinach in a soup bowl, top with freshly grated parmesan, add some fresh gound pepper. Place the bowls at the table, with just the spinach, cheese and pepper. When it's time for dinner top with hot chicken broth....simple, tasty and it has a WOW factor when served at the table. Clive calls it cup a soup! LOL!

PS:I have sent you a couple of emails.....did you get them?

Teresa's salad sounds really good, but I'd use feta. I don't like bleu/ue.

ooh Sharon that does sound good..and WOW...

How about some steamed broccoli or brocolini? Little lemon zest and pinenuts on it?

Here is Ann's Stracciatella recipe. It's so easy and really good!

Stracciatella Soup
==================
Pot of homemade chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic
Bunch of Baby Spinach
2 eggs beaten
parmesan cheese
Optional, add some fresh grated nutmeg and/or some fresh lemon zest.
Bring pot of broth to a boil. Add two cracked cloves of garlic and simmer for a few minutes.

Add chopped spinach, simmer for another few minutes.
Beat eggs with salt and pepper and slowly add to broth stirring constantly.

Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Optional: I beat some of the cheese into the egges before adding to the soup.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table - Soups and Stews

How about a Panzanella Bread Salad?
Sometimes I simplify and only add bread, tomatoes, olives, and basil with a garlicky vinegarette.

Here is a link that might be useful: Panzanella bread salad

My family is usually far more into savory/spicy stuff rather than sweets, but they do love this dressing despite the high sugar content. It might be a nice counterpoint to the acidic tomato sauces.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 c. oil
2/3 c. white vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 tsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. mustard (I've used both dry mustard and plain old yellow hot dog mustard)
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced

Just measure and stir. This makes enough for at least 16-20 servings -- more if you dress your salads lightly. Just be sure to stir well again immediately before using because the sugar sinks to the bottom quickly. It's best at room temperature because it gets very, very thick when chilled.

For the salad, I mix spinach and red leaf lettuce, slices of red onion, and lots of crumbled bacon, topped with coarsely-grated Swiss or gruyere. Sliced mushrooms are also a nice addition.

How about an antipasta plate to welcome your guests, then stick to the simple salad/bracciole/gnocchi/bread menu for dinner itself?

Best of luck in your new job!

sm

The Braciole are steak rolls with a meatball type stuffing, browned and then simmered in tomato sauce,

This sounds good. Can you post the recipe please. TY.

I would stick to a simple Mediterranean salad and not mix in more flavours other than that of fresh tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, lettuce, olives, olive oil and vinegar....with perhaps a slice of avocado. It just goes so well with the rest of the Italian menu.

SharonCb

This is a favorite salad among everyone (that I know) who's ever eaten it:

1 cup oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all.

Pour over romaine or mixed greens, rice noodles, fresh mandarin oranges & sliced almonds.

This makes enough dressing for 2 huge salads.

Shaun, I love that salad. Haven't made it in years.

Nancy

Nancy, no matter where we go if I bring this salad, everyone loves it and there is always at least one person who wants the recipe.

Even my husband loves it and that's really saying something! I took it to a holiday lunch last year and my sister in law's, picky eater Father in law LOVED it too. Wow!

With a rich italian meal like that, I'd go with a veggie tray as an antipasta (add some marinated stuff from a jar if you want) and then a simple leafy salad with a good vinagrette. Mix your leafy stuff so you have a palette of light, med., and dark green and red ones. I buy the shredded purple slaw for an additional touch of color. I folks want more veggies in their salad they can borrow some of the veggie tray stuff. And the nice thing about a mixed tray of raw vegetables is folks can just pick the veggies they want, you don't have to worry about who likes what in a salad.

For the tray I'd do carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, a yellow pepper, and some celery hearts. Then add jarred mixed pickled peppers (or roasted ones) artichoke hearts and marinated mushrooms. Maybe some fancy olives. A store bough creamy ceaser dip, (I like Ken's brand). Easy peasy!

OH I need to share this salad trick with you guys. Maybe some of you already know it, but my MIL just remembered this.

If you mix up your salad and put the dressing all over it and there is some left over - put a small saucer upside down in a Tupperware (or rubbermaid, etc.) bowl, then put the leftover salad on top of the saucer and put the lid on your bowl.

As it sits in the fridge, the dressing all drips down under the saucer and your salad will remain crisp! When you serve it, just pour the dressing on it again from the bottom of the bowl.

Try it and see if it works for you too.

I like Lpinks idea of an antipasto. Everyone picks what they want and it is really easy to assemble. Here is a "do ahead" recipe that I make a lot for times like that....

Marinated Antipasto

3 large carrots, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 large handfuls fresh green beans
2 cups broccoli florets
2 red bell peppers, roasted and cut into strips
2 yellow bell peppers, roasted and cut into strips
a 12-ounce jar peperoncini drained well
3/4 pound black or green brine-cured olives or a ombination
3/4 pound marinated or plain bocconcini (small mozzarella balls, available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets)
1/2 pound pepperoni or soppressata (hard Italian sausage, available at Italian markets, some butcher shops, and, some specialty foods shops), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and the slices quartered
2 7-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained well
2 cans Hearts of Palm, cut into 1/2 inch lengths
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves plus, if desired, parsley sprigs for garnish

Vinaigrette Dressing  about 2 cups, use your favorite recipe

In a large saucepan of boiling water blanch the carrots for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender, drain them, and plunge them into a bowl of ice and cold water. Repeat for the Green Beans and Broccoli. Let the vegetables cool and drain them well. In a large bowl toss together the carrots, Green Beans, Broccoli, the roasted peppers, the peperoncini, the olives, the bocconcini, the pepperoni, the artichoke hearts, the Hearts of Palm, Vinaigrette dressing, the minced parsley until the antipasto is combined well and chill the antipasto, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Transfer the antipasto to a platter, garnish it with the parsley sprigs, and serve it at room temperature.

Yep, think I will do an antipasto tray. And I was going to serve Chase's parmesan blue cheese toasts, both for starters with wine. So then for dinner I will do a big ceasar salad, and some peppers,onions, mushrooms and sausages sauteed together.

There, now I can finish my grocery list.

Shaun, that salad trick sounds cool, often have some leftover and I hate it soggy so I pitch it. I am going to try this if I have any left over tomorrow!!

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I couldn't resist!

Nancy

"There's always room for Jello" but Nancy that's so nasty looking I ran out of room!

Mindy

Ew Nancy! hahahahah!!!!

Janet, glad you decided on what to make. It all sounded so good.

LOLOL Nancy!

Okay - I have GOT to 'fess up. When I was just a youmng 'un Jell-o salads were still quite popular. I loved the colors and the "magic" that kept stuff suspended in those bright colors (I was like 5 or 6) so I begged my mom to buy some Jell-o. She bought a couple of packages and let me have at it.

Jell-o salad was one of the first things I ever "cooked" in my life. Okay, I know what you are going to say, it isn't cooked! But, I got to fill the kettle, put it on the stove, heat it up and pour the hot water by myself with just a cautious eye from mom in the background. Then after the stirring and initial set-up, I got to decide what went into the partially set jell-o, wash and clean the fruit or veg and do the "placement". Those are decisions that should not be left to a 6 yo - at least not if the adult that is going to be subjected to trying it is faint of heart. LOLOLOLOLOLOL! Once I had "mastered" the hot water thing, I started getting creative with what to put into the jell-o. It is a miracle that my parents survived all those "tastes" I insisted they have.....

Alexa