At the restaurant, we used to cut up the leftover sourdough baguettes, drizzle them with lots of garlic butter (fresh garlic) and toast them on cookie sheets in the oven. They require monitoring! New prep cooks always burnt a pan or two up because they thought they could do something else while the croutons were toasting! I loved it if there was just a wee bit of burnt edge to them. The favorite nibble for waiters wanting to nosh was one of those wonderful, garlicky croutons dipped into a dish of our thick blue cheese dressing. Yum! I like experimenting with different breads for croutons. Rye bread makes wonderful croutons with a difference, as do wheat breads. Sometimes I like to make a batch of mixed bread croutons, it adds interest to a plain tossed salad.

And now for something a little different: This is the chicken salad that was served for years at the annual Antique Show in Salisbury, NC. I think it is the only recipe my dear MIL ever used. Cook two large hens (5-6 pounds each) until tender, cool, and cut white meat in large pieces, dark meat into smaller bits. Mix with the cooked dressing that has been cooled and let stand overnight. Cooked Dressing: 2 TB flour 2 TB sugar 2 t. salt 2 TB butter 2 eggs, beaten 2 t. dry mustard 1 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar Mix dry ingredients; make a paste with part of the water. Then add in the eggs and remaining liquids and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Cook the dressing before mixing with the cut up chicken. The next day, add to chicken/dressing mixture: 2 bunches of celery, chopped fine, juice of two lemons, mayonnaise to the right consistency, red cayenne pepper, and additional salt to taste. Mix well, chill and serve on crisp lettuce. Another good recipe, a contender for the mythical "tea room" is this Chicken and Apricot salad with Double Mustard Dressing: 3 lb. boneless chicken breasts, poached just until tender, cooled to room temp 1 cup dried apricots, cut into 1/4" strips 1/3 cup cream sherry 3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped 4 scallions, green and white parts, sliced on the diagonal 1/2 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted 3 TB chopped fresh rosemary, or less to taste Double Mustard Mayonnaise 2 egg yolks 2 TB fresh lemon juice 2 TB grainy Dijon mustard 3/4 cup vegetable oil 2/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup honey mustard salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Cut up the poached chicken breasts into 2" x 3/4" strips and place in a large bowl. Place the apricots and sherry in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, add the apricots and liquid to the chicken. Add the celery, scallions, almonds, and rosemary to the chicken mixture in the bowl and toss to combine. Prepare mayonnaise: In a food processor with a tight lid and fitted with the steel blade, add the eggs, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard and process for 10 seconds. With the machine running, stream in the veg. oil and the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add in the honey mustard and process smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Blend the salad with the mayonnaise. Refrigerate in a covered bowl for at least 2 hours. Serve on lettuce leaves with a sprig of fresh rosemary for garnish. Source: Nantucket Open-House Cookbook, Sarah Leah Chase.

Around here they make a different kind of Taco Salad for large gatherings. 1 lb ground beef 1 onion, chopped 1 pkg taco seasoning 1 can kidney beans small can olives 1 chopped tomato 1 head lettuce, shredded 1 large bag Dorito's - Nacho flavor, crushed 1 bottle Catalina or Thousand Island dressing 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Brown hamburger and onion. Add taco seasoning according to mix directions. In a LARGE bowl mix seasoned beef, beans, olives, and tomato. Right before serving, mix in lettuce, Doritos, and cheese. This is really good and is great for a crowd.

We eat lots of salads. About half the time it is the main course. It's a "build your own" affair, with all of the veggies in separate bowls, sort of buffet style. DH sometimes grills meat to cut into the salad. Other times he cooks ground turkey, chicken, or beef with a package of taco seasoning mix and tops with cheese. After building our salad, a huge scoop of this goes on top. Then my choice of fat-free dressing (they're a lot tastier than they were in the old days). I can eat a HUGE bowl of this and still lose weight. I like a bowl bigger than my salad so I can mix everything up. He calls it my "Jethro" bowl, LOL.