Big Names. Big Salads.

By now, you may be bored with the summer garden tomato and cucumber salad. I add Walla Walla Sweet onions or a purple onion for color, adding salt, pepper, and seasoned rice wine vinegar. It's simple. I make it in the morning and let it marinate for the day, and I have the perfect summer salad. It's a salad that I will actually crave when the temperatures rise. 

We're now in the fall season, but this doesn't mean we must give up on salad. We can add heartier ingredients to our salads. For me, these additions are often items that I already have in my pantry. 

La Scala Chopped Salad

The La Scala chopped salad was created in the 1950s by Chef Jean Leon at La Scala in Beverly Hills. It was a simple salad made of iceberg lettuce, salami, marinated chickpeas, and cheese. The history of La Scala claims the salad became a cult favorite by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and President John F. Kennedy. 

The original version includes garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cheese, salami, and iceberg lettuce. However, to make the salad "extra," add diced tomatoes, pickled pepperoncini, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, or artichoke hearts. La Scala also serves this chopped salad without salami but with a choice of turkey or tuna. Me? I prefer the original. This recipe feeds one big helping or two moderate helpings. 

1 small head of iceberg lettuce or a mixture of iceberg and romaine, chopped

1 ⁄4 lb Italian salami, julienned

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 15 1/2 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and well-drained

Leon Dressing
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

1/4 cup grated pecorino romano and/or parmesan, plus a little extra to top the salad

Classic Waldorf Salad

The Waldorf salad is a memory from my childhood. My mother often made it during the fall when the apples came into season, especially the local apples from the Oregon border. We often had this salad with roast pork for Sunday dinners. At least once or twice every fall, I make a large bowl of this salad and nibble on it for a couple of days. It's fresh and crunchy, and depending on the dressing's ingredients, it's almost fat-free. My family used the recipe from the New York Times. Mom used mayonnaise (always Best Foods/Hellman's) for the dressing, while Grandma used Miracle Whip. 

This salad is named after the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, where, in the late 1800s, a Swiss-American restaurateur named Oscar Tschirky created this crunchy fresh salad for a charity ball. He developed many signature recipes for the hotel and was known far and wide as “Oscar of the Waldorf."  In 1959 The New York Times wrote, "Millions who never visited the Waldorf owe him (Oscar) a debt." 

2 medium ripe apples, Braeburns, Jonagolds, Honey Crisp, and Granny Smith are always a good choice 

2 ribs of celery, chopped

1/2 cup of your favorite mayonnaise (or Grandma's Miracle Whip)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

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  Peel the apple (or not) and cut it into halves. Remove the core and chop into 1/4-inch dice. In a medium bowl, mix celery, diced apples, mayonnaise, and optional nuts; season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss well. To be "fancy," arrange the salad on lettuce leaves. This salad makes two servings, but for a larger group, double the ingredients. 
• Add dried cranberries or sliced grapes for a little extra brightness in the salad. For an extra bit of savory, add ½ cup crumbled blue or feta cheese. 
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• The Classic Cobb Salad

The Cobb Salad is like a "girl dinner," as it has all my favorite ingredients. No, this salad is not made from corn cobs. It typically includes a bed of lettuce topped with bacon, hard-boiled eggs, chicken, tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese, and a drizzle of authentic French dressing (a red wine/Dijon mustard vinaigrette) . 

Me? I am happy with ranch dressing or my mother's Bleu cheese dressing. This salad is filling. The truth? There are no rules as one can always remove or add their favorite items to the salad. I like all the ingredients, but sometimes I add sliced Californian black olives. When looking at a restaurant lunch menu, and if I see Cobb salad on the list, I bite (literally). I don't frequent Red Robin often, when I do, I order the Red Robin Avo-Cobb-O-Salad. 

The history of this famous salad is often debated. Still, it's generally attributed to Robert Howard Cobb, co-owner of the famous and now former Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles. It's been said that Cobb created this salad in 1937 after a long day and needing a late-night snack. He made his salad by using leftovers from the restaurant's kitchen and mixing them with French dressing. This recipe serves four or two generous servings. 

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved

1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

2 chicken breasts, shredded (or a breaded chicken breast, sliced)

1 cup cherry/grape tomatoes, halved

4 ounces of crumbled blue cheese

6 slices cooked bacon, chopped

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced

2 scallions (green onions), bias-cut (at a roughly 45-degree angle), thinly sliced

"French" Red Wine Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon shallots, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 fluid ounces red wine vinegar

6 fluid ounces olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine the shallot, mustard, and vinegar. Gradually add the oil while whisking constantly. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and the acid/oil balance to taste. 

Poach, air fry, or roast chicken breasts. Shred or slice. Add chopped romaine lettuce to two large plates or platters. Top the lettuce with the ingredients in a line or decorative fashion. 

These salads are so filling and easy to prepare that you will no longer have to worry about thanking George for buying you one of Elaine's Big Salads (apologies to Seinfeld.)