Cobb Salad

Think all salads are created equal? This (calorie-laden, but delicious) salad is a cut above many others, with three food groups represented and three different proteins. The salad takes just as long to make as more traditional meals due to the variety of ingredients involved, but it really is special and delicious.

Ingredients:

Dressing (note that you might just want to make a half batch if you don't use a lot of salad dressing)

• 3/4 cup canola oil

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard or Dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• Salt & pepper, to taste

Salad

• 1 head of either iceberg or romaine lettuce, cored and shredded (or be more creative, with mixed greens from your CSA basket)

• 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

• 6 strips cooked bacon, roughly chopped

• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (or substitute chopped devilled eggs for an extra special treat)

• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Make the dressing: Combine the canola oil, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, sugar, and garlic in a blender (or a bowl, then blend with an immersion blender). Purée the ingredients to make a smooth dressing and season with salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside.

2. Make the salad: On a (very) large platter, spread the lettuce/greens to cover the entire surface of the platter, then arrange the blue cheese, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, chicken, and avocado on top of the greens in neat rows. To serve, drizzle the salad with dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, toss everything together in a bowl. Yum!

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen