Seafood Cobb Salad With a Florida Twist
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 20
- Yields:
-
4 large salads, 8 small salads
- Serves:
- 4-8
ingredients
-
Salad
- 2 lbs seafood (shrimp, crab, mixed seafood. I buy a good can of quality crab meat for this salad and some medium or)
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped fine (or you can use a mix of romaine and mixed greens if you want)
- 12 slices hickory smoked turkey bacon (sauteed, baked or microwaved and chopped)
- 1 1⁄2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in quarters (you can use plums too if you have them on hand)
- 2 shallots, thin sliced
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 2 avocados, diced
- 1 mango, diced
-
Dressing
- 2⁄3 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons capers
-
Garnish
- 1 (8 ounce) container gorgonzola
- 1⁄2 cup fine chopped walnuts
directions
- Now I am sure most of you know how Cobb salads are put together. And most of us have had them at some point. A lettuce base and then stripes of the different ingredients layered over the top of the salad. A creamy blue cheese or sometimes a vinaigrette and "Cobb Salad." I have had probably 5 versions, all claiming to be traditional, but if you go back to the traditional Brown Derby Recipe -- that is classic. So this is my semi classic flavors with a twist.
- Bacon -- I like to cook my bacon right in the microwave. Just place the bacon on a paper plate or microwavable plate and top with a paper towel, then 4-6 slices of bacon, then another paper towel, then 4-6 slices of bacon, then another paper towel. Now I make up to 3 layers at a time -- but always top with a paper towel. Takes 1 layer about 3 minutes; 2 layers about 4; and 3 layers about 6 minutes. No clean up. Now you can always bake it or pan saute if you prefer, but use good quality smokey or hickory turkey bacon. Cook until crisp and then remove to a plate to let cool. Then chop into small bits.
- Base -- Chopped mixed greens and mixed with the shallots and put on each plate as the base. Or you can use a small serving bowl which works well too. I sometimes like to top with just a little salt and pepper.
- Dressing -- Mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, garlic, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper, and capers in a small bowl or measuring cup and set to the side.
- Layers -- Start right to left or left to right. Who cares? This is just layers the vegetables like little stripes on top of the salad. My ideal version -- I start with egg, then tomato, a little seafood, then avocado, then bacon, then mango, seafood, and finish with tomato. Very simple. If you have one vegetable or fruit that is more than the other, don't worry, just make an extra stripe. It doesn't matter on the order or ingredients. Just add it to the salad as you like. If you like more tomato, by all means, more avocado, go ahead. No mango, don't worry, try papaya or peaches. These are just my favorites.
- Dressing and Topping -- Now, top with with walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and top with the dressing. That is it! It is an amazing salad. Elegant, worthy of a dinner party, but still great for a weekend dinner. Make the same recipe to make 4 small salads or cut in half to make just 2.
- I cut the recipe in half all the time to make it just for me and my SO. I like to make 2 small salads and then serve with a big bowl of warm creamy roasted tomato soup (usually from the freezer), a nice slice of baguette (also from the freezer), and you have an amazing dinner!
- I pulled up a local restaurant and for a Cobb Salad with a cup of soup and bread stick they charged $18 and that was just chicken. I will guarantee you that you will make 4 giant salads with seafood NOT chicken and it will cost you about the same as 1 for lunch. It is a great salad. ENJOY!
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
SarasotaCook
Sarasota, Florida
<p>Growing up in Michigan, I spent my summers at my cottage in the Northern part up by Traverscity. On a lake, big garden which had all the vegetables you could imagine. My mom taught school, so summers were our vacation time. Gramps and I fished all the time so fresh fish was always on the menu, perch, blue gill, walleye and small and large mouth bass. At age 5 I learned how to clean my own fish and by 10 I was making dinner, canning vegetables and fruits, making pies and fresh breads. Apples fresh picked every fall, strawberries in June and July, Cherries at the Cherry Festival in Traverscity. So fresh foods always were a big part. Mom worked as a teacher during the year so dinner was more traditional with pot roasts, meatloaf, etc, but it seemed we always had fresh fruits and vegetables as part of the meal. Mom also didn't use as many spices as I do, but times were different back then. <br /> <br />So ... My motto is ... There is NO Right and NO Wrong with cooking. So many people thing they have to follow a recipe. But NO ... a recipe is a method and directions to help and teach someone. Cooking is about personal tastes and flavors. I love garlic ... and another person may not. I like heat ... but you may not. Recipes are building blocks, NOT text ground in stone. Use them to make and build on. Even my recipes I don't follow most times --They are a base. That is what cooking is to me. A base of layer upon layer of flavors. <br /> <br />I still dislike using canned soups or packaged gravies/seasoning ... but I admit, I do use them. I have a few recipes that use them. But I try to strive to teach people to use fresh ingredients, they are first ... so much healthier for you ... and second, in the end less expensive. But we all have our moments including me. <br /> <br />So, lets see ... In the past, I have worked as a hostess, bartender, waitress, then a short order cook, salad girl in the kitchen, sort of assistant chef, head chef, co owner of a restaurant ... now a consultant to a catering company/restaurant, I cater myself and I'm a personal chef for a elderly lady. I work doing data entry during the day, and now and then try to have fun which is not very often due to my job(s). <br /> <br />I have a 21 year old who at times is going on 12, aren't they all. Was married and now single and just trying to enjoy life one day at a time. I'm writing a cookbook ... name is still in the works but it is dedicated to those people who never learned, to cook. Single Moms, Dads, or Just Busy Parents. Those individuals that think you can't make a great dinner for not a lot of money. You can entertain on a budget and I want people to know that gourmet tasting food doesn't have to be from a can of soup or a box, and healthy food doesn't come from a drive through. There are some really good meals that people can make which are healthy and will save money but taste amazing. So I guess that is my current goal. We all take short cuts and I have no problem with that - I do it too. I volunteer and make food for the homeless every couple of months, donating my time and money. I usually make soup for them and many times get donations from a local grocery stores, Sams Club, Walmart etc, with broth, and vegetables. It makes my cost very little and well worth every minute I spend. Like anyone, life is always trying to figure things out and do the best we can and have fun some how along the way.</p>