Grape and Pecan Salad
My grape salads used to be a soggy, sweet pile of fruit swimming in too much cream cheese dressing. I had the ratio completely wrong…
Creamy Pasta Salad Recipe
My first creamy pasta salad was an underseasoned, gluey mess – too much mayo, not enough acid, and pasta cooked way too soft. It tasted…
Italian Grinder Pasta Salad
The first batch I made of this had soggy lettuce, bland pasta, and too much dressing pooled at the bottom of the bowl. I was…
Sunshine Salad Recipe
I built this salad around color first – I wanted something that looked like actual sunshine on a plate – and discovered that the yellow…
Cucumber Caprese Salad
Classic caprese was already perfect – I was skeptical the first time I considered adding cucumber to it. My doubt lasted until the first bite…
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Pecans
My first version of this used balsamic vinegar straight from the bottle as dressing. It was sharp, harsh, and completely overpowered the strawberries. Learning that…
Mediterranean White Bean Salad
I dumped a can of white beans into a bowl with chopped tomatoes and called it a salad once. It was flat, starchy, and tasted…
California Roll Cucumber Salad
I ruined my first attempt at this by using imitation crab straight from the package – cold, dense, and flavorless. A quick pan-warm and a…
Autumn Delight Salad
The first autumn I tried roasting squash and tossing it straight onto greens, the heat wilted everything and turned the whole bowl into a warm,…
Cucumber Sweet Pepper Salad
The first time I made this salad, I tossed the cucumbers in salt and walked away – and came back to a watery, limp mess…
