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Spring Salad Days at Buckhorn Inn

The beautiful salad greens we have been growing in the Buckhorn Inn gardens have made us love our dinner salads even more!  This spring we have been harvesting and serving a sweet mesclun mix from Burpee Seed Company http://www.burpee.com.  The mix includes Beet Bull’s Blood, Spinach Bloomsdale, Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, Red Salad Bowl lettuce, and Mustard Tendergreen.  

Your salad, from the garden to the kitchen to the table.

Soon we will be harvesting our Heatwave mix which includes a blend of crisphead, romaine, and looseleaf types that mature a bit later than the spring mix.

Caesar’s Salad Dressing

Guests love our Caesar salad.  It was first made by restaurateur Caesar Cardini in Tijuana.  In 1924  a rush of diners depleted his ingredient supply.  He made do with what he had and added his own flair by making it tableside.  Our version of the tangy dressing omits the raw egg.  We recommend you serve it at room temperature on romaine with crisp croutons.

3 Anchovies

1 T  Worcestershire sauce

1 T Chopped garlic

1 T Dijon mustard

1/3 C Mayonnaise

1 t Pepper

1 t Salt

1/2 C Lemon juice

1 1/2 C Olive oil

1/2 C Shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a food processor.  Slowly add the olive oil, processing until creamy.  Stir in the parmesan cheese.  Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

This is one of Chef Bob’s most popular dressings.  We especially like it over a bed of tender spring greens with grilled asparagus and tomatoes.

1/4 C Diced onions

1 T Minced garlic

1 t Dijon Mustard

1/2 C Fresh basil leaves

1 t Salt

1/2 t Pepper

1 T Sugar

1/4 C Mayonnaise

1/2 C Lemon juice

1 1/2 C Combined olive and canola oils

Combine in a food processor, adding the oil slowly at the last.  Chill.  Makes about 2 cups.  We love using the fresh basil from our Buckhorn Inn herb garden for this recipe and many others.  When making a basil-based dish, such as a pesto, blanching the basil will help it retain that sunny green color.

We hope you enjoy many salad days ahead!