Southern Sundays: Cowboy Salad

Welcome to Southern Sundays

A time to sit back and relax, get together with friends and enjoy some good food!

The weather is warm and the grilling was on this weekend!  We decided to enjoy the weather and have dinner outside on the patio.  Lights were glowing, and the heat of the day was starting to cool down.  So what better way to enjoy a nice quiet evening that with a grilled steak salad.  


MGG just loves salad.  I think I've mentioned before that I think he is part rabbit.  I should change his name from MGG to The White Rabbit!  So most salads feel light and dainty or feminine to me.  I wanted to make MGG (aka The White Rabbit) a BIG...BEEFY salad.  A cowboy salad.


I think that may be an oxymoron (cowboy + salad?).  Well, if there ever was a salad that a big strong cowboy would love to eat, it's this one!

You start out with a steak that's spiced with a Cowboy Rub that has a hint of coffee in it, layer on some dark leafy greens mixed with peppery arugula, and bold flavors such as skillet corn, red onion, poblano peppers, and cherry tomatoes. What you end up with is one heck of a Cowboy Salad!


Take a look for yourself...

Needless to say MGG devoured his, and part of mine too!  Now you can choose your favorite steak for this dish however, I recommend a nice flank steak or a restaurant cut sirloin steak.  Both cook nicely and are tender when cut against the grain.  A what goes better with a Cowboy Salad than cornbread?  Woohoo for cornbread.  I just love my mom's southern cornbread.  I'll be sharing that with you soon!

Please treat yourself and your cowboy ( I mean your MAN) to a scrumptious salad.

Cowboy Salad

Serves 4

Cowboy Rub (recipe below)

1 lb restaurant cut sirloin steak or flank steak

1 c fresh corn cut from the cob.  About 2 ears

2 t canola oil

1/3 c red wine

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

1 ½ t sugar

4 c of dark leaf lettuce mixed with arugula

1 medium poblano chile pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

16 cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ of a red onion, thinly sliced

In a small bowl combine all ingredients for Cowboy Rub.  Sprinkle the rub evenly over all sides of the beef; pressing in with your fingers.  Let the meat stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a dry large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add corn to hot skillet.  Cook about 5 minutes or until beginning to lightly brown on edges, stirring occasionally.   Transfer to a plate and allow to cool. 

Grill beef on a charcoal or gas grill over medium-high heat.  Cook for 13 to 15 minutes for medium (160 degrees), turning once halfway through cooking.   Transfer beef to a cutting board and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Thinly slice beef against the grain into long slices.

 

To make the dressing add the red wine, vinegar, and sugar to a skillet. Over medium-high heat bring the mixture to a boil.  Continue to slow boil about 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 1/3 cup. Remove from heat.

Divide leafy greens and arugula mixture among plates.  Top with poblano peppers, tomatoes, red onion, and sliced beef among four dinner plates. Sprinkle corn over the top.  Spoon your dressing over the entire dish.  Serve immediately.  

Cowboy Rub

1 T paprika

1  T ground coffee

1 T onion powder

1 1/2 t ancho chili powder or regular mild chili powder

1 t smoked salt or regular salt

2 t packed light brown sugar

1 ½ t coarse black pepper

1 ½ t garlic powder

A pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

In a small bowl combine all ingredients.

Southern Sundays

So let's get to the feature of last week's party.  I would like to thank everyone for participating.  It's so good to see all your creative food items! 

We had one entry that drew everyone's attention.    

Congratulations on your featured recipe!

Zucchini Tagliatelle
By Diane of Simple Living with Diane Balch

Congratulations again!  Stop by the creative artist's blog and say "Hi!".  I'm sure she would love to hear from you.

So let's party!  I can't wait to see what you all bring this week.  Make sure to tell all your friends so they can join the party as well!

Guidelines:

Please become a follower by joining my site with Google Friends Connect in the right side bar.
Link back to your specific recipe and not to your main site.
Link back to Southern Sundays either in your post, or grab my Southern Sundays Button located in the right side bar.
Please visit a few of the links in the post and say hello to your fellow bloggers!
Enjoy, have fun, cook lots of food, and relish your Southern Sunday!

Jicama Melon Salad

This week I've been talking about a picnic that MGG and I went on last weekend to a beautiful beach.  I've posted the main dish of BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches and Creamy Ranch Slaw.


Well you can't have a picnic without a fruit salad.  Not just any ole' fruit salad.   A new, crunchy, marinated fruit salad.  The marinade is a combination of honey and lime, with some mint added in for extra special flavor.  

The original recipe, from Cuisine at Home, called for you to cut up all these melons.  But I took a short cut and took some help from the store by buying pre-cut melons in small containers.  You just mix them together, slice up some jicama for added crunch, and toss with the marinade.  Soooo easy!  The flavor is outstanding.
Not one bit of this was left!  Actually it was the first thing to go!


Another thing I would like to share with you are these containers.  These have to be my favorite containers.  They are called "working glasses" and are sold at Crate and Barrel.  You can find these here.  These are actually sturdy drinking glasses.  This size is the old fashioned size, and they also come in a tumbler size as well.  They hold 14 oz., and the best part?  They come with this fantastic lid, which turns this everyday glass into a "take along" container!  I said, a TAKE ALONG!!!  Can't you just see a smoothie for breakfast in this baby?  

As you can see I used them for individual servings of my Jicama Melon Salad. and they were just perfect.  Everything was sealed tight, stayed cold, and was easy to carry with the handy dandy lids!  What can be even better than this?  The price....they are super cheap!  About $1.95 for the glass and $.75 for the lid.  Woohoo!  I love great finds.  I bought several of each size and use them all the time.  I hope you like them and treat yourself to some new kitchenware.  You will treasure them too!


Oh, and enjoy this refreshing salad!!

Jicama Melon Salad
Adapted from Cuisine at Home Recipes

4 Servings

For Vinaigrette, Whisk Together:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 T. honey
1/4 t. sea salt
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

Toss with Vinaigrette:
½ of a jicama, julienned
1 small container of cut cantaloupe, from the refrigerated section of the produce department
1 small container of cut honeydew melon
1 small container of cut watermelon

Garnish with:
2 T mint leaves, chopped

Whisk honey, salt, and pepper into a bowl of the fresh squeezed lime juice.

Toss jicama and chopped melons in vinaigrette; let sit 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with chopped mint leaves.  Pack in individual containers to take along, or place in a bowl. 

Note:  Pre-cut fruit may be found in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

Creamy Ranch Slaw

Need a light side dish for summer?

Creamy Ranch Slaw is easy to make, low calorie, and sure to please a crowd!  This slaw is dressed with a lite homemade ranch-style dressing.  The taste is perfect for the salad which has some added crunch with celery and carrots.  A winning combination to the ranch dressing.


It's a perfect side dish for hamburgers, hot dogs, or grilled chicken. I recently served it at a beach picnic with my BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches.  The cool flavor and crunchy texture was just perfect with the sandwich.  In fact, MGG ate 2nds right out of the mason jar!

This is a great salad to take along to a picnic, potluck, or any event.  I packed ours in my favorite Italian canning jars.  I just love them!  They are the perfect size for salads, fruits, or sauces.  I use them often to pack take along foods, being so convenient and leak proof with the lid.  Try them when you need the perfect food carrier.  Just make sure to pack it well and keep it in a cooler, or insulated bag with some freezer packs to keep it cold.

It's best eaten the same day, but will keep in the frig for another day without getting too soggy.  You may lose some of the crunch, but the flavor holds up well.  You can also make this ahead of time and keep the salad and dressing separate until ready to serve.  

Such a great summer side dish, I hope you try this soon.  Simple ingredients that carry a flavor punch...just delishhh!

Creamy Ranch Slaw

Serves 8

½ c light mayo

1/3 c plain low-fat yogurt

1/3 c 2% milk

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t onion powder

¾ t garlic powder

¼ t salt

¼ t pepper

6 c cabbage, shredded

3 -4 stalks celery, sliced

2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 T fresh parsley, roughly chopped

In a medium bowl, mix together the mayo, yogurt, milk, and vinegar with a whisk until smooth and incorporated.  Add onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, stir until mixed well. 

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, celery, and carrots.  Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss.  Add parsley and toss lightly. 

Note: Fill mason jars with salad for a take along side dish.  Keep cold in a cooler or insulated bag with freezer packs. 

Recipe shared on :  Sunflower Supper Club - weekend potluck