I can’t believe I haven’t made this salad already. Somehow I’d never seen the card. It has all the qualities I like in a recipe. 1) It’s easy. 2) I don’t really have to cook anything. 3) It’s easy. 4) It involves both fruit and vegetables. 5) It’s easy. 6) It tastes good.
I know, what kind of half-assed blogger am I that only wants easy and no-cooking recipes? I kid, I kid, you people know I like to cook. Just sometimes I don’t. I’ve been working a lot, traveling a lot and sometimes you just want to eat a bowl of iceberg lettuce.
Totally off topic: Look at this gem I found while visiting Auntie Anne! Nana, Boppa (nice face, dude) and some other random couple in VEGAS. Or TAHOE. I REALLY HAVE NO IDEA. I ALSO HAVE NO IDEA WHY I’M TYPING IN CAPS. I wasn’t yelling at you, I promise. Looks like someone won big. I hope Nana made her pay for the dinner.
I mean, really, The Arabian Room can’t be cheap. Ooh, and look, it WAS VEGAS!
Man that is super-cool-neato. I have no idea why this aesthetic ever went away. This gorgeous space ship was of course, demolished. And how do I know that you ask? Because here is old Aladin’s lamp (Yes, old Aladin was featured at The Dunes), languishing at the Neon Boneyard. I took this picture when we went to Vegas a few years ago for my birthday.
And here is our 2010 version of the photo above, though I think I look a little drunker than Nana (but maybe not Boppa, from the look of his photo). We were at The Golden Steer, since the Arabian Room was no longer available.
SORRY! Back to salad. I am easily distracted, especially when it come to cool old stuff.
Right. Almond salad. I don’t know why she called it that, except for that it features candied almonds. Nana could’ve easily called it ‘grape salad’ or ‘mandarin orange salad’–it all the same amount of ingredients. I guess grape or mandarin orange salad sounds kind of like Jell-o.
Seriously, reading my rambling probably took longer than it is going to take you to make this. You quickly candy the almonds on the stove top, whisk up the dressing and pour it over your greens, grapes, oranges and other random ingredients. I think it would be swell to put some shredded chicken in here.
My recommendation? Make this while there’s still some summer left. It’s nice and refreshing. It would probably be a great take-along potluck type salad too.
And don’t forget, whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Even for Nana. But apparently not for me–I have no shame.
Ingredients
- 1 small head iceberg lettuce, outer leaves removed and the remainder shredded
- 4 green onions, sliced thin
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
- 1 small can Mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 cup green grapes, halved
- 1/2 cup crystallized almonds
- FOR ALMONDS:
- 1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup sugar
- FOR DRESSING:
- 1/2 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup salad oil
- 2 Tbsp vinegar (I used cider)
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Make almonds: Stir the almonds and sugar in a small saute pan over medium heat till sugar melts and nuts are browned slightly. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Combine all salad ingredients. (At this point, you may cover and refrigerate if making in advance or for taking to a potluck).
- When ready to serve, combine salad ingredients with almonds and enough dressing to coat lightly. Taste and add more dressing or ground pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately.
