Stepping in with a quick break to your fall flavor programming for this fresh, delicious, and easy riff on a classic salad you can enjoy in all types of weather!
I like to keep a decent amount of green in our diets. But looking at the home page for Home Front Cooking, things were starting to look pretty, well, orange! Lots of pumpkin and roasted root vegetables and cider and more pumpkin and maple and all the delicious fall flavors we love around here, and immediately my cravings started screaming for something green!
So I’m offering this fun riff on a favorite salad for your lunchtime – or whenever – enjoyment. Classic Cobb salad made into taco boats with fresh leafy romaine lettuce, and drizzled, of course, with my favorite homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. It’s a total summer salad recipe, but honestly, you can make it any time of year. And here in the DMV, it’s still in the 70s during the day and my tomatoes are still producing, so is it even fall?
There’s a lot to love about the combination of chicken, hard boiled egg, blue cheese, bacon, tomato, and seasonings going on here, especially when you add the dressing. And when it comes down to it, there’s nothing wrong with chopping this up in a salad and mixing it all up together – the Romaine boats were just for fun and for presentation!
Although I have to say they come in handy when there’s a two year old who just wants to be in your lap and you just need to pick up your food and shove it in your mouth. Because parenting is always glamorous like that.
[lt_recipe name=”Cobb Salad Romaine Boats” summary=”Stepping in with a quick break to your fall flavor programming, for this fresh, delicious, and easy riff on the classic Cobb Salad that you can enjoy in all types of weather – and just pick up with your hands!” servings=”4-6″ total_time=”15″ print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cobb-Salad-Romaine-Boats-1504-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”8 romaine lettuce leaves;2 small chicken breasts, cooked and diced;4 eggs, hard boiled and diced;4 oz blue cheese, crumbled;4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled;16 grape tomatoes, sliced;salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste;Buttermilk Ranch Dressing” ]This is a great recipe for leftover chicken, but if you don’t have leftover chicken, you can dice it and grill it up on a tabletop grill in about 10 minutes.;If you don’t already have hard boiled eggs, place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Put the pan over high heat and bring the water to a roiling boil. Remove from the heat and cover. Let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15-17 minutes. Drain eggs and put in a bowl full of ice water. Peel and chop.;Cook the bacon to your preference. If you’re in a hurry, line a microwave-safe plate with paper towels. Spread the bacon evenly over the paper towel, and cover with another paper towel. Microwave the same number of minutes as you have slices, plus one. Drain on a paper towel.;Spread out the Romaine leaves on a plate (they may need some bracing). Fill each leaf with diced chicken, diced egg, blue cheese crumbles, bacon, and tomato.;Serve drizzled with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Enjoy!;[/lt_recipe]
You can and should add avocados in the mix. I didn’t, because I’ve been having a hell of a time finding good ones at the store lately.
When it comes to hard-boiled eggs, you can Instant Pot it up all you want {I actually gave mine away after months of testing it out – I really don’t need a pressure cooker, and I didn’t need it to do all the other things it’s supposed to do}, but I swear by this little $25 egg cooker. You can hard boil, soft boil, and poach eggs in it easily, and you really just put the eggs in, pour in the water, and forget about it since it has a timer and stops cooking on its own.
Honestly, I can’t say enough about making my own dressings – especially this ranch. It’s so good!
Wine Pairing: Normally with summery salads, I’m all about a crisp white wine, but a Cobb salad is layered with smoky bacon, sharp blue cheese, and creamy dressing, and can easily stand up to a red wine. But I would stick to a light-bodied fruity red and not a reeeeeeed red, if you know what I mean.
My Pick: Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2019, about $12 at our local Giant
How are you all doing? Are you needing a break from all the autumn orange and spice, or are you eating up all the things cider and pumpkin right now?
