Kale Salad for 200

I haven't had much time to write lately.  I've been busy cooking!
As the holidays exited stage left, my spotlight turned to the mother of all culinary projects: The Third Annual Arms Around Bainbridge Bingo Night, which was January 16th. My primary role every year in this joyful, wildly successful fundraiser is to write and test recipes, craft a menu, recruit 20 or so sous chefs, and prepare dinner for 200 guests. Bliss!

I like to keep things interesting and so change up the menu every year. This year it was Mexican food. Pork slow roasted in banana leaves with annatto and citrus. 

Red molé with sweet potatoes, black beans, and Oaxacan crema. Arroz a la riojana with grilled vegetables.  And the most traditional Mexican dish of all, kale salad. Just kidding. But this is Bainbridge Island, so there must be kale salad.

Passé as it may be elsewhere (cauliflower is now in) we islanders love our kale. This is fine by me. Kale cozies up to any cuisine, is delicious, and holds up well once slicked with dressing on a buffet.

I've had a lot of requests for recipes since last Saturday. The most frequent being for the two salads on the buffet. I'm happy to share.  One caveat . . . I am often asked why when I make a dish it tastes better than it does elsewhere. The answer is I use the best ingredients I can find and don't cut corners in preparation. I'm obsessive (and proudly so) and my dear friends are understanding and indulge me by, for example, driving me over mountain passes in a snowstorm to procure a particular fresh cheese, my preferred chilis, or Mexican limes. (You're the BEST Orlando.) There are, of course, acceptable substitutes; I've used them in the recipes below. So while your salads may not taste exactly like what I made last Saturday, they will be close and, of course, delicious.


Kale, Red Onion, Charred Bell Pepper, Queso Fresco, and Pumpkin Seeds 
with Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette
For Salad:
8 ounces purple or green curly kale, stemmed, leaves shredded
1 ounce thinly sliced red onion
4 ounces roasted red bell pepper, peeled, cored, seeded, and minced*
5 ounces queso fresco, crumbled**
2 ounces organic roasted pumpkin seeds (from Oregon, available at Town & Country)

For Dressing:

1/4 cup lemon juice  (from about 2 lemons) + zest removed with microplane

1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 limes, preferably Mexican or Key limes) + zest removed with microplane***

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro 

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon raw light brown sugar****

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 

Make Dressing:
Combine all ingredients in blender and process until emulsified. Transfer to large glass jar with tight-fitting lid, refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight to blend flavors.

Make Salad:
Place prepared kale in large bowl. Add about 1/2 cup dressing. Using your hands, toss kale with dressing, massaging the kale to soften a little. Let stand 15 minutes. Add remaining salad ingredients to bowl and gently toss with your hands to combine. Add some of the remaining dressing and continue tossing until the kale is slick, but not so much that the dressing pools in the bottom of the bowl. You may not need to use all the dressing. Serve immediately.

Chard, Jicama, Orange, Cucumber, Red Cabbage, and Avocado 
with Smokey Piloncillo-Citrus Vinaigrette

For Salad:
8 ounces red or rainbow chard, leaves shredded, stems finely chopped
6 ounces red cabbage, cored and shredded
4 ounces thinly sliced radish
6 ounces jicama, peeled and julienned
5 ounces cucumber, peeled and diced
2 large oranges (peel and pith removed, segments cut in 1/2-inch chunks)
1 avocado

For Dressing:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from about 2 oranges) + orange zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

1/2 teaspoon chili powder ****

1 teaspoon raw light brown sugar*****

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Make Dressing:
Combine all ingredients in blender and process until emulsified. Transfer to large glass jar with tight-fitting lid, refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight to blend flavors.

Make Salad:
Place prepared chard leaves and stems in large bowl. Add about 1/2 cup dressing, toss with hands, massaging chard to soften a little. Let stand 15 minutes. While chard stands, remove peel and pit from avocado and slice into cubes. Add avocado and all other remaining ingredients to bowl with chard. Gently toss with hands to combine. Add additional dressing until ingredients are slick, but not so much that dressing pools in the bottom of the bowl. Serve immediately.


Addendum:
For those who would like to go full "Heather" with the recipes here are the original ingredients:
*The red peppers were flat red pimento  Phil and I picked at Krueger Organic Pepper Gardens last summer in Yakima. They have both more heat and sweetness than red bell peppers and thicker flesh.
**I used queso panela purchased at Fiesta Foods in Yakima.  

***I used Mexican limes, also from Fiesta Foods. 
****I make my own chili powder with a combination of whatever dried chilis I have on hand, such as ancho, morita, or guajillo. Toast them whole for a few minutes in a hot, dry heavy skillet until fragrant. Let cool, then remove stems and seeds. Grind the flesh to a powder in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. Use in salad dressings, sprinkled on nachos, in sauces, or stews.
*****I used piloncillo which is available in some Seattle Mexican grocers.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Arms Around Bainbridge Bingo Night 2016