When I'd told Ken I was planning to make this salad he asked if it had blue cheese dressing or just blue cheese. Oooh...blue cheese dressing you say? I decided to search Food Network.com for a light blue cheese dressing - nothing with heavy cream or the like - and stopped on this delicious sounding Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing. The dressing was more like a vinegar-based dressing than a creamy dressing, but it has that same flavor and tang of the more generic type.
I made a few additional substitutions. Chopped rotisserie chicken replaced the grilled for mostly convenience's sake. The cranberries were added at the very last minute after the avocado I bought was totally rotten. Sadly, my local store was barren tonight - perhaps due to the holiday. But June means farmer's markets in New England, finally!
It's a quite tasty salad, with lots of different flavors running through it. I would have loved the avocado if it had made it to the bowl - definitely include it. I'm also a huge fan of fresh corn in salads. It's like a sweet little burst.
Chopped Summer Salad with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
Based on Arugula Salad with Grilled Chicken, Corn, Tomatoes, and Blue Cheese by Martha Stewart
Serves 2-3
4 cups arugula or spring mixed greens
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 ears fresh corn, kernels sliced off
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 cups cubed rotisserie chicken or 2 roasted chicken breasts, cubed
Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing (Tyler Florence's recipe)
Add first six ingredients into a large bowl and mix lightly. Toss with dressing, a few tablespoons at a time.
