Sonora Cafe-Inspired Chopped Salad

Sometimes when I get in a cooking rut I bring back an old favorite - the chopped salad. This dish is inspired by a salad that was served at Sonora Cafe - a restaurant I worked in many moons ago in Los Angeles, California. I have so many wonderful memories from my days as a waitress there. The cusine served was an upscale new Mexican-style and it was truly delicious (grilled jumbo gulf shrimp with mole sauce! lobster bisque! southwest sundae!) and I will never forget my time spent there. Luckily I have been able to maintain many of the friendships that I began while working there as well so it truly feels like a special memory honored every time I make this salad (which was two nights in a row this week! Hey Sonora Cafe peeps!).

Not only is it simple to make but it is an impressive salad to serve guests as well. The original "Sonora Cafe" version was served in a cylindrical form but I serve mine free form, mostly because I don't have a cylinder form but also because it is easier and when these cooking ruts hit, well, I can't be bothered. 

Ingredients:

Romaine lettuce, chopped

Diced tomatoes

Dices cucumber

Diced avocado

1 corn on the cobb, corn removed

Sugar snap peas, chopped

Blue cheese, crumbled (add to personal taste)

Balsamic vinaigrette dressing 

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Layer everything in a bowl, toss with dressing and serve. 

Optional add-ins:

Vegetarian "chicken" nuggets

Chopped grilled chicken breast

You can experiment with your own salad ingredients but the key to this salad is the avocado, blue cheese, and balsamic dressing so be sure to include these. I also added some arugula in the version pictured above since I had some on hand ;-). 

Pondering Valentines

Have you started thinking about valentines yet? I've been thinking about them for a while now, being that Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays, but so far I only have a few ideas tucked in the back of my mind. Do you prefer store bought valentine's or homemade? If I come up with a good idea, I love making my own but there are times when the store bought ones make their way into my valentine stash. Sometimes the good ideas just run dry. 

This year I have what I think is a good idea for layered valentines. Assorted paper, magazine clippings, glue and paint... Like a layered cake but only with paper and glue... and paint for frosting. It sounds weird I know... I'll be back in a few days with more on that... and let you know if store bought valentines are on my horizon.

In the meantime, what are your plans for Valentine's Day? Any fun surprises up your sleeves? I'd love to hear about them! 

Oh, and I absolutely love the Valentine photo below by my friend Danette Mitchell. She does incredible photography work AND she has a fabulous blog too called Danny In The City, where she writes and posts her amazing photos about life and happenings in Los Angeles. 

Photo courtesy of Danette Mitchell Photography. 

Model: Her daughter, Piper.