Saladation

My friend invited me to her Super Bowl party. Here is our conversation:

Me: Can I pickle something for the party?

Friend: Yes, Bring Tom Brady's pickled balls!*

Me: Seriously, can I bring something?

(no answer, so I threatened)

Friend:We need some salad.  Either something fancy, like taco salad, or maybe one of your awesome homemade dressings.
I think I'm really going to remember enjoying this salad for a long time...

No pressure or anything! I'm'a have to put on my big girl pants for this salad! So I did.  And then I got out the big book. Not that one!

This one:

And decided upon Thomas Keller's Cobb Salad. The recipe is basically "this + this + this" with no picture of the finished salad. And the "this and this" is more work than I thought..

avocado + bacon + red onion + olives + homemade croutons + hard boiled eggs + oven roasted tomatoes + TK's homemade Buttermilk Dressing = Cobb Salad!

I had to start the night before to roast the tomatoes for 5-6 hours! And make the croutons right before serving so they were still warm and full of the garlic oil I sauteed them in. Garlic oil I had to make myself!

And then I had no idea how to serve it. Toss with dressing? Deconstruct it and serve in separate bowls? Use liquid nitrogen to make buttermilk ranch ice cream and serve over the salad with bacon air? I decided to just sprinkle everything over the greens and serve the dressing on the side. That's laziness + out of diet coke-ness.

The salad was ridiculish! (I think I just made up a new word. Patent Pending!)

Sitting on a table with freshly made meatballs, with three dipping sauces, homemade lumpia, potato salad made with freshly made aioli and a seven layer dip I wanted to put my face in, I was amazed that it was nearly gone at the end of the party. And I'm surprised no one thought to just put a straw in the ranch dressing. It was that good.

*Of course I totally pickled his balls. Well, kiwi's anyway...