The Amazing Stacked Cobb Salad

Photo: More is More Mom

Ingredients

Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Combine:

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic (I always use way more!)

1 tablespoon minced shallot (twice as much at least!)

1 tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme…….the more the better!)

2 teaspoons salt (I love sea salt)

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (I prefer cracked black pepper for a little kick)

Meat: Lobster, shrimp, crab, chicken, The Layers:

Chopping and cooking…..get cracking

16 slices The recipe calls for 8 of thick cut bacon, but I think is more like it (4 per person…I mean if you’re a

7 hard boiled eggs (I hate to be skimpy)

Separate the whites from the yolks. Chop in to bite size pieces, wrap in paper t

4 Haas avocados. Peel, remove the seeds, chop, wrap and store. You can certainly try drizzling with

4 (or more…personal preference) vine ripened tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced. I wrap

2 cups crumbled cheese. I hate blue cheese, so I substitute with fe

If you don’t like all of these ingredients, choose what you do like. I have also incorporated diced cucumber

Fancy lettuce

Rolls or crackers (I like to serve this with flatbread crackers)

Preparation

Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Combine:

Cup balsamic vinegar

Tsp minced garlic (I always use way more!)

Tbsp minced shallot (twice as much at least!)

Tbsp chopped mixed fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme…….the more the better!)

Tsp salt (I love sea salt)

Tsp freshly ground pepper (I prefer cracked black pepper for a little kick)

Toss in a food processor or blender.

Puree on low speed and slowly add 2 ½ cups of olive oil until well incorporated.

Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container.

You want the dressing to be thick, so you will make it nice and creamy.

The recipe calls for a ½ cup of the Balsamic Vinaigrette and ½ cup of mayonnaise whisked together. I always think you need more, so I use about ¾ of the Balsamic Vinaigrette and eyeball it when I add the mayo to make a nice creamy consistency.

Meat:

Here’s the thing, there are so many variations that you can incorporate to make this salad customized to your own taste and budget.

For lobster meat:

Sliced lemons

Dried bay leaves

Tablespoons black peppercorn

Cup salt

Pounds lobster (live….I’m way too squeamish), I use lobster tails and figure one per person. If your budget permits, for a serving of 4, I would use 5 tails… a little more is always better.

Fill a stockpot with 6 quarts of cold water and add the lemons, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes to flavor the poaching liquid. Add the lobster and cover the pot for about 10 minutes, or until the lobsters are bright red.

Prepare an ice bath and submerge the lobster to stop the cooking process (so you don’t over cook the meat and it gets rubbery….complete waste of a beautiful lobster!). When cool enough to handle remove the meat from the shell and chop in to bite size chunks. I am all about being prepared ahead of time because I totally hate feeling anxious and stressed, so I do this a day in advance. I wrap the chopped lobster meat in paper towel to absorb and moisture, so the meat doesn’t get slimy and gross. I love paper towel and I especially like Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Store is a Ziploc baggie over night until ready to use.

This time around, however, I defrosted a bag of shrimp, cut off the tails, and chopped it into bite size pieces. As is my method (I have many methods and think in another life I might have been an efficiency expert. I know I was not Cleopatra or Joan of Arc. I was a worker of some sort. I may also have been a purveyor of food, home goods and cloth at a general store, but I’m not sure), I wrapped the bite size pieces in Bounty and sealed them in a Ziploc baggie over night.

You might also consider using a few grilled chicken breasts. The options are endless.

Stacking:

You will need a tube type mold to stack the salad, so it stays vertical. The least expensive and simplest thing to do is to purchase a 15 ounce (or whatever is closest) can of generic soup (or be thrifty and use this item to make dinner, perhaps homemade chicken noodle soup), empty its contents, remove the label, remove the lid from both sides, and wash. Now you have a tube shaped mold! I have 8 empty cans for this recipe, as I have made it on several occasions. You really do need one mold per person because the layers needs time to stabilize and the dressing will bind the ingredients together in order for the stack to remain upright.

Because I will layer the salad earlier in the day, I may use a small bread plate, or even easier a paper plate (because I am all about being efficient, and you can easily toss the paper plate in the trash when you are in the frenzy of putting out your masterpiece, and have one less plate to clean up per person).

Place the mold on the plate.

For each individual serving:

Divide the tomatoes equally amongst the 4 cans and arrange on the bottom.