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With holiday parties coming up, I just wanted to share a little something that I’ve picked up along the way when it comes to prepping salads ahead of time.
(Please love that I sound like I throw holiday parties every day during the season. Whatever. You know me better than that. My idea of a holiday party is, “Hey, come over and watch Ian Somerhalder Vampire Diaries with me. I’ll make us some cheesy pasta, and it won’t even be from the box. Oh, and Merry Christmas, by the way.”)
When I’m prepping a salad – whether it’s for the aforementioned horrible-teen-drama-filled-Thursday-night-get-together, or because I’m taking it over to my aunt’s house for our annual Christmas Day supper – I’m a big fan of the Ziploc bag method.
One, I wash all my greens in a salad spinner.
Two, I dry them by gently spreading them out onto a large dishtowel.
Three, I pick out any salad pieces that are going bad. With the salad greens all spread out, it’s easy to spot the little pieces that are wilty and slimy and all-around nasty.
Four, I lay another dishtowel on top of the greens, and then I gently roll up the towels into tubes, to dry the leaves.
Five, I store the greens in a Ziploc bag, alternating a handful of leaves with a paper towel. Yes, I add the paper towels directly to the bag. The paper towels soak up any extra moisture and keep the greens from getting moldy in the meantime.
Six, I add to the bag any salad ingredients that won’t damage the leaves before serving. For example, dried cranberries can be added now. Spiced nuts can be added now, as long as they are cooled. Apple slices and raw onion slices can be added now. But, of course, do NOT add the salad dressing yet. Mix that separately and store separately, too.
When I’m ready to serve, I simply remove the paper towels, add my salad dressing to the bag, zip tight, and shake it up. The salad gets coated with vinaigrette or what-have-you, and I can dump the entire bag into a serving bowl and dig right in.
And, if you’re running low on serving dishes, the Ziploc bag is a convenient serving dish in itself! I’ve gone there, yes I have. What can I say, I have EXTRA class.
The Ziploc-bag-with-paper-towels method also works well to store mixed greens on a day-to-day basis. I’ve stored lettuce and other salad greens (already chopped into bite-size pieces, too!) up to a week without it going bad.
Happy (almost) party season!
And let’s be honest, Happy Season 2 of Vampire Diaries!
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too clever – can’t wait to make a salad!
Let me know how it goes, as always!
I use almost the same technique for keeping lettuce and leaves to last longer on the fridge, difference being I don´t alternate kitchen towels in between the leaves, I just put a big one on the bottom and another on the top.
oh, and I think I also share with you the same style to *throw a party*!
Heidi, I use the same technique too! I find the rolled-up towel to be the best for storing greens for a long time. Great minds think alike!
I thought I was the only one who did the “Paper Towel/Bag” thing. And yes, I’ve eaten straight from the bag, too. Happens to the best of us.
Well written as always, thanks for posting!
What can I say, Jeff… we’re like a small think tank. You know, one that only applies to lettuce. Thanks for reading =)
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