In my food world, if I could conjure up the ideal, somewhat-healthy pub-grub menu item, it would be a chef's-type Buffalo-style-chicken salad. It would be served to me while I was sitting in my favorite sportsbar, in front of a straight-out-of-the-tap frosty brew with a college football game on the flatscreen. Nothing fancy, just a bowl full of crisp lettuce, diced carrots and sliced celery tossed with salty blue cheese crumbles and topped with strips of thin-sliced Boar's Head, Blazing Buffalo-style chicken, plus, crunchy, Buffalo-spiced croutons. There's more. When it comes to dressing my salad, it's got to be full of RedHot Buffalo wing-sauce flavor blended with the creamy-dreamy coolness that only Hidden Valley Ranch dressing can offer -- the best of both worlds.
If you're willing to go the extra mile to make croutons...
One could call me obsessed for baking a loaf of bread for the sole purpose of making Buffalo-seasoned bread or Buffalo-seasoned croutons for a deli-sandwich or a chef's-type Buffalo-style chicken salad. In my defense, when the bread machine does all the work for me, why wouldn't? Trust me, "my cheese has not slid of my cracker". There's just something so very special about appropriately-seasoned croutons scattered atop an ingredient-specific salad or soup that speaks volumes about the cook, and, Buffalo-style is a prime example.
... don't drop the ball when it comes to the dressing!
For my RedHot Ranch salad dressing (yield: 1 generous cup):
*3/4 cup Hidden Valley ranch dressing
*1/4 cup Frank's RedHot wing sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon dehydrated minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons dehydrated minced onion
* Note: When preparing the 1 cup of dressing, I like the ratio of 3/4 cup Hidden Valley ranch dressing to 1/4 cup Frank's RedHot wing sauce. That said, if you want your dressing hotter (as in spicier), feel free to adjust it to suit your palate. Example: 1/2 cup dressing to 1/2 cup wing sauce.
~ Step 1. To prepare the dressing, in a 1-cup measuring container, thoroughly stir all ingredients together. Set aside, at room temperature, while prepping all ingredients for the croutons and the salad.
RedHot-Ranch Salad Dressing -- The best of both worlds:
Creamy RedHot-Ranch Bufalo-Style Salad Dressing: Recipe yields 1 generous cup dressing.
Special Equipment List: 1-cup measuring container; spoon
Cook's Note: What started in 1964 as late-night pub grub at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, deep-fried chicken wings, is now found in many forms. Truth told, there's not much that Buffalo-style chicken can't do, and applying Buffalo wing sauce to oven-roasted chicken leg-thigh quarters, or, stirring it into previously roasted or poached chicken is the perfect way to transition this iconic game day snack into all sorts of other appetizers, sandwiches, main or side-dish salads, or, main-dish meals. Trust me, as a lady who loves her deep-fried wings, but, only in the privacy of her own home (where she's free to lick fingers, smack lips, pick teeth, and, drip sauce), my Buffalo-Style delicacies are every bit as enjoyable as wings. ~ How Many Ways Can One Say Buffalo Wing Style ~?
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2020)
Comments