By Popular Demand

Sam's "Fruit Salad"
As requested, here is the recipe for the salad I brought to a recent BBQ. It's a salad, so you can make a gazillion variations, obviously. I'll tell you exactly how I made it for the BBQ though, and then you can go crazy on your own. These amounts made about eight large helpings.


Salad Ingredients
12 oz, or 2 bags fresh spinach
1 pint strawberries
2 handfuls of blackberries
2 handfuls of blueberries
1 cup mandarin oranges (no juice)
big handful of sliced toasted almonds

Salad Dressing
4 teaspoons strawberry jam
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
About 6 tablespoons EVOO
Salt and pepper, to taste
About 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
Whisk the jam and vinegar together. Slowly whisk in the oil. Add salt and pepper, and poppyseeds. Go a little heavy on the seasonings, since the fruit will be really sweet. Toss with the salad ingredients. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving so that the fruit absorbs the dressing.

I like this salad because it's the only one that people never ask "Why aren't there any tomatoes?"

Some of the variations I've done:

Leaving out whatever I don't have on hand, or whatever is not in season. Just strawberries and spinach, and the dressing without the poppyseeds, is also really good.

If I want to make it for dinner, I add some chicken with the salad ingredients. The chicken turns a funky bright pink color when mixed with the strawberries, but that's kind of fun.

Use romaine, or whatever lettuce you have, instead of spinach.

I've seen some recipes that also include red onion. Never tried it, but sounds kind of good.

When they make the somewhat similar Bingham salad at the club, I think they mix in some kind of cheese. Maybe bleu cheese, or gorgonzola?

Throw in anything else that's in season: kiwi, apples, pears, etc.