This collection of salad entrees by Ray Overton is so filled with delectable textures, colors, and flavors that it's hard to imagine any other salad cookbook coming close to this for imaginative combinations and presentations. Its cover, a "Winter White" Salad of pan-seared sea scallops, fresh mushrooms, walnuts, mixed greens, and raspberries, immediately catches the eye and whets the appetite. The rest of the collection continues this standard of color, taste, and texture, with a picnic salad of Curried Chicken and Wild Rice with apples, raisins, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds; a special occasion salad of Grilled Duck Breast on mesclun greens with blueberries and currant vinaigrette; a glorious Ratatouille Torte on Baby Spinach; and a Fiery Thai Beef Tenderloin Salad with tomatoes, mint, lemon grass, cilantro, and lime.
Throughout the book, Overton remembers that the reader is not a professional chef, and he includes helpful notes regarding the cooking of any meats, poultry, and fish for use on the salads, along with alternatives for flavorings, suggestions for variations or additions, and explanations of procedures. All the main ingredients and most of the fresh herbs can be found in a well-stocked supermarket, and suggestions for appropriate garnishes are given for each recipe. Though all the recipes are not illustrated, the dozen photographs that are included are inspiring. A flavorful, well-designed cookbook with loads of unique recipes (Where else can you find a "Fried Green Tomato Salad" with bacon vinaigrette, for example), the book appeals equally to those who seek out the unique and those who prefer the tried and true standards. Mary Whipple
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Main-Course Salads (Main-Course Series) Books In Print, Audio Books.