Can you get a bit naughty with salads?

Nicky Corbishley, founder of Kitchen Sanctuary, thanks her family for eating so much salad in preparation of this book. We all win, with “nourish bowls” of firecracker chicken and wild rice; duck and plum business; lamb and orange; and prosciutto and peach salad with figs. She wants us to say goodbye to sad salads.”

The author suggests a BLT Chicken Salad and cooks chicken breasts on a tray under the bacon, so that the bacon fat drips onto the chicken. “A little naughty, but so, so good,” she writes.

Are you on board with this attitude? I’d never get bored with these offerings, which include coffee-crusted seared steak with savory rice and stilton. If you make the chorizo and lima bean blend, you can go warm, or cold for the lunch bag.

Other touches that go “beyond” are: walnut brittle, grilled romaine and smoky eggplant. Here’s a quickie from her dressing collection:

Smoky Cajun Buttermilk Dressing

The author loves this creamy dressing with chicken and shrimp, especially if they’re crispy coated. The slight spiciness works well with snap peas and other sweet, crunchy vegetables.

1 half cup mayonnaise

One half-cup buttermilk

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 half teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 fourth teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients until combined

And now for my salad:

The book above inspired me to assemble a salad that was delayed by days, so kept getting more ingredients. A slaw mix got a small packet of honey mustard dressing acquired at a previous outing, a fresh apple cut up into little chunks, toasted nuts, dried cranberries, purple onion and some gyros meat. A huge bowl of that was all the dinner I needed. Crunchy and sweet, it lived up to the hype I’d created in my own mind.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready to crunch into a seriously good-for-you and delicious salad. Got good ideas for add-ins? Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com