The Stetson Salad

There are many elements that might make a dish extraordinary.  It might contain hard to find ingredients or ingredients of spectacular quality. It might be prepared with techniques that require serious skills or significant attention. Often it is the recipe that is the key, suggesting a mix of ingredients that by themselves are fairly ordinary, but when mixed together create a fabulous symphony of flavors and textures.

One dish that particularly exemplifies this is the Stetson Salad at Cowboy Ciao in Scottsdale Arizona. It has been described by reviewers as “life changing”. While that might be a bit dramatic, the salad is wonderful. This almost pedestrian list of ingredients (below) is presented to you deconstructed in beautiful ribbons of color like a Rothko. When tossed they are brought together with a creamy, fresh-tasting Basil Buttermilk dressing. With the first bite you realize that everybody has a role, a role in flavor, texture and color. Bitter,sweet, salty. Rich, crunchy, creamy. Yellow, red, white, green. Each bite is savored in a joyous analysis and adjectives flood the mind (ok, maybe it’s so good you have to be dramatic). You at once taste the individual elements but also the medley. The surprising star to me is the smoked salmon. Its rich texture and smoky flavor add an unexpected yet perfectly paired element.

This is one of the things I love and appreciate about cooking. The creative cook as the Conductor: choosing his players, assigning the roles, creating the balance and directing the presentation.  Simply a salad? Yes, but also an example of the delicious results the daring culinary alchemist can achieve.

_{Israeli couscous • Arugula • Roma tomatoes • Smoked salmon • Asiago cheese • Toasted Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) • Black currants • Dried corn}