Romaine Artichoke Salad

For leftover Tuesday tonight we'll be having, well, leftovers. Straight up out of their little Tupperware containers. Considering we had a roast with potatoes yesterday, that's really not so bad. Yet it is not exactly exciting or blogtastic in any way. The good news is that I'll be making a salad to balance out the leftovers.

And this salad is exciting in pretty much every way. It is blogtastic if ever a salad was destined for a life of bloggerdom. It's the kind of salad where someone clearly thought of every lovely salad ingredient they could and threw them together. I could eat it forever and ever and always be happy. It is also super easy and quick to put together.

Unfortunately there is, my friends, one thing this salad is not. This salad is not cheap. I am very sorry about that. However, if you get to thinking about how much those canned artichokes and hearts of palm and pine nuts all cost, you can just remind yourself how much you spent on a salad the last time you went to Chili's. Or even McDonald's (does anybody else get bugged that those McDonald's salads which consist of primarily cheap lettuce are so darned pricey). That should make you feel better about life. You might have to up and get yourself another serving.

Another thing that might make you feel better about the price tag on this salad is that it can stand perfectly well as its own meal. With a slice of rustic bread (come on, you know that that's what all food bloggers eat with their salads) or a breast of chicken or both, it could even feed they type of man who considers salad a side dish no matter how perfectly perfect it is.

Romaine Artichoke Salad
Serves me (maniacal laughter) or about 6 people
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cost: $9.00
(lettuce: 1.50, artichokes: 2.50, hearts of palm: 2.50 (on sale), bacon: .50, Parmesan: .50, pine nuts: 1.00, dressing: .50-1.00)

Note: I like this salad best with just one head of lettuce. However, when I served it to my littlest sister a couple years ago, she felt like it wasn't salad-y enough without more lettuce. I'll let you be the judge.

1-2 head romaine lettuce, chopped into mouth-sized pieces
1 can artichoke hearts (but the kind in water, not oil), drained
1 can hearts of palm, drained and cut into rounds
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4-1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 handful pine nuts (use sesame seeds if pine nuts will really break your bank, although the pine nuts are amazing in this)
Caesar dressing (Girard's was recommended when I first got this and I really fell in love with it, although it isn't cheap either)

Mix all ingredients together. Toss with dressing just before serving.

PRINTABLE RECIPE