MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Charlotte's Bread Salad Categories: Salads Yield: 1 Salad MMMMM---------------------------SALAD-------------------------------- 4 c Day-old Italian, sourdough, -or country bread; in 1" -cubes 2 c Cherry tomatoes; up to 2-1/2 -c; chopped or halved, (A -color mix is very pretty if -you have it - clb) 1 sm Red onion; diced (optional) 3 tb Italian parsley; minced 1/2 c Kalamata olives; pitted and -sliced, or more 2 tb Capers; drained Salad greens; for serving -(optional) MMMMM------------------PRETTY GOOD VINAIGRETTE----------------------- 2 tb Red wine vinegar 1 Lemon; juice of 1 ts Dijon mustard; heaping 2 cl Garlic; minced or pressed 2/3 c Olive oil (extra-virgin -recommended) Salt and freshly ground -pepper Pretty Good Vinaigrette: Make the dressing by combining the mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic in a bowl. Whisk the olive oil in. Add salt and pepper; add a little more mustard or vinegar if you want it a little sharper. Salad: Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and pour part of the dressing over them. Toss to coat evenly. Let sit for 30 minutes or so. Here's where Charlotte gives you a big tip not in the original recipe: If you are using diced tomatoes, keep back some of the dressing and add the tomatoes shortly after you add the salad dressing to the bread bits. They exude delicious juice and moisten the bread. If you add all the dressing, the bread will get soggy in a bad way. The dressing makes 1 cup; for a double recipe of salad with juicy tomatoes, I used 1/2 to 2/3 cup of dressing (out of the total 2 cups for a double recipe of dressing) and the salad was fine. This is especially useful if you end up having leftovers, which I did. I will also often let the cubes soak for a bit longer as I prepare other things, covered with a clean kitchen towel. To serve, add the tomatoes (if you didn't add them in before - clb), onions, olives, parsley, and whatever variants you're using to the bread cubes and toss. Serve on salad greens if desired. Variation: Roasted red and/or yellow bell peppers, diced. Variation: Fry four slices of bacon. Use 2 tb bacon fat and enough olive oil to make 2/3 cup. Crumble the bacon in the salad. Variation from Samantha Demidavicius of RFC: Replace some or all of the parsley with fresh chopped basil. Recipe by Michele Anna Jordan in Kitchen Garden magazine Recipe FROM: MMMMM