A festive, creamy buttermilk and parmesan pasta salad adorned with tiny tomato “ornaments” a free preview recipe from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.
Salads & Dressing
Arizona Cowboy Caviar
My Arizona Cowboy Caviar is made with is made with lentils, chile peppers and red onion in a spicy citrus vinaigrette. It’s similar to Texas Caviar made with black eyed peas and the lentils do resemble fish eggs.
Thai-Mexican Coleslaw in Serrano Vinaigrette
This crunchy, salty, and spicy no-mayo Thai/Mexican coleslaw is an excellent companion to Sonoran style dishes. It’s inspired by Som Tum (green papaya salad).
Chipotle Chicken Salad Wraps
Southwestern chipotle chicken salad recipe utilizing all of the elements of a great chicken salad: something oniony, something crunchy, something pickled, and something a little bit spicy. This recipe is Paleo, low-carb and gluten free.
Tucson’s Famous Topopo Salad
The topopo, Tucson’s most iconic salad is visually stunning. It’s made to look like volcano with lettuce piled on a bean tostada and surrounded with grilled shrimp, Tajin dipped vegetables and cheese. It’s crowned with a green olive and a slice of tomato.
Mexican Street Corn Hot Dogs
How to make The Elote Hot Dog. A whole beef jumbo hot dog is topped with roasted corn, mayo, lime and spices and served in a top-cut, whole grain bolillo roll. Food photo and recipe by Jackie Alpers.
Sonoran Quinoa Burrito Bowl
Healthy burrito bowl recipe with quinoa, black beans and avocado tossed in a chipotle lime vinaigrette dressing.
Sriracha Lime Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
This super easy salad dressing recipe is especially good on a Greek salad, cucumber salad or Asian Chicken salad and you can make it right in the bottle if you only have a little bit of Sriracha left.
Italian Style Marinated Baby Artichokes
Recipe for roasted baby artichokes in an easy Italian style marinate. Food photography by Jackie Alpers.
Greek Country Salad
A classic Greek Salad of chunky vegetables and feta tossed in a light vinaigrette will prove that you can indeed win friends with salad.
“The Wedge” Salad with Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette
The Wedge salad is one of these very classic, simple recipes that’s accessible to everyone. One that’s been loved for generations and modified along the way to accommodate changing tastes. This version is topped with a lighter vinaigrette.
Spicy Sonoran Potato Salad
Here in Southern Arizona, our famous Sonoran style Mexican food is often garnished with pickled red onions and Mexican limes. I’ve incorporated those flavors into this spicy potato salad tossed with a chile-lime vinaigrette.
Thai Green Papaya-less Salad Recipe
Here in Tucson it can be hard to get fresh green papaya, so I use packaged coleslaw mix instead in this spicy Thai cabbage salad inspired by Som Tum.
Classic Caesar Salad Recipe
CAESAR SALAD DAYS | This is a story about choices, creativity, personal power, and a salad. Specifically, the Caesar salad from the 1967 Joy of Cooking.