For me, the big question about vinaigrettes has never really been "how?" but "why?" Is emulsifying the oil and acid really necessary? Does adding the olive oil and the vinegar to the salad bowl individually really make for an inferior salad? Could every red-sauce Italian joint with oil and vinegar jugs in the world be wrong? Well, stranger things have been true. I decided that a bit of hard-core kitchen work was in order. More

[Photograph: Dessine moi un objet] One perk about cracker-based cutlery is the easy clean-up after use. Crunch. The design blog Dessine Moi un Objet shows you how to make these salad tossers (as well as a salad dressing receptacle) from dough. Though the site is in French, the step-by-step photos are pretty explanatory. One disclaimer: maybe don't use these around impressionable children—they might think it's acceptable to eat utensils. [via The Kitchn] Related Do Biodegradable Spoons Ruin the Ice Cream Experience? Spatula Taxonomy An In-Depth Tribute to Sporks... More

Serious Beer columnist Maggie Hoffman tosses some arugula with roasted pears, blue cheese, and a homemade walnut-vinaigrette (she says bacon wouldn't hurt either) for a tasty salad on her blog, Pithy and Cleaver.... More

[Flickr: maggiephotos] Maggie of Pithy and Cleaver shares her staple end-of-summer recipe for Southwestern Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette made of corn, black beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumber, onion, and Mexican cheese. More main course creative salads can be found in Main-Course Salads by Ray Overton. Related Eat for Eight Bucks: Best-Ever Salad for Leftover Meats Meat Lite: Buttermilk Bacon Corn Salad Tomatoes Dinner Tonight: Peach Caprese Salad... More

[Photograph: Robyn Lee] The storied birthplace of the Caesar salad, the Caesar Restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, tossed its last bowl of romaine last week. Legend has it that the concoction was invented in the 1920s by accident, inspired by leftover lettuce, garlic, anchovies, olive oil, wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, egg yolks, croutons and parmesan. And the man behind the magic wasn't Julius Caesar—it was an Italian immigrant in Mexico named Caesar Cardini. According to the Associated Press, the restaurant wasn't able to pay rent anymore with the local tourism-dependent economy so devastated by swine flu, crime, and drug violence. Related Dinner Tonight: Grilled Caesar Salad The Perfect Bite of Caesar Salad with Grilled Ribeye What is the... More

Serious Eats contributor Michael Natkin shares a recipe for Latin-American French lentil salad at his blog, Herbivoracious. He mixes French lentils with with tiny roasted potatoes, cucumber, red onion, avocado, radish, lime juice, and ranchero cheese.... More

Photograph by Robyn Lee Well, it was hot when we purposed the idea for this past week's Weekend Cook and Tell, and now, a week later, it's even warmer. Last week's challenge was to attempt to beat the heat by making a meal without breaking a sweat or heating up your kitchen. We've received wonderful replies and recipes, both raw and cooked. Here are some of the coolest responses: Gentlyferal is the proud owner of a solar oven which was used to slow-cook kuri squash and make an onion-infused butter. Janaatwg likes to make cold vegetable-based soups using tomatoes that a neighbor sells. This neighbor must have had a pretty great crop because janaatwg made gazpacho three times last... More

Serious Eats contributor Michele Humes shares her experience making Paula Deen's cornucopia salad on her blog, Georgia On My Thighs. The salad is a sight to behold: lettuce, celery, green pepper, water chestnuts, peas, mushrooms, and bananas topped with a mixture of mayonnaise, sugar, and white vinegar, sprinkled with raisins, peanuts, grated Cheddar, scallion tops, and bacon.... More

"Fusion which seems confusing and breaks all conventions is sometimes the perfect formula for seriously good eats." Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood is known for many things: It is the birthplace of mayors (or maybe that should be reworded as the cradle of progressive American liberal dictators), including Mayor Richard Daley and his father. It is the home to the our last Major League Baseball Championship–winning team, the Chicago White Sox (though due to their second-class status behind the Cubs, the only way anyone on that team is getting a beer is with their own five bucks—or if they're drinking in Bridgeport). It is also home to many blue-liners and firemen and is one of the last few living enclaves of sausage-fingered... More

Most awesome salad name of 2009? Chlorophyll and Awesomeness Salad.... More