New Beginnings on Television, Tropical Salad on the Table
Springtime is filled with new beginnings. In North Texas, pale green leaves unfurl on trees and bushes, green sprigs of grass overtake dry winter lawns, and mounds of pink, red, and white azaleas burst into bloom, lining walkways, boulevards, and gardens.
Spring 2023 is also a time of new beginnings for me.
Just a few short weeks ago, my new 12-episode national television cooking series At Home with Christy Rost was launched by Eat This TV Network on AmazonFire, Apple TV+, Roku, Samsung TV, YouTube, and other video-on-demand platforms.
You may recall the pilot for this series was filmed last summer. It became the third highest-performing pilot ever for Eat This TV, so the offer of a series and a one-hour Christmas special soon followed.
Filming of season one took place in late February in my Swan’s Nest studio kitchen in Breckenridge, Colorado.
The film crew flew in from New York, my culinary director arrived from Wisconsin, and eight culinary students from Colorado Mountain College rotated through our prep kitchen over the course of seven days.
It was an exciting time, surpassed only by watching the first episode on television in mid-March.
Since this cooking show revolves around recipes and the gatherings of family and friends they inspire, I’m mindful that as our weather warms and we spend more time outdoors, lighter meals built around fresh spring harvests are replacing the hearty menus of colder months.
In my kitchen, our meals are featuring newly-harvested spring fruits and vegetables – asparagus, tender salad greens, spring onions, sweet peppers, and juicy strawberries.
Then too, tropical fruit such as mango, papaya, and pineapple add refreshing bursts of flavor to salads, salsas, and desserts.
These tropical fruits are star ingredients in my Tropical Garden Salad with Honey-Orange Dressing recipe.
Easily adapted to family meals and larger gatherings, this beautiful salad is drizzled with a light and creamy citrus dressing just before serving.
For springtime celebrations and summer gatherings, this easy, versatile salad is destined to become a favorite.
Tropical Garden Salad with Honey-Orange Dressing
Ingredients:
½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 bunch green leaf lettuce, rinsed and spun dry
1 ripe papaya, rinsed, seeded, and sliced
1 ripe pineapple, rinsed, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-size pieces
2 to 3 ripe mangoes, rinsed, pitted, and cut into bite-size pieces
2 to 3 oranges, rinsed, peeled, and sectioned
Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, orange zest, orange juice, and honey until well blended. Cover and chill while preparing the fruit.
Arrange lettuce on a large platter and top with papaya, pineapple, mango, and oranges. Just before serving, drizzle the salad with some of the honey orange dressing and pour the remainder into a small serving bowl or pitcher.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
