Cooks Notes
I like this salad the best served at room temperature and the classic vinaigrette alone is worth the read because it's a great addition to so many meats poultry and fish. The key is the mustard which keeps any such dressing from separating.
HOST Notes
I love a nicely tabel-scaped buffet for the ultimate street-free shindig with over four people. You can set it up on a side table, kitchen island or even on one side of a harvest /dining table. The Beef salad is an Ideal dish to serve as a centerpiece because it can be made well in advance and is pre-cut so people don't need knives and is the best at room temperature. Heaped generously on a large platter it looks rich and amazing for little cost.
Buffets allow guests to take what they want and leave what they don't and frankly once it's set up, the kitchen is clean and you the host are basically done until coffee and desert time.
Side Dishes
Accompany the salad with an assortment of great breads and seed crackers laied out on a flour dusted cutting board.
A platter of roasted broccoli with almonds would be great with this salad. You simply toss the raw veggies in the same vinaigrette and pop into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until slightly browned on edges. Toast the almonds in a dry fry pan until golden. Pine nuts are terrific as well.
That's really all you need. Remember a few dishes or platters heaped high is so much better than a lot of small side dishes that clutter the buffet and won't really serve the whole gang anyway.