pink salad

so my latest variation from the signature is what i'm calling the pink salad. the main addition is a small to medium sized beet, peeled and grated just like it was a carrot. the more you toss it, the more pink ends up sneaking into the other ingredients, particularly the feta. shake (of shake & bake fame), was sort of shocked that the beat could be used raw, so maybe this is something other folks would be interested in knowing as well?

i made a fresh one today, but can't seem to find my camera cable and the photos i took on my photo are awful, so you'll have to settle for the photo above, taken at pre-thanks this year. the longer you keep the leftovers, the pinker everything else gets. on the third day, it looked more like japanese pickles than salad really.

same dressing as usual too, although maybe a little more mustard than usual just to combat the extra earthiness of the beat.

lettuce on pasta

This meal felt somewhat controversial. To start with, I'd just received my first box from Boston Organics, and was pleased. Thing is, I may be a vegetarian but I hate lettuce. I didn't want to put it on my no list even though I could just in case the lettuce was the kind of green that'd make me change my mind, but when it arrived I still felt cold. So, I decided to put it on pasta.

Now I'm not sure where I read this, but someone out there on the great wide web thought that it would be a great idea to tell folks that if they got too much lettuce in their farmshare that they should saute it with olive oil and salt & pepper. So I did. As you can see, it looks like I was stirfrying a salad.

With the help of time, it began to look more like the sort of pasta topping I'd hoped for. The greens ended up looking like bak choy, and tasting similarly, albeit slightly more bitter. I threw it on gluten-free pasta with baby tomatoes, onions and some pesto and it went down pretty well.

pre-thanks: moroccan couscous and chard salad

So this is another dish that I made for our Pre-Thanks dinner back in November.  I made it to contrast with the other salad that I always make, because I wasn't sure if there'd be enough food for the vegetarians to eat.  There ended up being way too much of everything, but this was a tasty enough experiment that I'm glad I made it anyway.   The portions for this were huge, so feel free to adjust/halve/whatever.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Moroccan couscous
• 1 bunch of rainbow chard (which had I think maybe 12 stalks)
  
• 6 baby cucumbers
• 1 can of chickpeas
• one handful of fresh cilantro
• peanut oil
• lemon juice
• salt/pepper/garlic to taste

This ended up being a "warm" salad because of the prep involved.  The Moroccan couscous needs to be cooked a little more like pasta than regular couscous, albeit for a very short time frame.  So boil water, drop the couscous in, lower temperature to medium and simmer for maybe ten minutes.  Just keep trying it to see when its done.  

While the couscous is doing its thing, you should be chopping chopping chopping.  The cucumbers don't turn into slices on their own.  If you haven't ever cooked with chard, its is quite beautiful:


(lovely chard photo borrowed from my bay area garden)

Okay get ready for a mini-chard tutorial:

You're going to steam the chard.  First though, you separate the stalks from the leaves because the stalks take longer to steam and you don't want to leaves to be mushy.  So, position your fingers along the stalks just before where the leaves start, and you'll want to use basically a sliding motion to strip the leaves off.  It won't be a clear tear every time, but keep at it.  The stems obviously at some points are sort of insubstantial and blend into the leave, the main thing is to separate them based on how long they'll need to cook, so if they look skinny and tender, don't worry if they're with the leaves.  Put the leaves to one side and the stems to the other.  You'll then want to cut the stems into maybe two to three inch pieces and rip leaves into, say, baby spinach leaf-size pieces (trying to cut them after steaming is hilarious but not very effective). 

What, you don't know how to steam stuff?  Sigh.  Get the pot with the couscous.  But the couscous into the bowl with the chopped cucumbers, fill the pot back up with an inch or two of water.  Put the stove on high.  The water should boil up right quick especially if you use the eye that the couscous had been on before.  On top of the pot, put a metal strainer, like this or this.  Putting stuff in the strainer should mean that they are suspended over the boiling water but are not in it.  You can put a pot lid
on top of the strainer to hold the steam in more.

So put the stems in first, maybe 5 minutes before the leaves.  All in all, this should take 15 minutes tops, and that's really only if it takes you awhile to get the water boiling.  So now you dump in the chickpeas, chop the cilantro and drop that in, season with peanut oil & lemon & salt/pepper.

(... et voila!)

simple salad

So I've been cheating on the signature a little bit. I was at Picco in Boston and was served just the loveliest, simplest salad. The ingredients are too few to even merit bullet points. One bag of mixed baby greens, drench with olive oil and lemon juice. Garnish with sunflower seeds.

Perfect for when you don't want to overwhelm the main course.

tasty dishes

So what we have here is a tasty meal composed of Rachel's chana masala, some pecan rice, the mushroom/carrot dish we came up with and then my signature salad. It quartered nicely on the plate. For the next two nights I had the same thing minus the mushroom dish since we hadn't made enough of that, and I'd definite reccomend it. If I could spell recommend. Reccomend?

Leek Biscut Bake with Herb Butter Baked Tuna

Leek Biscut Bake with Herb Butter Baked Tuna

Leek Biscut Bake

Ingredients:

• 3 bunches of Leeks
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• Bisquick Biscuit dough (one batch with 1/3cup more water to the recipe)
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup jack cheese
• 2 tsp garlic salt/pepper
  

Directions Leek Bake:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 deg
   
2. Chop leeks into bight sized pieces and THROUGHLY CLEAN!!! Leeks are VERY dirty so dont get lazy!
3. Heat large skillet and melt 1/4 cup butter and season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper
4. Saute leeks until they are all are a darker green then they started.
5. Heat sauce pan on medium and add remaining butter and flour (making a roux) add more butter if is too dry
   
6. When flour starts to golden slowly mix in milk
7. Once mix is creamy add cheese and remaining spices
8. Grease medium oven safe dish and layer leeks on the bottom
9. Roll biscuit dough on greased waxed paper to the size of your dish
10. Cover leeks with your cheese sauce and then cover with biscuit
11. Bake until biscuit top is golden brown

 

Herb Butter Bakes Tuna

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter at room temp (soft butter)
• 1 bunch of chives
• 1 tsp garlic salt/pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
  
• 1 lbs tuna (any kind)

Directions:

1. Finely chop chives
2. Mix ALL ingredients in a bowl
3. Place fish in foil in a baking dish with enough foil to seal fish inside
4. Cover fish with butter mixture and seal fish in foil and let sit until oven is heated
   
5. Heat over to 450 deg
6. Add fish and bake for 10 minutes
7. Unwrap fish and turn oven to broil and cook for 1-2 minutes (butter should be popping)
8. Remove and serve (fish should be a bit raw inside mmmm......)

Plate both and enjoy with a classic [dave] salad.

Commentary:
Gosh darn this post took forever to write! The leek bake is awesome. I have since made one filled with mussels and it was BANGIN!! Try it and let me know what you liked and didn't like.  Enjoy!

DIY salad dressing

So everything I know about salad dressing I learned from Abby. I think its worth stating that I never buy salad dressing unless I'm going to a BBQ or somewhere that there's absolutely no access to kitchen cabinets, because making the perfect salad dressing is so damn easy.

ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• garlic (ground or minced)
• lemon juice
• stoneground mustard
• horseradish (optional, but highly reccomended)
• salt & pepper

So you start with the olive oil, and then pour a good sized dollup of balsamic in there. Never be afraid of too much garlic. Even folks who don't like mustard won't say a word if they don't see you put it in there. The horseradish tastes great, but if you don't care to procure the stuff directly I often use a horseradish mustard to kill two birds with one stone. The only part to go slow on is with the salt. Put in too much salt and you'll have to start over.

All the parts will separate, so just keep stirring it as you add your elements and taste frequently. As soon as I get the mixture right I usually dump it right on my signature salad.

kitchen katastrophe: recession-proof salad

my cousin's wife made this recipe for our group christmas a few weeks ago. i instantly fell in love with it and got the recipe from her. it turns out, all the ingredients are really cheap or things you would have around the home. i don't know the name of it, so i have called it the recession-proof salad.

Recession-Proof Salad
Ingredients

1. one bag of coleslaw (not with the mayo, just the coleslaw-cut lettuce)
   
2. almonds
3. ramen noodles (asian style)
4. onions
5. 1/2 c. oil
6. 1 tsp. vinegar
7. 3 tbsp. sugar
8. 1 tsp. soy sauce

Directions

• Mix first four ingredients in bowl.
• Whisk last four ingredients together.
• Pour liquid mixture over salad to coat.
• Mix a few hours before serving.
  

easy! or so i thought...

the first time i made this, it turned out great! and it was delicious. pictured here.it has a sort of asian-flavor to it, but it's really light and refreshing - great to eat. the only catch is... well, since you basically get the ramen noodles 'wet' they don't last more than a few hours. then they get soggy and mushy and you dont want to eat it. BUT it's so cheap to make - you can just make more!

the other thing is that i made this a second time a few days later and the dressing would not mix. i had decided to halve the recipe since it was just my father and i eating it and it doesn't last well in the fridge. but the ingredients would not whisk together to form a glaze/dressing. i thought it was because the sugar was kind of clumpy and hard. so i started over and decided not to halve the dressing (some bizarre rationale thinking that the "science" behind it must be a certain amount has to mix together or something). it still didn't mix very well and my arm was KILLING me from beating it with a fork, but it was better. but then i forgot that i didn't end up halving the recipe, so i forgot to un-halve the salad part. so i had a full dressing on a half salad. it ended up being very very oily. but still good, of course.

the third time i made it, i had the same issue with the dressing, so i put it in my new mixer. it didn't really help getting the dressing together better. i know there is some sort of explanation that alton brown can give to help clarify why it worked once and then never again. was it the type of oil i was using? type of vinegar? how long i should be whisking? what?? in any case, this recipe is cheap and delicious, even when screwed up a bit...

for full-disclosure, i do not have a source or even a proper name for this recipe, so if this is yours or you know where to find it online, please let us know and we would love to give it proper citing.

mad tasty catering?

So for Alana's pre-thanks I made a massive rendition of the salad I make all the time. In terms of variations, I used one of those massive tubs of baby spinach so most of the portions were increased (150% maybe? I mostly just made sure everything I used was bigger .... bigger carrots, bigger onions...). I also used butter beans, green beans and cucumbers. But I used the big plastic tub of spinach to bring it to the dinner and put on these madtasty business cards I had made and voila. Mad Tasty Catering. Get at me if you need anything folks.

kitchen katastrophe: asparagus strawberry walnut salad, salsa chicken, buddha punch

this is a story of miscommunication.

a few months ago, i invited my friends, ryan and regina, over for dinner because ryan and i had been talking for weeks about getting together to make dinner. since it was at my house (and i'm the pickiest eater of the three of us), i picked the recipes for salsa chicken and asparagus strawberry walnut salad along with a fun alcoholic drink.

we met at my house and ryan and regina sat at my kitchen bar. i clapped my hands and said, "ok, let's get to work! ryan, you can do the chicken and regina you can start the salad. i'll make the drink first since its a surprise and then help you guys." i was very proud of myself for delegating. they looked at each other and kind of said, "ok..." then they went to wash their hands. i didn't hear what they were saying. they came back and kind of stood there. i thought they needed encouragement. "ryan, do you want to start cleaning the chicken?" so he gets out the knives and gets ready. "regina, i think we have to wash the spinach and asparagus." so she gets to work. i make the drink as seen here:

Buddha Punch

Ingredients
5 dash(es) Orange Bitters
4 oz. Triple Sec
2 cup(s) Gewurztraminer (Or Riesling)
1 bottle(s) Champagne (Or sparkling wine)
1 cup(s) Light Rum
1 cup(s) Orange Juice (Fresh)
1/2 oz. Cherry Brandy
1/2 cup(s) Lemon Juice (Fresh)
1/2 oz. Sugar Syrup
Instructions
All the ingredients must be chilled. Stir everything (except champagne) into a punch bowl and stir. Just before serving, add the champagne and a large block of ice. Stir again and garnish with a few lime slices. This punch makes approximately 20 servings. [editor's note: just enough for 3 people!]

i was tickled pink because i found this drink that had a TON of alcohol in it (i needed to use up most of my bar). i thought if i told them what was in it they wouldn't drink it. we tasted it and it was scrumdidliumptious, but strong. when i finished i went over to help regina with the salad. the recipe was on the counter on the other side of the oven, so i read what to do next.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a heavy baking or broiler pan with foil. In a large bowl toss asparagus in olive oil and spread out in pan in a single layer.

So then i look at the recipe and see that it calls for

1/2 cup vegetable oil

regina had already spread the asparagus on the pan so we decided to just drizzle the oil over it instead of putting in a bowl to coat. she starts pouring the oil and after about 3 or 4 tablespoons she pointed out "this seems like a lot of oil." we all looked at it and agreed. we put it in the oven and figured we could add the rest of the oil later. i read the next part:

Meanwhile mix spinach, strawberries and walnuts in a large bowl; whisk together dressing ingredients.

regina gets everything together and i notice that ryan was asking me what to do next with the chicken. finally, i said, "well, here i'll tape the recipe up so it's easier for you to see." he and regina looked at each other then at me, "you told us not to look at the recipe." i was confused. then i realized what had happened - when i told them not to look at the recipe, i meant the DRINK recipe, but they thought i meant all three recipes. miscommunication #1 sorted - we all laugh.

we get back to work and check on the asparagus. it's so not getting crisp. this is about the same time that regina starts the dressing and when we realize that the amount of oil i had read her was for the DRESSING not to COAT the asparagus. we should've only used 1 tablespoon of oil. we take the asparagus out and pat it dry with paper towels and moved the asparagus to another baking sheet. miscommunication / error #2. some more laughter (a little bit louder because we've had a bit of buddha punch).

the dressing calls for the following ingredients:

• Dressing:
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

in my defense, if you look at the recipe on the website, you may notice that the word "dressing" is a bullet point and mixed right in with the rest of the ingredients - this is why i didn't notice it. we mixed the ingredients in my dressing flask and tasted it - mmmm. it was delicious. a bit thick, but very very good.

meanwhile, the chicken was moving along nicely. here is the recipe:

Kim's Special Salsa Chicken

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 16 oz jar salsa (mild, medium or hot)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub the chicken breasts with the taco seasoning mix. Pour some of the salsa into a 8x8" glass baking dish. Place the chicken in the dish. Cover the chicken with the rest of the salsa. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the salsa and chicken breasts. Cover dish loosely with foil. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

when we sat down for dinner, we were talking and it came out that they thought they were coming over for dinner that * I * was going to make. no wonder they didn't seem too excited at first. i reminded ryan that we had talked about making dinner together and he didn't remember (although i have the IM conversation to prove it). miscommunication #3. we laughed and cried about that, as well (much more alcohol). we also talked about how it would be great if we had our own cable access show about...cooking food! which made us think back to wayne's world, the most famous cable access show. in case you missed the recent reunion, here it is:



anyway, the salad ended up being delicious when thrown together. here is the actual recipe formatted so that one does not screw up, which is very possible:

Asparagus & Strawberry-Walnut Salad

Salad Ingredients
1 lb fresh asparagus (tough ends snapped off), cut in 1-inch pieces
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 package (10 oz.) fresh spinach, torn in bite-size pieces
1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved or sliced
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Dressing Ingredients
:1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a heavy baking or broiler pan with foil. In a large bowl toss asparagus in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and spread out in pan in a single layer. Roast until crisp-tender, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile mix spinach, strawberries and walnuts in a large bowl; whisk together dressing ingredients. Add roasted asparagus and dressing to spinach mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

we actually used pecans instead of walnuts and regina bought sugared pecans, so the salad was very refreshing and sweet. a few weeks later i made this recipe with my parents and it wasn't until i was shopping for the ingredients that i realized just why the salad dressing was so sweet and thick the first time i made it. we had not, in fact, bought raspberry vinegar (a watery-like substance), but raspberry vinagrette (a creamy, dressing-like substance). so basically, we bought salad dressing already made and then added oil and sugar and salt to it. it was double the oil necessary. when i got home from my parents, i noticed the leftover dressing in my fridge - it was a bottle of pink liquid at the bottom and yellow oil on top - the oil that we had added had separated. it was kind of gross. miscommunication (after the fact) #4.

we learned:
1) make sure it's clear who is cooking. if it's a group effort or a pot lock, it should be clear.
2) read the whole recipe a few times before beginning.
3) when writing / submitting a recipe online, make sure it's clear to everyone.
4) vinegar and vinaigrette are NOT the same thing.

[dave]'s signature salad

core ingredients

• a significant amount of baby spinach
• 1 red onion
• 3 spring onions
• a block of feta
• 1 grated carrot
  
• simple vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, mustard, lemon & salt/pepper)

variant options

• raw sunflower seeds
• raw sesame seeds
• 1 red pepper, diced
• poppy seeds
• cucumbers (peeled and sliced)
• arugula (1/2 and 1/2 with spinach)
  
• steamed fresh green beans
• red kidney beans
• chick peas
  

Basically this salad is all about texture. The spinach, red onion and feta give it the core tastes (along with the dressing), while the variants supply the nutritional value and the crunch that give it so much character. I wouldn't go too overboard with the variants, and you can definitely include a good 4 or 5 without trying too hard, but the core ingredients will still make a good salad. I've put the step by step below, but the main thing is just to chop chop chop, toss and serve.

instruction

1. wash spinach, put in serving bowl
2. cut red onion in generous strips, put in bowl
   
3. dice spring onions finely, put in bowl
   
4. cut in feta into cubes of desired size
5. add variants and dressing
   
6. toss & serve

Salade des fruits, noix et fromage

Salade des fruits, noix et fromage

Endive, Pear, Walnut and Roquefort Salad

In Paris, a gastronome's heaven, quality ingredients are the cornerstone of good food. This recipe celebrates just that: the simplicity and excellence of the raw ingredient.

In my opinion, this salad is just one example of the most complementary combination of food groups: fruits, nuts and cheese. This salad is perfect as an elegant starter or a side to complement any meat or fish entrée.

ingredients

• 2 fresh endive bundles
• 1-1/2 large pears (hard)
• ¼-1/3 cup Roquefort cheese
• Handful (or 2) of walnuts
• Teaspoon sugar

Prep time: 10 minutes
Wash and "peel" endive. Remove each individual endive leaf, wash, pat dry, and place on large plate or bowl (for presentation, lay endive curled-side up, arrange endives around center in a circle). Wash, cut pear in half, and thinly slice pear wedges. Lay pear slices on top of endives (again, for presentation arrange in circular pattern on top of endives).

Crush walnuts. Place walnuts in skillet, flash roast on medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of sugar in skillet while tossing/stirring walnuts for no longer than five minutes, depending on the intensity of your stove. Keep a close eye on the walnuts as to not burn then. Call them done when edges darken (not blacken!).

Sprinkle walnuts on top of pears. Finish salad with crumbled Roquefort on top.

Bon appétit!