Salads
Who-made-a-the-salad? Someday soon nobody will have any idea where that came from. I confess, I think it was some kind of salad dressing commercial, but even I have all but forgotten. Meanwhile, I find that since I like to have potatoes or other starch with the meal, the best way to inject a note of healthfullness is to make sure there is a good salad on hand. Here is a selection from our kitchen to choose from.
Caprese Salad
If a guest wants to bring something, I suggest having them either bring a salad or the dessert. Absent a guest's salad, I always opt for the Caprese salad. I'm not real fond of greenery, and this Italian tomato, onion, and mozarella salad is the perfect substitute. This is also a good task to set a house guest to if they want to cook, because its a very easy salad to make.
You simply alternate layers of sliced tomato, mozarella, and onion. When you have a layer of each, sprinkle olive oil over it and then salt and pepper. Go on to the next layer. Usually about 3 layers will suffice. You can then decorate the top of the salad with pine nuts and maybe some fresh basil or cilantro. Use a premium olive oil, heirloom tomatos, and get the mozarella that's packed in brine for best results. A dash of good balsamic vinegar on top can also add a lot of flavor.
Tomatoes With Blue Cheese Dressing
Another approach, simpler than a Caprese, and more appropriate to some menus. We just buy the best large tomatoes we can find along with the store bought (but gourmet) creamy blue cheese dressing. You find this salad at fine steakhouses throughout the land, and it does go very well with grilled steaks.
Tomato Salad with Grape Leaf Wrapped Goat Cheese
This funky alternative spin on the tomato salad is really tasty, with the goat cheese, olives, and grape leaves giving it intense flavor. I save it for occassion when I really want to accentuate the exotic. It can be pitched as part of an island BBQ or perhaps a Graeco-Middle Eastern affair. Both seem to make sense.
1/2 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
12 large grape leaves, rinsed and patted dry
3 4- to 5- ounce logs soft fresh goat cheese each cut into 4 slices
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/3 cup chopped pitted oil-cured black olives
Whisk 1/2 cup of oil, thyme, and black pepper until blended. Arrange the grape leaves on a work surface. Dip each cheese piece in the thyme oil, and then wrap in a grape leaf. Place the folded packets on a plate, folds down. Brush them lightly with some of the thyme oil. Cover and chill at least an hour up to overnight.
To make the vinegrette, whisk 1/4 cup oil, vinegar, and mustard until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Overlap the tomatoes on a platter, drizzle them with some dressing, and sprinkle about half the olives on.
Place the grape leaf wraps fold down on a medium-high grill. Grill unti the leaves begin to char, about 2 minutes per side. Arrange them atop the tomatoes, drizzle on the remaining dressing and serve.
Simple Bistro Green Salad of Mixed Greens, Craisins, Pecans, and Raspberry-Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Mixed Greens
Craisins
Pecans or Walnuts, Chopped
Blue Cheese Crumbles
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Preparation
When something here had to be at least marginally healthy, we add a green salad to the dinner. And, since I have often fussed so much with the other components of the dinner, I'll make this with a store bought salad mix, adding the nuts, craisins (cranberry raisins), and blue cheese, and then I'll top it with a store-bought raspberry vinaigrette. I will take solace in two things. One, even though I'm not making from scratch, I will use the finest store-bought ingredients. Two, I've been behind the scenes at many a restaurant and most of them don't make everything from scratch either, although they do have access to more interesting already-made sauces and things than most of us see at the grocery store.
Barabara's Pear and Roquefort Salad
This is a simple salad introduced to us by a friend that was so tasty even the veggie-averse kids were going back for seconds. These ingredients will server 4 as an entre (wonderful with smoked pork loin on top) or 8 as a side salad.
1 head of leaf lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
3 pears-peeled cored and chopped
5 ounces of Roquefort (blue cheese), crumbled
1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 cut thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste.
In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring until the sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans (you can buy candied pecans if you want to avoid this step, but the fresh made ones taste better). Transfer the nuts onto waxed paper. When cool, break them up into pieces.
For the dressing whisk together oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. This makes a nice light and slightly sweet dressing that compliments the pears and pecans.
In a large bowl, layer the lettuce, pears, blue cheese, avocado, and green onions. Pour the dressing over, sprinkle with pecans, and serve.
Warm Pear and Blue Cheese Spinach Salad
A work in progress that I have not yet perfected, so the details are sketchy. The idea is to carmelize some pears in butter, and serve them warm atop spinach with blue cheese crumbles and some walnuts. I've yet to produce the proper vinegrette, but I suspect I need to learn to deglaze the pear skillet to make the dressing. I will keep trying until I get it right.
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The
pears are sauteed in butter. The aroma from this is fantastic, and
fills the whole house with love.
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