Nearly Spring Salad
I always get confused when my favorite food magazines start to tempt me with a SALAD on the cover. Am I the only person who thinks this is weird? Yet, I still pick up the magazine and think, “Oh! Yum. A SALAD.”
What happened to braised short ribs with gremolata, a huge stack of buckwheat pancakes with a maple marionberry sauce, or a rich citrus-glazed cake.
Nevertheless. I have to say it worked. I bought the magazine on Saturday and perused through some of the recipes and it left me with this conclusion: Spring produce is coming, and I want a SALAD.
What do you crave when Spring arrives?
Beet and Avocado Salad with Roasted Chicken
My Mama once told me that her best conversations were had after dinner, picking at the remains of the salad bowl. 
Erik and I have yet to sit at our dinner table for a long time. I think it is the chairs. So, our picking happens in the kitchen during the cleanup. And the conversation, well not so much. For as much as I love to cook, and as much as we love to eat, and as much as we LOVE to talk, it just doesn’t happen at the dinner table for us. We are silently stuffing our faces, and racing to get to the couch to relax after our busy days.
If we need to “talk” about something, or just need time to ourselves as a couple, we go out to dinner. Then distractions like plating the food, photographing, the dirty dishes, or Cashew begging does not get in our way. We sit, relax, and talk for hours while the staff is willing to serve us, clean up after us, and offer us dessert. But, then it is inappropriate to pick out of the salad bowl. Hmmmm…..
Maybe we need to invest in some comfortable chairs.
Cranberry and Blue Cheese Turkey Wrap
Pardon my absence. I have been in the nebulous state of Nutcracker. We opened last Friday night (yes the DAY after Thanksgiving). I hadn’t even finished all of my Thanksgiving dishes yet!
My Thanksgiving was a hit! We had a PACKED condo (which we will probably never repeat again) and we played games, and ate tons and tons of food. Due to my 20 lb. turkey, we had leftovers for days!
So, after a tiring weekend of Nutcracker performances, and a day of rest, I finally decided to emerge and present you with an excellent solution to leftovers from Thanksgiving. This dish is light enough to have for dinner with a simple salad on the side, or bringing it for lunch wrapped in tin foil. Whatever way you eat it, it’s good!
Insalata Rustica
I just cannot believe it is already Monday again. Where did my weekend go? I accomplished the usual tasks like cleaning, filing, cooking, and resting all day on Sunday, but somehow it just seems unreal that it is already the beginning of the work week again.
My company has been franticly trying to put together our “New Works” repetoire premiering in three weeks. We are re-learning a piece we performed last year, a new ballet is being taught to us that was choreographed years ago by Mark Morris, and two never before seen ballets that are being choreographed on us right now. To do that is three weeks is quite a challenge!
Oh well, on to week two. Read the rest of this entry »
Market Salad with Spiced Goat Cheese
I know what you are thinking…ANOTHER salad. But, I am headed to Vail, Colorado for a Dance Festival with my company on Saturday. And, after only being back for two weeks with five weeks off, light dinners are a must.
Dancing in Vail, which is at an elevation off 8000 feet is much harder than dancing in Seattle. You lose your breath faster, and your muscles just don’t feel the same. Luckily, we have all been there before, so our company knows a little more of what to expect this time around. Last year, there was a girl who fainted, everyone had to take lots of oxygen supplements, and you didn’t see a person without a water bottle in had. This year, I am nervous because one of the ballets we do, Concerto Barroco, never leaves the stage. So, if you can’t catch your breath, you have to wait until the ballet is over. Twenty minutes. Scary.
At first, when I read this recipe off of Epicurious it made me a little curious. Spiced goat cheese and steamed potatoes. Sounds BORING, right. But, it got amazing reviews! It is loaded with ingredients which makes for interesting flavor combinations with every bite.
Spring Salad with Feta, Radish, and Cilantro
I think I have just gotten over a bad case of seasonal depression. I never knew I could be in such a good mood just because the sun is out. And, in Seattle, that seems to be a rarity.
I found this recipe over at one of my favorite blogs, Orangette It was a delicious salad with flavor combinations I have never used before. Endive, Radish, Cilantro, Feta, and Avocado. It was a perfect end to a sunny, bright day.
We had Erik’s cousin Ryan over for dinner last night. I made this salad, mypenne carbonara, and an “experimental” dessert that Ryan was a really good sport about. Erik on the other hand was brutally honest, as always (and why I married him), and told me it did not even deserve two stars. Obviously I will not be posting about that one….
Mango Caprese Salad
Mango you say? Yes. Mango and mozzarella and basil. It works. Trust me.
Usually when you hear Caprese salad, you think of the classic tomato, basil, and mozzarella combination that we all hold near and dear to our hearts. However, being married to a self-proclaimed fresh tomato loather, I had to find other alternatives.
Mangos have been making their way into my grocery store for the past couple of weeks. They are not at their cheapest, but I found two perfectly ripe, organic mangos for this salad. Make sure that the mangos are soft to the touch, and have a sweet smell. Also, make sure they are plump and heavy for their size.
Also, you MUST use fresh mozzarella for this, not the kind that comes vacuum packed from Kraft. It should be either in the cheese case, or in the specialty foods section of your grocery store. Don’t skimp on the ingredients, even if they are a bit more straining for the wallet:)
This salad might be as good as the traditional caprese. But, once the heirloom tomatoes come out in the summer…ask me again!
Roasted Red Onion, Pine Nut and Mesculin
I am constantly looking for a new salad that does not consist of blue cheese, cranberries, and pecans. However, that salad happens to be Erik’s all time favorite. He is not a tomato and cucumber salad eater, so I have had to learn to be extremely creative. This recipe is the product of that creativity, and the desire for something new.
Caramelized Pancetta and Fennel Salad
I saw this Giada de Laurentiis recipe on Food Network the other day. I had all of the ingredients on hand, so I decided to make it tonight. Giada makes this red wine vinaigrette that is so tasty! She, of course, put that on this salad also.
Steak with Caribbean Salad
Corn is in season right now. They are selling it for the bargain price (ha!) of 2 husks for a dollar at my local Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods). So, because the corn looked so fresh I decided to search for a recipe where it could be the focal point. I found the salad recipe at www.cookinglight.com, and decided that a steak would compliment the side dish very nicely. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the black beans in this recipe but it was good without (what can I say…I am a flake sometimes).
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
4 steaks of your choice to grill, recommended 1/2 lb. per person
Steak seasoning and Olive Oil to coat steaks
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 ears fresh corn, husked
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 jalepeno, chopped (ribs and seeds removed if you don’t like spice)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
kosher salt, to taste
1/8 tsp. cumin
1 large mango, chopped
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups mesculin greens
Preheat a grill. or grill pan to medium high heat. Season steaks with steak seasoning, or a generous amount of kosher salt and cracked pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Cook steaks 3 minutes on each side or to desired doneness. (I like mine medium rare. Also, remember that your steak has to rest for at least 10 minutes after you cook it to distribute the juices!) Once you finish cooking it, put it under a tin foil tent and let the yummy juices soak back inside the meat. If you skip this step, your steak will not be as succulent.
Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat as well. Add garlic and saute for 15 seconds or until you can smell it. Stir in corn and cook for 4 minutes or until brown. (My suggestion is to let the corn brown by leaving it in the bottom of the pan and searing for a couple of minutes and not stir it. Then stir it again and let it brown some more. ) Add red onion, red pepper and jalepeno. Saute 2 minutes until just heated through. Place corn mixture in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients except mesculin greens. Stir to combine.
Serve steaks with mesculin greens topped with the corn salad.
