Strawberry-Cucumber Salad with Candied Almonds

Happy May, friends!

My family loves a good salad and here is a salad that says "Hello, It's Spring!" in a big way.  Adapted from a recipe we enjoyed at a friend's home recently, I've served this salad a few times and have tweaked the recipe to make it my own by adding candied almonds and pea shoots that I grew from seed.  This would make a delicious salad to make for your Mother's Day celebration!

I love how the savory cucumber and pea shoots contrast with the sweet strawberries, crunchy candied almonds and strawberry vinaigrette in this recipe.  This salad is a celebration of textures and flavors... and May and Mother's Day are two occasions to celebrate!  I can't wait to start gardening and get things blooming and growing in my outdoor garden.

I started pea shoots from seeds again this year and now have lots of cute little pea shoots to snip and garnish just about anything from salad to soup to entrees. They're even delicious on a simple tuna salad.  If you can't find pea shoots, you can substitute any micro greens your market might carry or use watercress or parsley.  If you would like to try growing pea shoots, take a look HERE. 

I also tweaked the strawberry vinaigrette and used Champagne vinegar for a milder, less acidic taste.  It's absolutely delicious and can be made a day ahead.  Add some poppy seeds if you like them.  It's the crowning glory to this wonderful salad! 

Once again, Happy May, from my home and our magnolia tree!

Strawberry-Cucumber Salad with Candied Almonds and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

4 ounces mixed baby greens
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries, halved, if large, and sliced
1 cup sliced cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and sliced
2 green onions, with some of the light green part, sliced thinly
Pea shoots, other Micro green shoots or Watercress (Optional)
1/2 cup Candied almonds (Optional, Recipe follows)

Fresh Strawberry Poppy seed Dressing (Recipe follows)

Candied Almonds:

1/2 cup water
7 ounces (1 cup) sugar (granulated)
2 cups sliced almonds, or other nuts or seeds

(Note: Be very cautious of liquid caramelized sugar, as it can burn your skin if you stir too vigorously or are not carefully pouring them out of the pan.)

Cover a cookie sheet with a silicone mat, or line it with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Set the baking sheet aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar, and place the pan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then bring the mixture to a boil. Once the sugar syrup is boiling, add the almonds and reduce the heat to medium. Stir frequently until the sugar crystallizes around the almonds, this should take about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on heat. When the sugar crystallizes, continue stirring even though it may become harder to stir. Eventually, the sugar will start to re-melt and then it will caramelize, turn a deep golden brown color, and the liquid caramel will coat the almonds. The caramelizing process could take 15 minutes.

Once the sugar is caramelized and completely liquid, pour the almonds out onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a fork to separate the nuts while the sugar is still liquid. Let the almonds set at room temperature until they're cool and hard. Once the almonds are set, break them apart and serve or store.

These delicious candied almonds can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week, during dry conditions. Add to salads or as a topping for ice cream or desserts.

Strawberry Vinaigrette: 

1 cup quartered fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons poppy seeds (Optional)

Place the strawberries, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a blender. Mix gently and then let stand 15 minutes then process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Scrape down and process briefly again if there are any larger chunks of strawberry remaining. Turn blender to low, and gradually add olive oil in a slow stream. Place mixture in a jar or cruet and add poppy seeds, if using. Refrigerate until ready to use. Whisk before serving, if necessary.

Salad Assembly:

Place salad ingredients, up to and including candied almonds, in a serving bowl or platter. Lightly dress with Strawberry Vinaigrette and serve.  Pass extra dressing at the table.

Arugula, Radicchio and Rainbow Carrot Salad

How is January going? The last major winter storm missed us, thankfully.  We are chilly here but have no snow on the ground! My husband was even able to play golf twice earlier this month when the temps were in the mid to upper 40s. (Yes, a die-hard golfer!)    

After the splurges of the holidays and chill of winter, we have found ourselves gravitating toward warming soups and hearty salads for dinner and today, I'm sharing a recipe that was on our gourmet group menu in December.  I had been waiting for the radish sprouts I started from seed on January 1st to be ready to harvest so I could use them in this salad.  

They grew so quickly!  Within a few days the seeds had sprouted through the soil and within less than two weeks they were ready to harvest.  

This is quite a hearty salad, with the addition of burrata cheese and toasted almonds.  With fiber, carbs and protein, you could even eat this for a light meal which is exactly what we did last night. If you're not familiar with burrata cheese, it's a type of mozzarella with a soft, creamy center with a buttery flavor.  So delicious!  It's sold in the section of your grocery store where you would also find fresh mozzarella (the kind sold in tubs, floating in water).  Fresh mozzarella is a good substitute if you can't fin burrata cheese.  

The dressing is a delightful combination of rice vinegar, lemon juice, honey and cumin which gives the dressing an earthy flavor that compliments the salad perfectly.

Just look at all of those beautiful colors!  The bright radicchio and pomegranate seeds with the purple-orange shaved carrot and bright green radish sprouts make a beautiful presentation.  If you can't get radish sprouts, use some fresh herbs such as parsley or basil.  I'm not a fan of all-radicchio salads so I mixed in one of my favorite greens, arugula.  I also added some finely shaved fennel which is my new favorite addition to salads.

Enjoy! 

Arugula, Radicchio and Rainbow Carrot Salad 

Printable Recipe

SERVES 2-4   

Dressing:

½ teaspoon lemon zest 

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, ground, or ground cumin

2 teaspoons honey

1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Salad:

2 cups arugula, washed and dried

2 cups torn radicchio leaves, washed and dried

1 large rainbow carrot (purple preferred), thinly shaved with a vegetable peeler

1/4 cup finely shaved fresh fennel

2 tablespoons assorted chopped fresh herbs such as radish sprouts, parsley, or basil

1 small ball of burrata cheese (preferred) or mini fresh mozzarella balls

1⁄4 cup pomegranate seeds

1⁄4 cup roasted slivered almonds

Roast slivered almonds in a 350F oven for about 6 minutes, until golden brown.  Allow to cool before using.  

To make the dressing, combine the lemon zest, vinegar, lemon juice, cumin, and honey. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the salad, combine the arugula, radicchio leaves, carrots, shaved fennel and sprouts or herbs in a chilled bowl or platter and toss with 3 tablespoons of the dressing.

Top with small spoonfuls of burrata (or fresh mozzarella), pomegranate seeds, and the almonds. Drizzle with a bit more dressing to taste, freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.

Adapted from Saveur

Baby Potato-Green Bean Salad with Bacon and Feta

If you have time for one more potato salad this summer, please make it this one!  This is one of the best potato salad recipe I've ever had.  Last picnic, Labor Day cookout or family-and-friends gathering coming up? Bring this!   

Rather than a warm starch side dish for our gourmet group dinner recently, I decided to go with something cool, as our weather has been very warm and humid this summer.  It was a perfect accompaniment for the grilled meat, which is the last recipe from our dinner that I'll be sharing from our dinner, next time.

The dressing is a delightful vinaigrette made with Dijon mustard, fresh thyme leaves (hello, garden), and honey.  When all the wonderful ingredients are tossed together with the vinaigrette you will have one of the freshest, best tasting potato salads you can imagine.  Better yet, it can be made either a day ahead or in the morning.  I like to take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to get to room temperature before serving.  But be careful, you'll be tempted to sneak a bite every time you walk past it :)

If you don't care for bacon or feta cheese, leave them out.  But, if you do, they just make every mouthful a delightful combination of flavors!

I used a combination of baby Yukon gold and baby red potatoes.  I would suggest using either one of those over russets as they hold their shape better after boiling.  The green beans are cooked until just tender and then blanched in a bowl of ice water to keep them from getting mushy and to keep their bright green color.  I used haricot vert (thin, French green beans) that I found at Costco but any fresh green beans will work.  Even better if you can get them freshly picked at a Farmers' Market.



You may have heard or read about all the rain we've been getting in Wisconsin recently.  9-11 inches of rain fell in portions of Wisconsin yesterday that caused mudslides (unusual here), water rescues and evacuations ongoing.  Areas hardest hit are north of Milwaukee, Madison and areas near LaCrosse.  Here in Southeastern Wisconsin we have Flash Flood warnings today for nearby rivers and creeks.

Luckily, our home is built on high ground so we are fortunate.  My poor Limelight hydrangea is so heavy from all the rain that the blooms have fallen over but, compared to what other's are going through, a minor disaster indeed. Isn't it hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of August?

Baby Potato-Green Bean Salad with Bacon and Feta

Printable Recipe

Serves 8

For the Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon honey
1 heaping tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 heaping tablespoon minced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup vegetable oil

For the Salad:

3 pounds baby gold or baby red potatoes, or a mixture of both, washed
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 (generous) pound fresh green beans
5 green onions, white and light green part, thinly sliced
1/2 pound bacon, cooked crispy, crumbled
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 ounces)

To make the vinaigrette:  In a blender, combine the vinegar, honey, minced shallot, thyme leaves, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until combined. With the blending running and pour cap open, slowly add in the oil until the vinaigrette is thickened. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large saucepan of boiling water, add the salt and cook the potatoes, covered, for 8-10 minutes.  Drain and run cold water over them. Spread in a single layer on a tea towel to cool completely.  When cool, either halve or quarter the potatoes and place in a large bowl.

Wash and trim the green beans and cut in half crosswise. Fill a large bowl with ice water and have ready by the stove. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the beans and return to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until just crisp-tender. Immediately remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon and put them into the ice water. After a couple of minutes drain the beans, pat dry and and to bowl with potatoes.

Add sliced green onions to the bowl and drizzle with some of the vinaigrette and gently toss.  Add more vinaigrette, if needed, to thoroughly coat the salad. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. Chill remaining dressing to serve alongside the potato salad. You may remove the salad from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, if desired.

Just before serving, toss salad with the bacon and feta cheese and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Serve with remaining dressing at table.

Sunshine Chicken Salad

How about a tasty chicken salad to welcome the first day of spring?  Even though we have no snow on the ground here, the first day of spring definitely came in like a Lion with chilly temperatures (about 32F as I type) and lots of wind (meaning a wind chill of 20F).  Glad I didn't put away my warm coat yet!  On the day I made this last weekend, it was a mild 57F.  The wild ride of March :)

This delightful chicken salad idea came by way of a Penny at Lake Lure Cottage who happened to mention the great chicken salad sandwich she and her husband enjoy at a restaurant in New Smyra Beach, Florida.  No recipe, just a list of the ingredients, so I decided to try and recreate it.  The apples, dried cranberries and orange mayonnaise sounded delicious together.  And, since it's from a restaurant in Florida, I named this Sunshine Chicken Salad :)

This was also a great opportunity to use the pea shoots that I started indoors last month.  I was anxious to see something green growing so just put a small handful of pea seeds in some seed starting soil and look what I have now! They added another wonderful and flavorful dimension to the salad.

Serve it on a bed of greens, add some avocado slices, as I did, or eat it on a buttery croissant, the way the restaurant in New Smyrna Beach serves it! Enjoy!

Sunshine Chicken Salad

Printable Recipe

Serves 2 as a main course salad

Add as much of each ingredient as you like, according to your preference!

2 cooked chicken breasts halves (roasted, poached or rotisserie chicken breast), diced
1 organic Gala Apple, cored and diced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted pecans, broken into pieces
1-2 green onions, sliced thin, saving some of the green part for garnish
1/2 cup Hellmans or Best Foods mayonaisse
2 teaspoons concentrated orange juice, or use freshly squeezed
1/2 teaspoon grated organic orange rind, optional
Small bunch of snipped pea shoots, optional
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook chicken breast, allow to cool and then dice.

In a small saute pan, melt a little butter and add the pecans. Toast, tossing them around in the pan until fragrant and beginning to brown, slightly. Add a pinch of salt and toss. Place on paper toweling to cool.

Make the orange mayonnaise by adding the orange concentrate or fresh orange juice and zest, if using. Stir thoroughly to combine and taste test. Add more orange juice, if desired.

In a large bowl, combine the diced chicken, diced apple, cranberries, pecans, and sliced green onions.

Add the orange mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and toss to coat, adding more mayo, if necessary.

Cool for at least 1 hour to let the flavors combine and serve on a bed of lettuce and top with additional green onion and pea shoots, if available.

Cranberry, Almond and Roasted Carrot Salad

If you're still thinking about ideas for your holiday dinner, I have a unique and delicious salad to share!  This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed dinner with a group of good friends (our gourmet dinner group) and we were assigned this salad by our hosts.  Never would I have guessed how wonderful it would taste when I first read through the recipe.

The orange juice infused dried cranberries, toasted Marcona almonds, semi-hard goat cheese and honey-roasted carrots on tangy arugula tossed with a sherry vinaigrette was amazing!  So much so, that my husband requested that we have this salad again the following night!

I was able to find a package of three different Spanish cheeses at Costco which included Manchego, Tipsy Goat and Iberico cheese. The Tipsy Goat was perfect.  The next evening, I used the Manchego which is a sheep's/goat milk combination and it was also very good.

If you are familiar with Ina Garten's book Cooking for Jeffrey, you may already know this salad as her Maple Roasted Carrot Salad.  I made only a slight change to the vinaigrette and in the preparation.

The Christmas shopping is done, the tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped and Christmas cards addressed and sent.  So far, I've made Gingerbread from my recipe found here and hope to make more cookies this week that I'll share if time permits!

Wishing all of you a stress-free week before Christmas!

Cranberry, Almond and Roasted Carrot Salad

Printable Recipe

Serves 6

2 pounds thin organic carrots with fresh green tops

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Grade A maple syrup

2/3 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1-2 oranges)

3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon of honey 

2 5-ounce boxes of baby arugula

6 ounces semi-hard goat cheese, such as tipsy Goat, Manchego (or feta)

2/3 cup roasted, salted Marcona almonds (Marcona almonds can be found at Costco)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

While the oven is preheating, combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a soft boil, then set aside to cool. Cranberries and juice can be placed in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated until dinner. 

Cheese can be diced and placed in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until ready to toss the salad. 

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, garlic, salt and honey. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Trim and scrub the carrots (peel if they are bagged carrots). Cut the carrots in large diagonal slices as they shrink while roasting. Try to make all the slices as even as possible. Transfer to a large bowl with ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss well and transfer to 2 baking sheet pans allowing plenty of room for roasting.  Roast for 15-20 minutes, tossing once, until the carrots are tender.

Transfer all the carrots to one of the sheet pans, add the maple syrup.  Toss and then roast for about 10 minutes or so, until caramelized turning once.  Please watch carefully as the maple syrup can burn if left in the oven too long. Set aside for about 5-10 minutes to cool slightly. At this point you may allow them to cool completely and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil until you are close to serving the salad.  Then, add the maple syrup and roast in a pre-heated 425 degree oven until caramelized.

Place the arugula in a large bowl and add the carrots, cranberries (along with the orange juice), goat cheese, almonds, and the vinaigrette. Toss with large spoons, sprinkle lightly with salt, and serve. 

Adapted from Ina Garten's, Cooking for Jeffrey.

Baby Romaine Salad with Creamy Pistachio Dressing

Can it be August already? I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer!

A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our Gourmet Group of 5 couples.  It's always a challenge to come up with a delicious and unique menu from year to year as everyone loves to cook and the menus are always top-notch.  The host and hostess send each couple the entire menu with recipes. Each couple is assigned one recipe to prepare and bring to the dinner and the host and hostess provide the main course, a side dish and all the wine and beverages.

After the first course, which was a refreshing Spanish almond, cucumber and grape gazpacho, this delightful salad was served. Not too difficult to prepare, it was not only delicious but the baby romaine, or Little Gem lettuce, looked adorable on the plate.  The creamy pistachio dressing, toasted pistachios and sliced radishes added even more crunch and was a delightful combination of flavors.

I found the salad recipe in the cookbook "Taste and Technique" by Naomi Pomeroy, which was a birthday gift from a friend this past spring.  The cookbook is loaded with great recipes that I can't wait to try and I was delighted when I found this special salad recipe to add to our Gourmet Group menu!  I hope to bring you at least one or two more recipes from our gourmet menu soon!

So what else have I been doing since my last post?  Hosting our three grandsons numerous times for swimming and overnights...

Celebrating our anniversary at a wonderful seafood restaurant on the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee.  It was a lovely summer evening on the patio with a view to the west of the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum and, to the east, of the inner Lake Michigan harbor...

And, of course, I've been enjoying my garden and all the sunny yellow blooms this year :)

Baby Romaine Salad with Creamy Pistachio Dressing

Printable Recipe

Serves 4

For the Vinaigrette:

3 teaspoons minced shallot

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup raw, unsalted shelled pistachios (regular salted, shelled pistachios work fine but cut back on additional salt)

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1-1/4 teaspoons lemon juice

1/3 cup aioli (mix 1/3 cup mayonnaise with 1 minced garlic clove and 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice)

3 tablespoons pistachio oil (optional)

1/3 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

1-1/2 teaspoons minced tarragon

3 teaspoons minced chives

3 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon sugar

To make the vinaigrette:

Preheat the oven to 325F. Place the shallot in a small mixing bowl, cover with the vinegar. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and set aside to macerate for about 10 minutes.

Spread the pistachios on a small baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Roughly chop the pistachios and divide them into two batches of 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the macerated shallot and its liquid, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, the lemon zest and juice, the aioli, the pistachio oil, and the crème fraiche or sour cream.

At this point, the salad can be refrigerated until ready to use.

Before serving, add the minced herbs and whisk again. Taste and season with pepper and sugar, if necessary.

For the Salad:

2 large or 4 small heads Little Gem Lettuce (regular romaine would also work using the pale, inner head)

2 radishes

Flaky finishing salt

Freshly ground black pepper

To make the Salad:

Trim off the base of each lettuce leaving the head intact. Cut each head of lettuce in half vertically and place in a large bowl of water to clean thoroughly. Drain on paper towels and spin out any remaining water in a salad spinner.

Slice the radishes thinly and place in a bowl of ice water. Store in refrigerator. Dry well with paper toweling before serving.

To serve, stir 1/2 cup of the chopped pistachios into the vinaigrette. Arrange lettuces on plates and spoon the vinaigrette equally over each lettuce half. Top with the radish slices, remaining chopped pistachios.  Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and some freshly ground pepper and serve.

Adapted from Taste and Technique by Naomi Pomeroy.  

Southwest Bean and Quinoa Salad

I have a great salad to share with you today!  It's full of delicious southwestern flavors and so healthy with the black beans, quinoa and sweet bell pepper. Some minced chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped cilantro and lime juice in the dressing give it a zesty but not overpowering taste. 



As an added bonus, it can be prepared a day ahead and brought to your football tailgate or potluck party. It even tasted great two days later.  

I served it with grilled beef tenderloin but it would be perfect with so many things!  It could even be a light meal on its own.

 

Slowly, our fall colors are starting to arrive - much later this year than the past two years. With all the rain we've had, mushroom are popping up all over!  These are just two currently growing in our yard.  I think the one on the left is a Shaggy Mane mushroom and the one on the right is a Puffball mushroom.  The Puffball is about the size of a softball now but could grow to be the size of a soccer ball! We had our two oldest grandsons overnight this past weekend for the first time since I broke my wrist.  Happy times! 

Southwest Bean and Quinoa Salad

Printable Recipe

Serves 6-8

2 12-oz cans organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or try my favorite, Champagne vinegar)
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Turn the cooked quinoa out onto a large plate or small sheet pan.  Spread out to cool. 

In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice and chopped chipotle pepper. Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking until blended. Add the black beans, quinoa, scallions, yellow pepper and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, toss to combine and serve.

Do ahead:  May be made the day before.  Still tastes great after two days refrigerated!

Adapted from Food and Wine 

Firefly Crunch Salad

Today I am sharing a salad that was our assigned recipe to bring to a recent gourmet group gathering hosted by friends.  It's a unique and delicious salad which has a 'slaw' style base made with Napa Cabbage and Bok Choy.  

It is a featured salad at a local restaurant in the suburb where our host and hostess live. They had enjoyed it at the restaurant and were able to obtain the recipe. Instead of making it a salad course, they decided it would be a tasty side dish to the grilled fish they would be serving. It is a keeper!

 
There is so much going on in this salad with homemade buttermilk onion rings, wasabi peas, crumbled onion and poppy seed crackers, unsalted roasted soy nuts and sunflower seeds. Dressed with a luscious buttermilk ranch dressing and drizzled with a soy sauce reduction it has so much flavor in every bite. You can see why it is named 'Crunch' salad! 

As I mentioned, our hostess served it as a accompaniment to grilled fish but it could also be served as a main course topped with grilled shrimp, Ahi tuna or grilled chicken, for a delicious light meal on a spring evening.

Speaking of spring, even though there is a lot happening in the garden right now, we are under a frost advisory for early tomorrow morning! We've had more than our share of cool, windy and rainy days it seems. Is it unseasonably cool where you live? 

Firefly Crunch Salad

Printable Recipe

Makes 4 entree servings or 8-10 side servings

Notes:  The buttermilk ranch dressing and thickened soy sauce can be made a day ahead and the onion rings can be made in the morning, which is what I did. The cabbage, boy choy and carrot can also be prepared in the morning and kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Just before tossing the salad, the onion rings can be reheated in a hot oven for 5 minutes and tossed with the rest of the onion mix ingredients after reheating.  Warning - it is hard to resist eating these onion rings when you are making them - they are so good! If you're short on time, the canned onion rings can be substituted. 

Fried onion mix (see recipe below)
Soy reduction (see recipe below)

Chili Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (see recipe below)

1 large head Napa cabbage, cleaned and cut into fine shreds as for Cole slaw
2 heads bok choy, cleaned and cut into fine shreds as for Cole slaw (your may also use several heads of baby bok choy, instead)

2 carrots, peeled and shredded on a box grater

Fried onion mix:

1 large onion, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup flour
Olive oil for frying

1/4 cup wasabi peas
1/4 cup onion and poppy seed crackers, crumbled (I used flatbread style crackers)
1/4 cup unsalted roasted soy nuts
1/8 cup unsalted roasted sunflower seeds

Soak onion in buttermilk for 2 hours. Remove from buttermilk and toss with flour in a large bowl.

Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a medium sauce pan. Add onions in small batches and fry until dark brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a large, slotted spoon, remove from oil and place on a paper-towel lined baking sheet. When finished frying, toss the onion rings with the wasabi peas, onion and poppy seed crackers, soy nuts and sunflower seeds in a very large bowl. When mixed together, transfer back to a paper towel-lined baking sheet until ready to use. May be reheated briefly in a hot oven before serving if made earlier in the day.  (Remove paper toweling before placing in oven.)

Thickened Soy Reduction

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

In heavy, medium-size saucepan bring soy sauce and sugar to a boil. In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling liquid. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes until thickened and soupy. Cool completely. Mixture will become slightly gelatinous as it cools. Whisk before using. Store unused soy reduction in refrigerator. Return to room temperature before serving.

Chili Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

1 cup sour cream
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix

1 tablespoon sugar

1 dash Sriracha or to taste (available at most grocery stores and Asian food stores)

Combine all ingredients and whisk until blended. Store in refrigerator.

When ready to serve salad, in a large bowl, combine sliced cabbage, bok choy and shredded carrot.  Toss with chili buttermilk ranch dressing.  Add onion mix to salad and toss. Arrange on serving plates and drizzle with the soy reduction and serve.

Adapted from Firefly Bar and Grill

Bistro Salad

September 1st! The first of the -ber (Brrr months)!  Fortunately, our forecast here in SE Wisconsin is quite warm this week so I'm hoping those last green tomatoes on the vine will ripen before fall. Here is one more tomato recipe you might enjoy before tomato season is over!  I've been saving this recipe to try ever since the April issue of Food and Wine arrived and it was just a matter of waiting until my own garden tomatoes were ready to use. 

I've always been a big fan of French salad dressings and, when I order a salad at a restaurant, I usually ask for crumbled blue cheese on top.  Not only is this salad dressed with homemade French dressing made from cherry tomatoes, but it also includes blue cheese blended with crème fraîche. This was my 'Dream Salad' come true!  If you're on the fence about blue cheese you might enjoy the milder taste that is created when it's blended with crème fraîche.  And, did I mention bacon?

This salad originated at the French Louis restaurant in Brooklyn where it's called the Frenchie salad.  The original recipe calls for pickled mustard seeds, which I omitted, but you can find the instructions to make them if you click on the Food and Wine link in the recipe. I also found that by heating a cast iron skillet in the oven and then adding the cherry tomatoes shortened the original roasting time in half.

If you're enjoy French dressing, the classic French salad with 'lardons' or bacon, and also the American Wedge Salad, you will love this ingenious combination of all of them!

A September 1st footnote: We had one of the warmest days of the entire summer today. Mid 90s with very high humidity.  My Grand Boys had a great time cooling off in Lake Michigan and finding some "sea glass" treasures today.  Not a bad start to September!

Bistro Salad

Adapted from Food and Wine Printable Recipe Tip:  If you have bountiful tomatoes or see some less-than-perfect tomatoes at the Farmers' Market on sale, snap them up to roast and freeze to make this wonderful dressing all through fall and winter. DRESSING 4 ounces cherry tomatoes 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice Kosher salt Pepper SALAD 4 slices of thick-cut bacon (4 ounces ), cut into 1-inch dice or strips 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (1/3 cup) 1/4 cup crème fraîche 4 heads of Little Gem or baby romaine lettuce (1 pound), washed and leaves separated Kosher salt Pepper (I added a few additional halved cherry tomatoes to the salad) Cook 4 slices of bacon using your preferred method, until crispy. Drain on paper toweling. To make the dressing, place a small cast iron skillet in the oven and then preheat the oven to 450°. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and carefully place them in the heated cast iron skillet.  Roast for about 15 minutes, until the tomatoes have popped and are browned in spots. Transfer the tomatoes to a blender and add the remaining ingredients.  Puree until smooth. To make the salad blend the blue cheese with the crème fraîche in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop the mixture onto salad plates and spread around (or you can dollop it right on top of the salad, as I did). In a large bowl, toss the lettuce with half of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the lettuce on top of the blue cheese mixture. Garnish with bacon and chives, if using. Serve the remaining dressing on the side. The dressing can be refrigerated for 3 days.

Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad

This salad is so simple.  Straight from my garden where cherry tomatoes are ripening and tiny pickling cucumbers are finally starting to take off.  It's a favorite of mine at this time of year.  If you're not growing your own then a trip to the farmers' market is always fun!  I love walking up and down the aisles for local produce this time of year. 

The dressing is made with a few things I keep on hand.

This small jar of dried herbs and coarse sea salt is something I always have handy for making seasoned olive oil for dipping crusty French bread.  My grandsons love dipping their bread and they recently discovered that a grilled cheese tastes great dipped into the seasoned olive oil :)  The herb blend is simply equal parts dried basil and oregano with a good pinch of dried red pepper flakes and an extra big pinch of coarse sea salt.  Shake it up, put in a shallow dish and add extra-virgin olive oil.  Dip away!

I found it also makes a great dressing for fresh tomatoes. I just add a couple shakes of the herb blend, drizzle the salad with olive oil and add a tiny splash of good red wine vinegar.  Today, I added a salsa pepper that I am also growing and snipped some fresh basil over the top.  A little grind of black pepper. Toss. Eat. Enjoy.

Add a slice of baguette dipped in the seasoned olive oil - lunch is served! Even better eaten outdoors enjoying the late summer view.

This is more of a method than an actual recipe - feel free to experiment!

Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Herb Dressing

Printable Recipe Seasoned Herb Blend (to use as a dressing for tomatoes and cucumbers or to mix with olive oil for bread dipping) 1/4 cup dried California basil 1/4 cup dried Turkish oregano 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes 1-1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt Put everything into a small jar and shake until blended together. To make seasoned olive oil for bread dipping, for one person place about 1 teaspoon in a small, shallow dish and cover with olive oil. To make the Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad: Cherry Tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters Small cucumbers or pickling cucumbers, sliced Sweet peppers or salsa peppers, diced (optional) Add as many tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers as you would like to serve each person. Season with the herb blend (about 1-2 teaspoons per person). Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and add a small splash of red wine vinegar. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and toss. Add freshly chopped basil, if desired.