Sliced Spring Salad with Avocado and Feta

Have you read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg yet? The book is moving and touching and funny, and I couldn’t put it down once I started it. Her stories describe times with her father, time spent in Paris, and meeting and falling for her now husband. All of which involved food in one way or another, and each story includes a recipe or two. And, about the food, I have several post-its marking pages of things I intend to make. The first of those to be tried was the sliced spring salad. I had some radishes and cilantro from Hands of the Earth Farm, and the weather’s been warm and muggy and just right for a crisp salad.

To begin the preparation, the red wine vinegar and Dijon vinaigrette was made in a small bowl. Then, there’s a description of the order in which the vegetables should be sliced based on the speed at which they oxidize. I should mention that the writing of the recipes is as well-done as that of the stories in that they are both clearly of the same voice. I won’t ruin it by quoting it here. The radishes were sliced first, then radicchio, followed by endive. Those were tossed in a large bowl with cilantro leaves and some of the vinaigrette to taste. Last, the avocado was sliced and placed on top, and the salad was sprinkled with French feta. It was quick and easy to assemble, and the most time-consuming part was probably picking the leaves off the cilantro stems.

It was a colorful, fresh combination that was perfect with some simply grilled chicken. The radicchio and endive were crunchy and flavorful, the radishes added a peppery note, and the buttery avocado was delicious with the cilantro. French feta is a little milder than Greek, and it worked very well here. As noted in the recipe, goat cheese would also be good. It was a winner that we’ll definitely have again. Up next from this book could be meatballs with pine nuts, or slow-roasted tomato pesto, or custard-filled corn bread, or caramelized cauliflower with salsa verde. So many post-its.

Roasted Squash Salad

The planning, shopping, and cooking for Christmas ended with splendid indulging and leftovers for a few days. Indulging continued on through New Year’s week, but I was no longer cooking. While visiting family, I got to sit back, relax, and catch up on magazine reading. Is there anything better than not setting an alarm for several days, getting to sit and read without even needing to glance at a clock from time to time, and knowing someone else is making dinner today? Well, that last one is nice once in a while. I spotted this roasted squash salad in the December issue of Bon Appetit which I lazily read right after finishing Saveur and just before picking up Eating Well. Rough week. The combination of flavors sounded great, and it looked like a meal in itself.

The peeled butternut squash was thinly sliced and roasted with a glaze of balsamic vinegar and a scant bit of brown sugar. The remaining ingredients were simply arranged on the plate. The one change I made was using pears instead of apples. Endive spears were fanned about, pear slices were interspersed, the roasted squash was mounded nearby, and dried cranberries and blue cheese crumbles were spilled atop it all. The plated salad received a drizzling of balsamic and lemon vinaigrette.

It was simple and lovely, and tasted as good as I knew it would when I sat idly reading about it a few days ago. What culinary challenges and delights will 2009 hold? Which filed-away recipes will finally be attempted this year? What classics will I ruin beyond all recognition? I have no idea. I really want to make a sourdough starter. I want to make tamales in my own banana leaves. I want to make ice cream too. And, I have a stack of new books waiting to inspire all sorts of new dishes.

Salade Tricolore

I’ve been reading Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells and wanting to make every recipe I’ve seen so far. These are simple recipes that require perfect ingredients at their peak. For my first selection, I prepared salade tricolore with creamy lemon-chive dressing. I collected arugula at the farmers’ market, and the radicchio and endive came from the grocery store. This combination of greens is classic, but the creamy lemon-chive dressing gave the salad an interesting twist.

Although it is a creamy dressing, it’s not heavy at all. The lemon and chives point up the flavors. Also, by adding a little dressing at a time as you mix the leaves together, you can prevent the salad from becoming sodden. The peppery greens with the smooth, fresh veil of the dressing were just right together.

Cherry Tomatoes Two Ways

Cherry Tomato Bruschetta
Perfect summer tomatoes can make for nearly effortless dishes to savor. With a box of golden-orange cherry tomatoes from WCOF, I attempted two different, simple preparations. First, the tomatoes with only four additional ingredients formed a topping for bruschetta. I halved some tomatoes and tossed them with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper and placed them under the broiler for a few minutes. The timing will depend on the distance of the oven rack from the broiler, but I think I left my sheet pan in the oven for three minutes at a distance of about eight inches if I had to guess. Then, I added freshly grated parmagiana reggiano and returned the pan to the broiler for another five minutes.

The softened and parmagiana-flavored tomato jewels were scooped onto thick slices of ten grain bread that had been grilled outside and then rubbed with garlic. Then happy munching commenced.



Cherry Tomato, Fresh Corn, Avocado, and Blue Cheese SaladThe second dish was a summer salad of halved cherry tomatoes, fresh corn, avocado, and diced blue cheese created as follows:

2 ears fresh sweet corn
1 T butter
3 green onions, thinly sliced on a diagonal, white and green parts divided
1 avocado, diced
1-1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1 oz blue cheese such as Danish blue, chopped or crumbled
1 lime, juiced
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Endive spears for serving

-cut kernels from corn and sauté them in melted butter for about four minutes; season to taste with salt and pepper; remove from heat and let cool to room temperature
-in a medium bowl, whisk together white parts of green onions, lime juice, and olive oil and season to taste
-add cherry tomato halves, avocado, and cooled corn to bowl and toss gently
-spoon mixture into endive spears for serving and garnish with sliced green onion tops and blue cheese

The blue cheese flavor melded nicely with the sweetness of the corn and avocado, and the endive spears offered a crunchy, textural contrast. I did have the urge to keep adding things to this salad like jalapeno or some chopped herbs, but I resisted because the simpler the better with summer produce. The salad was served with grilled chicken and a Spanish Monastrell.