Category Archives: SALAD RECIPES

TACO SALAD

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Ok, this is not a fancy new recipe for taco salad. It doesn’t feature spectacular new ingredients, or a taco sauce that takes 14 ingredients, special equipment, and an hour to prepare. The meat is plain old ground beef, chicken, or turkey, and the toppings are just what you would expect if you ordered taco salad at any of your favorite restaurants.

What this recipe for Taco Salad does feature however, is an oven baked tortilla base, taco meat that is perfectly seasoned with dried herbs, spices, and ingredients that you should already have in your pantry, and a two ingredient taco sauce that is refreshingly light and delicious. And because you season the meat yourself; no more buying those expensive little packets of taco seasoning mix that contain unnecessary ingredients like too much salt and sugar that you wouldn’t even want your childhood nemesis to ingest, much less your family!

Oh, and did I mention that this salad is stinkin’ easy to prepare? Probably not! I get so excited about the ingredients and flavor of a dish sometimes that I forget to tell you about the ease of preparation. I also sometimes fail to mention that certain parts of the recipe, the taco meat and the taco sauce in this case, can be prepared ahead of time and sequestered on a shelf in your refrigerator.

So no matter how you want to look at this dish, as an easy to prepare one dish weekday meal, as an inexpensive one dish weekday meal, or as a delicious one dish weekday meal, you’re covered. (I’ve always got your back; don’t you ever forget it!)

  • 4 small (7½-inch) or 2 large (10-inch) flour tortillas
  • vegetable cooking spray
  • taco sauce (see recipe below)
  • taco meat (see recipe below)
  • chopped romaine lettuce (as much or as little as you want)
  • any of the following toppings for your salad:
  •     diced tomatoes
  •     halved black olives
  •     diced avocado
  •     diced yellow, white, red, or green onion
  •     grated sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Cotija cheese
  •     canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  •     canned corn, drained and rinsed
  •     anything else that strikes your fancy

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 4 oven-proof bowls or for larger tortillas, 2 6-inch cake pans on a large rimmed baking sheet. Warm the tortillas in your microwave for 20 seconds or until pliable. Spray both sides with cooking spray, then drape over the bowls (smaller tortillas) or nest the larger tortillas inside the cake pans. Bake until the tortillas are crisp and just starting to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (Watch them carefully the last few minutes.) Set aside.

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Meanwhile prepare the Taco Sauce and the Taco Meat (recipes below).

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When ready to serve, place a taco shell on a large plate. Scatter lettuce in and around the shell. Scoop some of the taco meat into the shell and surround with your toppings of choice. Serve with taco sauce.

Taco Sauce:

  • 1 c. (8-oz.) sour cream
  • ½ c. salsa verde – I use Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa (which BTW contains no preservatives or ingredients that can’t be pronounced) when I’m feeling lazy. When I have time and inclination, I prepare the Salsa Verde recipe on this site.)

Whisk ingredients together, cover, and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Taco Meat:

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  • vegetable cooking spray
  • 1 lb. ground beef, chicken, or turkey
  • 2 T. dehydrated onion
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1½ tsp. dried oregano (Mexican oregano if possible)
  • 1 tsp. granulated garlic
  • ½ tsp. seasoned salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 T. tomato paste
  • ½ c. water

Spray a non-stick fry pan with cooking spray. Add the ground beef and cook slowly until the meat is just about brown. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a high simmer, reduce heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

 

 

CUCUMBERS WITH A YOGURT, FETA, AND DILL DRESSING

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OK, I’m a sucker for dill. Dill pickles, salmon baked with lemon and dill, dill bread, you name it! So when I had some feta cheese that really needed to be used, an English cucumber that was screaming at me from the vegetable bin, and a small amount of plain Greek yogurt waiting patiently for me to notice it, I immediately thought of dill. (Wouldn’t everyone?)

And yes, I know. This is just a basic cucumber and red onion salad with the addition of some feta cheese. Got it in one! That’s exactly what it is. But I am tellin’ you true, the addition of feta takes the whole cucumber/red onion salad to a new level. Now, a word of warning: You will notice that I used only a small amount of both red onion and feta. That’s because this dish is a subtle blend of ingredients, not an in-your-face onion and feta dish. (At least, that’s how I see the dish.) Now if you want to mess with a good thing, and overpower the taste of the cucumbers, yogurt, and dill, by all means increase the amount of onion and feta. But if you want what is in my humble opinion a perfect blend of flavors – DON’T MESS WITH THE AMOUNTS!

So give this amazingly easy salad recipe a try. It goes together faster than you can agree on what movie to watch later in the evening. And delicious? You can bet your grandmothers’ dill pickle relish recipe that your family, (well maybe not your little ones) are going to love this dish. But anyone over the age of reasonable (about 16) is going to think this a really good salad, especially on a warm summer evening. It’s crunchy, slightly tangy, and complex without being pretentious. (16 year old eaters hate pretentious!) After all, by 16 they know the difference between a really good burger (think Red Robin) and a burger that simply fills them up (think Dick Donald’s). But pretentious, precious food is still a consumable to be avoided by them at any cost. And actually, I’m with them, the 16 year olds that is! I still dislike food that is overly fussed with, just too darling to be real, costs more than the current car I am driving, and in such a small portion that even a 95 pound, 95 year old diner would find it reasonable to demand that the chef leave the kitchen and justify his/her very existence! So you and your 16 year old, please enjoy this salad. And if your 16 year old turns his/her nose up at it, send them to their room. Tell them grandma Patti said to!

  • ½ c. plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ tsp. dried dill weed
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 T. finely chopped red onion
  • 1 medium sized English cucumber
  • ¼ c. crumbled feta cheese

In a medium sized salad bowl stir together the yogurt, dill weed, salt, pepper, and red onion. Cut off ends and partially peel the cucumber. Cut in half lengthwise and then in half again. Cut the 4 long pieces into small cubes. Add to the yogurt dressing and stir to coat all the pieces of cucumber. Gently fold in the feta being careful not to over-mix. Adjust seasoning and refrigerate for up to 2 hours or serve immediately.

BEETS IN A LEMON-GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

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My sister-in-law Katie served us these wonderful marinated beets at a picnic dinner before one of the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival concerts. We were dining with our friends Harvey and Harriett and 3 of their friends. So besides Katie and her husband Rick, Mr. C. and me, we were a lively party of 9 enjoying dinner together al fresco. Each party had contributed a couple of dishes, so we had just a charming array of wonderful dishes from which to choose. Everything was delicious. But I think Katie’s beets were my favorite that evening. (I actually made quite a pig of myself, but that’s neither here nor there!)

And of course, the fact that these exquisite beets have to be prepared ahead of time was an added bonus for me. (As you know, I have a bit of a fetish for dishes that profit by some mandatory down time.)

Since this is the perfect time of year to find fresh beets at farmer’s markets, I decided to take the liberty and share Katie’s recipe with you. And do try to find at least 2 different colored beets when you prepare this dish. The presentation is marvelous if you mix red beets with yellow golden beets, for example. (And remember, points are given for presentation!)

So do your family, friends, and pocket book a favor and try some of these fabulous marinated beets while it is still “beet” season. There is just nothing finer than to cook up a veggie that until you touched it had only been touched once before when earlier that same day it had been snatched from its lovely organic hiding place in a garden mere miles away. (Sounds abusive doesn’t it? But you know what I mean.)

So thanks again for the recipe Katie, and thanks too for letting me share it with my readers. And for those of you who have not tried a beet since you were forced to eat pickled beets as a child, wake up and smell the Miracle Grow. Fresh beets are sweet and delicious, and made using this recipe, absolutely irresistible. You’ll thank me, I know you will.

  • 1-1½ lb. assorted colored beets, as evenly sized as possible (4-7 beets)
  • ½ tsp. grated lemon rind
  • 2 T. fresh lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • ¼ c. chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • ½ tsp. coarse sea or kosher salt, or more to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

Wash the beets, but don’t peel or even remove either end of the beet. (If the greens are still attached, cut them off about 1 inch from the beet, but don’t you dare throw them away. You cook those greens up at your earliest convenience!)

Place the beets in a steamer and steam them until they are fork tender, 30-40 minutes. (In other words, you stick them with a fork and the fork goes in easily and pulls out easily.) Remove the hot beets to a cutting board and let them cool about 10 minutes before cutting off both ends, peeling, and cutting them into 1/3-inch thick slices. Place in a covered bowl.

Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon rind, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. When the beets are all sliced and still warm, pour the vinaigrette over them and gently stir until every surface is coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve at room temperature as a side dish, or piled on lettuce or arugula and drizzled with the remaining marinade/dressing as a salad.

 

OLD FASHIONED POTATO SALAD

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If you want a potato salad recipe that is healthy, light in calories, contains new and exciting ingredients, and could be featured in any magazine worth its salt in tofu, go no further. This is not the recipe for you! This is a recipe for good old fashioned potato salad that you might indulge in once a year, say, at your family’s annual picnic. (At least, I only let myself indulge in this potato salad on very rare occasions.) Because this is one of those comfort foods that once you take a bite, there is simply no going back (except for seconds of course!) This is the potato salad my children grew up with, and enjoyed every time it was prepared.

So I suppose by now you have glanced down at the list of ingredients. The first one is a beaut, ain’t it? But before you completely panic, let me tell you I use Best Foods “light” mayonnaise (Hellmann’s east of the Rockies) so it’s not quite as bad as it seems. From there on down it actually could be worse. For example, my son-in-law Marks mother made a similar potato salad but added cooked bacon and the bacon grease! So like I said, it actually could be worse. (BTW, crisp bacon in potato salad is amazing. I just can’t go that far however. I must draw the calorie line somewhere, and adding bacon is just too over the line for me!)

Once you’ve gotten over the shock of the 2 cups of mayonnaise, your reaction to the recipe should level off a bit. Of course there are potatoes in the recipe. Duh! (Not the best carb you could ask for.) But there’s celery, onion, and dill pickles. They’re veggies at least. And eggs are a great protein source. So all in all, not the worst thing you could eat. (That distinction belongs to any food deep fat fried according to the “how stuff works” web site.) In fact, potato salad isn’t even listed as one of the top 10 villainous foods. I was surprised however at some of the foods that made the list. For your viewing pleasure, I have included the other 9 culprits:

Bacon (no surprise), sodas (duh), artificial sweeteners (never have trusted them), shelf-stable condiments like ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, etc. (big surprise), swordfish and some tuna (high levels of mercury), processed meats (no surprise), microwave popcorn (what??), bagels (at least bagels made with only refined white flour), and dairy (big surprise). For more information about why these items are bad boys, visit science.howstuffworks.com. But back to this recipe…..

This is a spinoff of a recipe first published in Sunset Magazine back in the 70s. It is simple to prepare, delicious, and slightly piquant from the vinegar and dill pickles. So someday soon treat yourself, your family, and friends to a dish from a bygone era. And yes, I do enjoy some of the new and healthy ways to prepare potato salad. But when I want to embrace my roots, (or should I say – embrace my tubers) and fix a dish that I know everyone is going to enjoy, I boil up some potatoes, and slather them in one of the tastiest dressings I know how to prepare.

So have fun this summer, cook up a storm, and invite the gang over for a good old fashioned BBQ. For more wonderful summer recipes, search this site under BBQ & Picnic Recipes. Cheers!

  • 2 c. mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp. dill weed
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 2 T. prepared mustard (not Dijon – the old fashioned yellow kind)
  • 2 T. white vinegar (plain old fashioned vinegar – none of this white wine or fancy vinegar)
  • 1 tsp. celery seeds
  • 2-3 tsp. salt (if you salted the cooking water for the potatoes, start with 2 teaspoons of salt)
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 3 large dill pickles, finely chopped
  • 10 medium potatoes, cooked* (I use russet or Yukon Gold)
  • 8-10 hard boiled eggs 
  • paprika, garnish, opt.

Combine mayonnaise, dill weed, sugar, mustard, vinegar, celery seed, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the celery, onion, and chopped dill pickles. When the potatoes have sat draining for about 10 minutes, scoop them into the mixing bowl over the celery, etc.. Let the potatoes continue to cool a bit while you peel and grate the hard boiled eggs.

Carefully stir in the dressing. Try not to break the potato chunks as you combine the ingredients. Then stir in the grated eggs. If the salad seems a bit dry, whisk a bit more mayonnaise, vinegar, and mustard together and stir into the salad. Taste and adjust seasoning. Scoop into a salad bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. Can be prepared a day ahead.

*How to cook perfect potatoes for your salad:

Peel, rinse, and cut the potatoes into between ¾ & 1-inch pieces

Place cut potatoes in a large pot. Cover with water (water level should come about 1-inch above potatoes), and season the water with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are just tender all the way through, about 8-12 minutes. Test after 7 minutes. (Don’t over-cook the potatoes). A paring knife should slide in and out of a potato chunk fairly easily when the potatoes are done.

Drain the potatoes into a colander and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to the mixing bowl with the celery, onion, and chopped dill pickles and proceed with the recipe as written above. 

This recipe was updated on 7/18/2021

SIMPLE ITALIAN ROCKET (ARUGULA) SALAD

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I don’t know who invented those plastic flip top boxes that contain ready to eat greens, but whoever it was, she has my everlasting gratitude. And yes, triple washed greens were invented for lazy people like me who love salad but don’t always have the willpower or energy to wash a bunch of greens. (And yes, I know part of the solution for flagging energy – more greens, right?) So for me, prewashed organic greens that come all tidily nestled in their own plastic tub or bag are an absolute Godsend. Conundrum solved!

Plus, the package provides the pull date, so I can reasonably judge how long the contents of the box or bag will last before becoming yard waste fodder. (As many of you know, I need all the help I can get with my predisposition to allow perfectly good veggies to molder in my refrigerator.)

So with pre-washed veggies in mind, I decided to post another simple salad that Mr. C. and I enjoy regularily. And the great thing about this salad; it compliments just about any entrée, Italian or not. So without further ado, the only thing left to say about this salad besides how easy and fast it is to prepare is, yummy, yummy, yummy!!!

  • 1 T. fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp. kosher or sea salt, or more to taste
  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ c. thinly sliced red onion
  • ¼ c. salted sunflower seeds
  • 4 c. baby arugula (rocket)
  • shaved Parmesan, as much or as little as you want (remember: the better the Parmesan, the better the salad)

Whisk together the lemon juice, salt, and olive oil in a salad bowl. Add the red onion, sunflower seeds, and arugula. Toss in the Parmesan. Serve immediately.

ROMAINE AND RED ONION SALAD WITH CREAMY PARMESAN-PEPPERCORN DRESSING

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I love salad, and for quite some time now I have been envisioning a creamy salad dressing with Parmesan cheese and peppercorns having the starring roles. So recently when I needed a simple salad to go with an Italian food themed dinner I was planning, I figured there was no time like the present to work up a recipe for the dressing I had been imagining.

I knew the dressing had to include vinegar and olive oil. But the creaminess I was seeking could only be achieved if I included mayonnaise. My problem then was – how not to taste the mayonnaise. (Don’t get me wrong, I love mayonnaise. But I really didn’t want mayonnaise to be the predominant flavor.) So I started with the vinegar and olive oil, and added mayonnaise a tablespoon at a time until I achieved the consistency and flavor I wanted.

So what I came up with is a dressing that tastes a lot like Caesar dressing, but not quite. It has an intense Parmesan and peppercorn flavor that works perfectly with simple romaine. Add a small amount of thinly sliced red onion, and you have a very simple salad to prepare, but one that packs a lot of flavor. And luckily, the dressing works great with just about any greens or veggies you might have on hand.

So do yourself a favor. Build some of this dressing and use it on any of your favorite combinations of greens and chopped vegetables. Or if you are feeling completely uninspired some evening, try this recipe as written. (Some nights just lend themselves better to letting someone else supply the creativity while zombie like, you follow the recipe instructions as given.) Believe me, I get it. I have had more of those times than I care to admit. Just get the dinner on the table, and be done with the whole thing! And yes, before you ask, I still have evenings like that every once in awhile. Now granted, not as many as when I was a working mommy, but there are still times when cooking dinner and cleaning the bathrooms are equally abhorrent! Those are the times I set myself on cruise control and rely on muscle memory to find my way around the kitchen. Actually in retrospect, some of my best meals have been executed by the automaton that lies within! Perhaps I should give this side of me free rein more often. I’m sure Mr. C. would appreciate dining more often on food he has previously enjoyed rather than always being subjected to yet another new recipe I am trying to perfect. I’ll think about it. Let you know what I decide. But for now, I will continue bombarding you with my new and other peoples’ fabulous recipes until I can no longer stand the sight of my BlueStar range. Sorry honey.

  • ¼ c. white wine vinegar
  • ¼ c. mayonnaise
  • 2 small garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • lots of coarse ground black pepper
  • 6 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2/3 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • chopped romaine
  • very thinly sliced red onion

Whisk together the vinegar, mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until mixture emulsifies. Gently stir in the Parmesan. Adjust seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before mixing with romaine and red onion. Serve immediately.

Note: This is a potent dressing, so error on the stingy side when dressing the greens. You can always add more dressing as needed.

 

KALE SALAD WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES, PUMPKIN SEEDS, AND POPPY SEED DRESSING

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(Yes, that’s me getting all the food, including this salad, set out for our 34 guests last Sunday. For more information about vocal jazz home concerts, visit us at jazzvox.com)

So as many of you will suspect after reading the list of ingredients for this salad recipe, this is a knock off on the kale salad kit you can buy at Costco or in the produce section of most large grocery stores. At home I hardly ever use salad kits, but when we are traveling in our enormous 15.7 foot (interior space) trailer, we buy salad kits because it just makes sense to do so. (My trailer refrigerator is actually good sized, but there is still only so much room.) So while trailering, salad kits are a real boon towards keeping us closer to our normal practice of eating salads as often as possible. And believe me, when we travel we need all the help we can get, nutrition wise that is. We tend to allow ourselves more guilty pleasure foods when we are far away from home and our bathroom scale. (Jalapeño Cheetos is just one example of the type of food we allow ourselves too often when we are on vacation.) Ahhhh, the memories! But back to reality and this post…

With every dinner, whether I am at home or cooking in my trailer, I try to serve at least one item with some crunch to it. (And no, Cheetos don’t count, even if you are on vacation!) So for the pre-concert JazzVox meal this past Sunday, I served this very crunchy and healthy salad to our guests. Everyone seemed to enjoy the flavors and several people requested the recipe. So dear friends, here is my take on a salad that just smacks of trying to do the right thing for your body. Easy to prepare – yes; healthy – yes; can be prepared ahead of time – yes. All the right requirements! Plus, the 4 components of this salad (the veggies, dressing, cranberries, and seeds) can be stored for more than one meal. Just keep the cut veggies separate from the salad dressing, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. Then just before serving, combine whatever amount of greens, dressing, cranberries, and seeds you need, and save the rest for another meal. Easy peasy!

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I also learned about another way to use this lovely combination of fresh veggies from our good friend Jim. They can be stir fried for a fabulous warm side dish. Just sauté the veggies in a small amount of good olive oil just until they are crisp tender. Then give them a nice sprinkle of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and finish with a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Or in place of the balsamic vinegar, pour on a small amount of an Asian salad dressing and Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce. Stir until all the veggies are evenly coated. Serve both of these variations hot out of the pan. Thanks Jim for these wonderful suggestions.

So next time you need a wonderful crunchy veggie salad, or a delightful and healthy veggie side dish, give these recipes a try. I guarantee you will enjoy every nutritious bite.

  • 2 c. chopped curly kale, massaged (see instructions and information below)
  • 2 c. thinly sliced red cabbage
  • 2 c. thinly sliced napa cabbage
  • 1 c. chopped broccoli
  • 4-5 Brussels sprouts, cut in half and then thinly sliced
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
  • 4 green onions, finely minced
  • ½ c. dried cranberries
  • ½ c. pumpkin seeds

Combine the kale, cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrot, and green onions in a bowl. Add enough salad dressing to just moisten the veggies. (Remember, you can always add more dressing if needed, but it’s darn hard to fix a salad that has been over dressed.) Just before serving, stir in the cranberries and pumpkin seeds.

Salad Dressing:

  • 3 T. apple cider vinegar
  • 2 T. fresh lemon juice
  • 4 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 2 T. honey
  • 1 T. poppy seeds
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ c. extra virgin olive oil

Whisk all the ingredients together and store in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature and whisk thoroughly before using in moderation on this or any of your favorite green salads or cole slaws.

Massaged Kale:

Remove the fibrous ribs, wash, dry, and chop the kale into small pieces. Rub the kale pieces together with your fingers for about 2 minutes or until the leaves turn a darker color as the tough cellulose structure breaks down. Massaging kale actually eliminates the bitter taste making it a perfect green for almost any salad.

CHICKEN OR SALMON CAESAR SALAD

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Caesar salad is a classic for one very good reason. It is flat out delicious. And when you make it at home using fresh ingredients, it is especially delightful. And I know Caesar salad appears on just about every menu in America. So why (you ask yourself) should anyone bother making it at home, when it can so easily be ordered in a restaurant. Well my dear friends, the answer to that question is easy; because you can make it even better and healthier at home.

When you build your own Caesar salad you control the amount of salt in the dressing, the ratio of dressing to romaine, how much Parmesan to add, and the amount, if any, of croutons you want to use. Of course you won’t be ingesting any of the preservatives and unpronounceable ingredients from the bottled dressing and purchased croutons a restaurant uses, but I’m betting that’s not going to worry you too much!

Now for some people who want to just eat a big old salad for lunch or dinner, but would like to add some protein, the addition of chicken or salmon is the perfect solution. Most of the time when Caesar salad is offered in a restaurant, the chicken is grilled or the salmon is blackened. Both of these preparations are wonderful. But instead of the more traditional way of cooking the chicken or salmon, I like to bake it. I find that the meat is routinely moist when I bake it in a hot oven. Then just before serving, I slice or dice (the chicken) or place the whole salmon fillet right on top of the mixed salad. Serve with a lemon wedge or two, and as they say in jolly old England – Bob’s your uncle!

BTW: I provided my two favorite recipes for Caesar salad dressing below. Both are truly wonderful. I simply prepare one or the other depending on the ingredients I have on hand and whichever dressing appeals to my capricious taste buds at the time. However you dress this salad, you are in for a taste treat.

Also, every part of this salad can be prepared ahead of time. The lettuce can be cleaned and kept in the refrigerator a couple days before it is needed. The dressing can be prepared up to 4 days ahead. Grate the Parmesan at your leisure and just pull it out of the refrigerator when needed. The croutons can be made a week ahead as long as they are completely cool when you place them in an airtight container. And even the chicken or salmon can be prepared ahead of time. Just make sure it is room temperature before it is served.

  • romaine lettuce, cut, washed and spun dry (you really want to start with dry lettuce so that the dressing adheres to each leaf)
  • Caesar dressing (just enough to coat the leaves, but not so much that the salad appears and tastes “wet”)
  • grated Parmesan cheese (I have found that using less than you think you need is probably just about right. Too much Parmesan overpowers the other flavors and makes the salad too rich.)
  • croutons (as few or as many as you like)
  • sliced or cubed chicken or a small fillet of salmon
  • 1 lemon, cut in wedges

CAESAR DRESSING

  • 1 lg. garlic clove, finely minced
  • 6 anchovy fillets or 1-2 tsp. anchovy paste
  • 2 T. fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 3 T. sour cream
  • ¼ tsp. seasoned salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

Combine garlic and anchovy fillets or paste in a small bowl. Mush them together with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and whisk to blend thoroughly. Use immediately or refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before mixing salad.

CREAMY CAESAR SALAD DRESSING

  • 1 T. mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, chopped
  • ½ tsp. anchovy paste, or to taste
  • ¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • scant ½ c. vegetable oil
  • ¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Place mayonnaise, mustard, chopped garlic, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in the bowl of an electric food processor. Process until smooth and well blended. While the food processor is still on, very slowly pour in the vegetable oil. Blend until thick and creamy. Add Parmesan cheese and pulse 5 or 6 times.

GARLIC CROUTONS

Chop up some small bite sized pieces of a chewy, artisan baguette. Place in a frying pan with butter or olive oil (or a combination) and sauté until each crouton is dry and crunchy. (This takes about 45 minutes because you need to go low (heat) and slow.) Add more butter or oil as needed. When desired crunchiness is attained, sprinkle with granulated garlic. Allow to cool completely before placing in an airtight container.

SAVORY BAKED CHICKEN OR SALMON – based on an Ina Garten recipe

  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for basting
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 3 T. dry white wine
  • zest and juice of 1 regular sized lemon
  • pinch dried oregano
  • pinch dried thyme leaves
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 2 salmon fillets

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and just a small amount of black pepper. Pour into a 9×9-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts or salmon fillets dry and place them over the sauce. (If you are using a piece of salmon that has skin on one side, place the fish skin side up in the sauce.) Brush with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts or fillets. Do not over-cook. (Remember, salmon cooks faster than chicken, so set your timer accordingly.) Remove the cooked meat from the oven and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil; allow to rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing, dicing or serving whole over the prepared salad. (Remember to take the skin off the salmon before serving.) For the final touch, I like to drizzle a little bit of the baking sauce over the meat. Yum

 

 

 

 

 

KALE AND WILD RICE SALAD

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This is my adaptation of PCCs Emerald City Salad. PCCs recipe calls for half a bunch of kale and half a bunch of chard, half a red pepper and half a yellow pepper, and half a fennel bulb. I don’t like “half a somethings”. As much as possible I like to use the entire pepper, or bunch of green onions or whatever. And that’s because I unfortunately have this unforgivable tendency to forget about “half a somethings” and let them turn to “ish” in my veggie drawer. And I know. You would expect a savvy person like me to have my culinary life better organized. Forget that! I’m as capable as the next person when it comes to forgetting what lies at the bottom of my refrigerator. In fact, I may actually be better at it than any of you. (I know, not something to be proud of.) But enough about my shortcomings and more about this amazing salad.

Mr. C and I first enjoyed this salad at our friend Rachael’s home. She had purchased the salad from her local PCC. Now being the food snob that I am, I assumed that any purchased salad could never taste as good as one prepared at home. What I was forgetting was that the salad came from PCC. PCC knows how to do food right. Of course you pay through the nose for their deli items, but the few I have tasted have been first cabin. And I know they are made with fresh organic ingredients and contain no unhealthy additives.

So before you prepare this salad, should you have any misgivings, go to your nearest PCC, after first hitting your local cash machine of course, and give this salad a try. Then having learned that the salad is absolutely delicious, give my version a try. I promise you won’t miss the chard, or the flavor of both a red and a yellow pepper, or the additional thin slices of fennel. Just don’t not make this salad. It is ever so healthy for you without making you feel like you have had to sacrifice flavor for the pleasurable feeling of virtuosity. I say that’s a win/win situation.

  • 1 c. uncooked wild rice
  • 3 c. salted water
  • ½ c. extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ c. fresh lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 bunch kale, stems removed, cut into bite sized pieces and massaged (see massage instructions below)
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced (or half a red & half a yellow pepper)
  • 1 carrot, cut into match stick sized pieces
  • 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch green onions, chopped
  • ½ c. chopped Italian parsley

Bring water to a boil; add rice. Stir. Bring rice back to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until the water is absorbed, 60 to 65 minutes; remove from heat and let cool. (Or do like I do –use your rice cooker!) While the rice cooks, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. When the rice is cool, toss it with the dressing. Just before serving, toss the massaged kale, red pepper, carrot, fennel, green onions, and parsley in with the dressed rice. Add salt if needed.

Salad can be made up to 4 days in advance.

Massaged Kale:

Using your fingers, rub the kale until it turns a darker green and when tasted, has lost all its bitterness.

 

 

 

 

GURKENSALAT (GERMAN CUCUMBER SALAD)

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I love cucumbers in just about any form. I love pickles (check out my recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles on this site), salads featuring cucumbers (as in Japanese Cucumber Salad – Sunomono and Cucumber and Red Onion Salad, also on this site) and now this amazing salad I worked up for our most recent JazzVox concert. And oh am I glad I decided to feature German food and wanted a crunchy and different side salad to go with my other German offerings. I’m also glad I rarely eat at the same time as our guests. Because, had I started on this salad, there would not have been anything left for others to enjoy!

This is simply my favorite kind of salad. It’s savory, creamy and crunchy all at the same time. And the best part – it needs to be prepared the day before.

Oh how I love food that has to be prepared ahead of time, especially when I have other dishes that need last minute attention and the meal has to be ready at a certain time. (And yes, I fully appreciate restaurant cooks who can get multiple entrées ready at the same time. How do they do that? I can barely manage to get one meal for 25-40 ready to serve at a given time. Maybe that’s why I never became a restaurant chef. Yah think?!)

What I did become however is a person who appreciates good food. (I actually appreciate good food a little too much if my bathroom scale can be believed.) So when I tasted this salad, I knew I had found the perfect balance of salt, sugar, and vinegar absolutely necessary for an authentic German style cucumber salad.

So give this recipe a try. You might want to have a beer close by while you eat this manna from heaven too. And should you happen to be one of those people who look good in lederhosen, you could probably get away without too much ridicule if you hand the person taunting you a bowl of this salad. It’s really hard to bait someone and gulp down food at the same time! Prost!

  • 2 English cucumbers, partially peeled and very thinly sliced
  • ½ onion (yellow, white, or red), thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ c. sour cream
  • 1 tsp. white sugar
  • 2 T. white vinegar
  • 1 tsp. dried dill weed
  • freshly ground black pepper (just a small amount)
  • 2 tsp. finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Place cucumbers and onions in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let rest for 30 minutes. Squeeze excess moisture from veggies. Meanwhile whisk together the sour cream, sugar, vinegar, dill, pepper, and parsley. Add the cucumbers and onions and refrigerate for at least 8 hours; preferably over night.