Tricolor Salad

This recipe is also from one of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazines (LOVE THEM!). This salad is beautiful with the mixture of color, light, but yet hearty with the Parmesan.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

Salad

• 2 c. corn kernels (from 3 ears) - I just used 1 can of corn
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced into .25 in half-moons
• 1 small head of radicchio, cut into 1-in pieces

Dressing

• 2 TBS red-wine vinegar
• 1 TBS EVOO
• 2 TBS grated Parmesan
• 1 tsp honey

1. Mix all dressing ingredients together thoroughly
2. Mix all salad ingredients, and then toss with mixed dressing. You can prep everything up to a day before (be careful, as the water from the cucumber will come out) and then mix the salad and dressing together right before serving.

Nutrition:
122 cal; 5 g fat (1 g sat fat); 4 g protein; 18 g carb; 3 g fiber

Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad

I made this the day after Thanksgiving with leftover chicken from Thanksgiving dinner (my family eats chicken instead of turkey), and it turned out well. I had been looking for a chicken salad recipe for my leftover meat which didn't really use mayonnaise and came up with this in a Google search. I recently made this salad earlier in the week for my mom to take to lunch... and she loved it! To be a bit healthier, I used whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta. For the chicken, I just seasoned some chicken breast and roasted it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Original link: http://blogchef.net/sesame-salad-recipe/

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
¼ cup sesame seeds
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 cups cooked chicken (shredded or cut into small chunks)
1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
1/3 cup green onions (sliced)


Step 1:  Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add sesame seeds and cook while stirring until they are lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook according to package direction until Al Dente. Drain pasta and cool. Transfer to a large serving bowl.


Step 2: In a jar with a tight fitting lid combine vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, ginger, black pepper and sesame seeds. Shake well.

Step 3: Pour the dressing over the noodles. Add chicken and mix well. Add green onions and cilantro and serve.

(Makes 4 Servings)

Warm Potato Salad with Goat Cheese

 

I got this recipe from the New York Times, and it's awesome. I'm a huge fan of potato salad, but I hate anything with too much mayonnaise. So this recipe is perfect because instead of mayonnaise, it uses goat cheese. It also differs nicely from standard potato salads because it uses a vinaigrette dressing, and it's served warm.

You can use Yukon golds, fingerlings or red bliss potatoes for this warm, creamy salad. The goat cheese melts into the dressing when you toss it with the hot potatoes. 


For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (can also use regular vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small or medium garlic clove, minced or pureed
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or for a low-fat dressing use 1/4 cup low-fat yogurt or buttermilk and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold, fingerling or red bliss potatoes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped red onion (to taste), rinsed with cold water and drained (NOTE: You can use regular onions, and add more if you desire - I always do!)
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 ounces soft goat cheese
• 2 to 3 sage leaves, cut in thin slivers (optional)

1. Make the dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil or the yogurt and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings, Set aside.

2. Scrub the potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch dice if large. If using fingerlings cut in 3/4 inch slices. Steam above 1 inch of boiling water until tender but not mushy, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss while hot in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste, the onions, parsley, goat cheese, and the dressing. Sprinkle the sage over the top and serve.

Yield: Serves 6

Advance preparation: You can make the dressing several hours before making the salad.

Notes: Instead of steaming the potatoes, I'll simply drop them into boiling water and remove them right when they become soft. You don't want to put them in for too long because they'll get mushy. The potato salad also tastes great with small cubes of chicken breast mixed in.

Brussels sprout salad w/ mustard vinaigrette

My first addition to this blog is a brussels sprouts salad that I made over my winter break for a friend's Christmas party/potluck. It was very well-received. This winter season is the first time I've started eating brussel sprouts after hearing so much about them from my friends. They are very nutritious (high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid and fiber) and as long as you don't cook them for too long, they are delicious! Most people think they taste funny, but this is because they usually cook them for too long. Cooking them for too long releases glucosinolate sinigrin, which has a sulfurous odor. Trader Joe's sells brussels sprout stalks quite cheaply, and I believe they are still in season right now.

The recipe I am sharing below was featured in the LA Times. They adapted the recipe from La Grande Orange Café in Pasadena. I adapted the mustard vinaigrette from another recipe I found instead of using the one they recommended. I also think Song-My's mustard vinaigrette's recipe would work great as well! (and may be simpler to make)

Mustard Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• kosher salt and cracked black pepper
• maple syrup (honey/agave would work well too i think)

Salad

• 1 pound brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon dried blueberries
• 2 tablespoons whole almonds, toasted (preferably California or Spanish Marcona)
• 1 ounce Manchego cheese, shaved using a peeler (Trader Joe's sells Manchego)

Directions

1. Put the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and mustard into a small mason jar, along with the salt and pepper. Put on the lid and shake that jar until the vinaigrette has come together. Add maple syrup and shake again. Keep adding maple syrup until it tastes good!
2. Peel the leaves from the Brussels sprouts until you reach the core. This is an excruciatingly slow process, but the presentation is beautiful. (Although you can discard the core, I saved the brussels sprouts core and later chopped them up and stir-fried them with bacon.)
3. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the Brussels sprouts leaves just until they are a vibrant (beautiful) green and barely tender. Drain immediately and place in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and dry well. You should have 3 cups of leaves.
   
4. In a large bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts leaves, cranberries, blueberries, almonds and just enough vinaigrette to lightly moisten. (Side tip: Alice Waters says that the best way to dress a salad is to use your hands, and to dress each ingredient separately so that the dressing gets dispersed throughout the salad and through each ingredient's texture. I follow this religiously.)
5. Mound the salad on a plate, and top with the cheese shavings. Serve and savor immediately... :)

Mustard Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

This is such a versatile salad dressing that is super yummy. I got the recipe from my cousin some 5 years ago, and it's a staple in my house - I always have some of it on hand.

Whisk all the ingredients together, and add the chopped onions at the end.

• 3/4 cup oil (can use less if you want)
• 3/4 tbsp chopped onion (can put more if you want)
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tbsp poppy seed (optional)

Salad ingredients

• Mixed greens
• Caramelized almonds: Put slivered almonds (you can use regular almonds cut in half) in a pan in low to medium heat, and add 3 tbsp of sugar. Watch it because it will burn. Keep stirring until after the sugar caramelizes. When it has browned, turn off the heat. Put it aside to cool, and then put it in the salad.
• Optional: spinach, mushrooms, thinly cut red onions, shredded cheese, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries