It may be a long time since I’d made this – as long as 14 years ago. On the day that our daughter, Dana, was married in our backyard. About 50 people were invited and having a catered lunch was just not in the cards. So I elicited help from family and friends to help with the last-minute food prep to serve a nice lunch buffet. I served a Cornish game hen salad that had been a favorite (still is), and this salad. In this dish we covered salad and carbs all in one.

Once Dana & Todd said their vows, we served shrimp & avocado salsa to keep everyone’s tummies under control. It was a very, very hot September day. My treasured punch bowl broke when we served the punch – I’d placed the bowl on a table outside and it sat in the sun for about 4-5 minutes before I poured the iced punch into the bowl. I heard the crack. And shortly thereafter, all the punch dribbled out the bottom of the bowl, all over the tablecloth and all over the patio. Sigh. I’ve never replaced the punch bowl. Thought about it, but haven’t.

Ideally this dish is made with red-skinned potatoes, but I had some of those new baby potatoes on hand – they’re called “teeny tiny potatoes.” The recipe came from Bon Appétit, way back in 1994. The recipe is available online, and some people who made it thought the dressing was too heavy and oily. Indeed, if you poured all the dressing onto the potatoes it might be – but I never have. I always have dressing left over, so keep that in mind. I’ve added another tablespoon of vinegar to the mix – I like it better myself.

A secret, if there is one, to this recipe is pouring apple cider vinegar over the hot potatoes. As with many absorbent carbs (like beans and potatoes), they benefit from a lot of acid. I have a sensational bean salad that I make that has almost no oil in it – all vinegar. The beans soak up the acid, and somehow the starch in the bean just neutralizes the vinegar. Don’t know how or why that works, but it does. This recipe works much the same way. You can leave the potatoes out at room temp for up to 4 hours, so it’s just a matter of making the Romaine salad part, tossing dressing on the potatoes, spreading them on top of the salad, then sprinkling capers on top.

I had leftovers after serving this, so I removed the Romaine and saved the all-dressed potatoes. The next night I made a more traditional green salad (Romaine, radishes, red cabbage only) and piled the potatoes on top. I also dressed the entire salad with the Dijon dressing too. I liked it better.

You can prepare the dressing up to a day ahead; just bring it to room temp before tossing it on the potatoes. I like this dish because it covers both salad and carbs – all in one. The dressing is a mustard-rich one – you definitely can taste more than a hint of the mustard. If you don’t like mustard, tone it down a bit. This salad can be taken to a picnic. Is great for a hot summer night.
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A year ago: Cornish Game Hen Salad
Two years ago: Sicilian Tuna Salad

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When I saw the photo in Cooking Light for this salad, I figured I’d have to make it sometime. It was perfect for our outdoor dinner party the other night. I could make it ahead (at least 24 or up to 48 hours even), it provided a bit of carbohydrate for the meal, it was tangy with fresh lemon juice from the fruit of our Meyer lemon trees, and last but not least, it had lots of fresh veggies in it. With only two tablespoons of oil in the entire dish.

I set up my little photo studio as I made it. As if you didn’t already know how to layer things. But here goes. First I started with my tall glass trifle dish. I’ve served a green salad in it before, but it’s just perfect for this layered salad. The recipe said it served 8 – we were having 6 – so with some of the vegetables I used slightly less. It would depend on the bowl you used, too.

First went in the dry bulgur wheat. Just poured it in there.

The dressing was mixed up – 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, the 2 T. of olive oil, some fresh garlic and salt. I poured it in and stirred it briefly to make sure all the bulgur was in contact with the dressing.

The layer of onions was next. The recipe called for red onions, but I didn’t have any. However, I did have some Washington sweet onions.

Then I chopped up about $6.00 worth of heirloom tomatoes. It made two cups of chopped tomatoes. Almost hated to use them for this since I wasn’t sure the superior flavor would shine through. But it’s what I had on hand.

I cut some fresh mint from our garden, added some fresh Italian parsley and some fresh dill. Chopped it up finely, mixed it together with my hands, and sprinkled that on top of the tomatoes.

Next went a generous layer of cucumbers. I used the hothouse type and left the dark-green skin intact. That was spread around a bit to fill in the outer edges.

Lastly, a mixture of red and yellow bell peppers was added. The top was sprinkled with some kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper.

Then I sealed it tight with plastic wrap and refrigerated it for 24 hours.

Just tell your guests to dip down deep, so they get some of the bulgur at the bottom. Once the first person dips in, the salad loses some of its form, but that’s okay. You need to put the bulgur on the bottom, because it needs to absorb all that lemon dressing.

What I love about this kind of salad is the tang from the lemon juice. I have a favorite Syrian salad I make every summer that has crushed up toasted pita bread in it. (Joanne – thanks again for that great recipe – she shared it at an office potluck many years back – and now lives in Switzerland ) I just adore that salad. This is reminiscent of it, except it has the bulgur as the carb. If you have extra room at the top of your bowl, just before serving, chop up some lettuces and pile that in. The dressing will spread around once you dish this up so the lettuce would have some tang. Or, toss the salad with a bit of lemony dressing, then scoop it on top. I’ll make this again – particularly because I can make it the day before.
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A year ago: Zucchini (everything you always wanted to know)
Two years ago: Baked Fennel

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1. Thick slices of heirloom tomatoes.

2. Thick slices of fresh mozzarella burratta on top of the tomatoes

3. Freshly picked basil right out of the garden

4. Drizzles of Spanish extra virgin olive oil

5. Little drizzles of strawberry balsamic vinegar

6. Oops, forgot the grind of salt and pepper. Didn’t miss it, did we?

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Since I was just talking about corn yesterday, this seems like a perfectly appropriate time to share a corn salad recipe. There must be as many variations for such as shells in the sea. This one is on the sweet side (sugar – or Splenda – in the dressing) and it’s marinated for a minimum of 8 hours.

When we visited our friends at Cardwell Hill (the winery in Oregon) a few days ago, Nancy served this salad for our late lunch. It was SO good, I asked her for the recipe. It popped into my email inbox yesterday.

The recipe calls for canned corn (shoe peg actually, but my DH did the shopping and he couldn’t find any shoe peg white corn) so this is just ordinary canned corn. You could easily use fresh corn too. Instead of pimientos, I used peppadew peppers. There’s a picture (left) of the jar, one whole pepper, and several of them minced up. I’ve talked about peppadew peppers before – they’re favorites of mine and are grown in South Africa. Some olive bars at upscale markets have them. They’re sweet and tart at the same time.

I didn’t have any green bell pepper (could have used some red, yellow or orange just as easily).

Because I try to reduce sugar anywhere I can, I used less than the original recipe called for – and I used Splenda – so if you think it tastes too vinegar-y, by all means add more sweetener. It’s really tasty – can be made up ahead – and likely will keep for several days. The dressing can also be used again, so don’t throw it out – just add different veggies to it for a 2nd rendition.

So thanks, Nancy, for this great recipe.
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A year ago: Flank Steak with Orange Marinade
Two years ago: The BEST Bean Salad (a family favorite, low calorie, but you’d never guess it)

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This salad was served at a group function last December. As soon as I saw it on the potluck table for my book group, I knew it was this recipe I’d just read in Food & Wine (November ‘08 issue). I’d clipped it out, actually, because it was different. I thoroughly enjoyed the salad, and vowed I’d make it soon.

In my lifetime, I don’t think I’d ever eaten a CELERY salad. Waldorf yes. Celery no. But this salad just has the most wonderful combo of flavors. Let me try to give you a verbal picture. The celery is thinly sliced (thinner the better). I happened to have added some Belgian endive to mine, but was for no particular reason. The dates are pitted and sliced lengthwise. The walnuts are toasted and chopped. The dressing is simple – sherry vinegar, walnut oil, extra virgin olive oil and a shallot. Simply whizzed up  in the blender, but it can be done by hand easily enough. THEN, you add the pecorino cheese as a garnish. My salad didn’t even need salt. Pepper, yes, salt no. When you put a bite in your mouth the sweet of the dates provide a perfect counterbalance to the salty of the cheese. And the minced toasted walnuts add even more crunch than the celery.

Dates are generally not one of my favorite things. I don’t really like the soft, mushy texture. Don’t really like dates in a quick bread, for instance. But I REALLY liked them in this salad. Medjool dates are very large. Next time I might chop the dates into smaller pieces because I really enjoyed having some date with every bite.

Now, pecorino cheese is a unique flavor. It’s Tuscan. Kind of like Parmigiano-Reggiano, but a bit more sharp. Almost meat-like to me. More dry and crumbly somehow. Can be young or old, dry or more moist. Very salty or not. Even softer or harder. It depends on the cheese producer. The last time I was in Italy I made a point of trying pecorino every chance I got. Bought it in a deli and in a grocery store. Here at home I buy my pecorino from a local Italian deli. Theirs happens to be moderately salty, so I’m always careful about not overly salting whatever I’m using it for.
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Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click link to open in MC – 14 contains photo)

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You’ll have to take a gander at these little baby globe-shaped eggplant (below) – they’re called Hindu, or Indian, or Indian Paint. They’re full grown, not really babies. Cute little buggers. Offered at the local farmer’s market last week, and I wanted to do something easy but fun with them.

I cut them in half (although you don’t have to) and baked them (drizzled with olive oil) at 375 for about 45 minutes, until the skins had begun to shrivel. But not enough that they’d dried out. I had ample ripe on-the-stem tomatoes, some red onion, green onion, fresh mint and parsley. Then I made a dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. The recipe came from Chow.com. I’d never looked at the website before, but the recipe is credited to a restaurant called Nopa (in San Francisco). Chef Laurence Jossel. This could also be an appetizer, I think – the original recipe sounds more like one since you scoop it onto pita bread. So think of that as an option. I made it as a side dish with grilled lamb chops.

The salad, to be served at room temp, was easy. Just a bit of chopping and mincing involved. Be sure to include the wine vinegar – lemon juice isn’t enough to give this salad it’s bright flavor. The original recipe said just wine vinegar – I used sherry because I have some good stuff and like to use it in a salad such as this one when the flavor shines through. These small eggplant don’t need to be skinned – their skin is quite thin and quite edible.
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A year ago: Asparagus (everything you ever wanted to know about)
Two years ago:  Bacon & Tomato Dunk (oh yes, one of my fav’s)

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Okay. Attention here. (Teacher rapping her ruler on her desk) This is your homework for tonight. You must go home and make this recipe, suit it to your tastes, and report back tomorrow on the results. Got the assignment? Good.

When I read about this recipe over at Farmgirl Fare, Susan raptured on about how delicious it was. Yea, yea, I thought. What’s another garbanzo bean salad? And yet there was something about what she had to say that piqued my interest. Maybe the feta? The cooked onions? The garlic? All those things in a cold salad? All of the above were reasons. And probably the photo doesn’t do it justice. My first bite, as I was making it, was sublime. How could those ingredients – all simple things, all items I had in my refrigerator or pantry, taste so darned good? Don’t know the answer, but it just is. Good. Susan mentioned that whenever it’s in her refrigerator somehow her fork finds its way into the bowl. Yep. I understand perfectly. Our leftovers probably won’t last through tomorrow (although I did make only half a recipe – using one can of garbanzos). Note to self: buy more cilantro and red onion (so I can make more in a few days).

Susan’s recipe called for kalamata olives (or oil-cured). I chose to eliminate those, but that’s just my personal choice. You can add them in. I also added some tarragon just because I had a small package of it about to go south. I may not have had enough green onion tops, but I think this salad is flexible. If there are ingredients in this you don’t like, switch them out, that’s all. Oh, I also used lime juice because I had fresh limes. There wasn’t time to chill it, but it made “no nevermind,” as they say. I’ll have to let you know if the leftovers are even more off the charts. The recipe came from a cookbook called Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes by Tessa Kiros.

So, friends. Are you going to make this right now or later? I recommend right now.
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A year ago: Watermelon Blueberry Soup (cold)
Two years ago: Baby Back Ribs with Peanut Butter Slather (oh yea, those ribs were amazing)

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If you leave out the chicken, this could easily be a side dish too.

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, then you know right off the bat that after reading the title, this must be a recipe from Phillis Carey. She doesn’t want you to miss anything about the dish, and perhaps pass it by, so she tempts you with the major ingredients. To make sure.

And indeed, I might have passed on this recipe (I don’t make couscous very often since there isn’t much of anything healthy about couscous – it’s just tiny pasta). I don’t dislike couscous, but know that’s it’s just a high glycemic carb and has next to no nutrition in it. But after tasting it, well, yup, I’ll be making it. In my book the clincher was the lemony flavor (there’s a LOT in the dressing). Oh, and the dried cranberries were also mighty tasty too. You don’t expect dried cranberries in a couscous salad, but they add a lovely sweet zing to it. The garbanzos add some healthy protein and fiber, and you could probably add more veggies to this if you’d like. Phillis told us that when she makes this and she thoroughly enjoys the leftovers for days after, since it keeps well in the refrigerator. The thing about couscous is that no matter how much dressing you put on it, it’ll absorb more and more. So that’s why you don’t want to add the lemon curry dressing until just before serving. That way some of it will still be moistening the salad and not soaked into the pasta. Yet.
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A year ago: Sarah’s Ginger Scones

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I just had to do a reprise on this recipe. I posted the Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad with Caper-Parmesan Dressing back a week ago. Phillis Carey prepared it at the cooking class my friend Cherrie and I attended. I said I was going to make it for dinner one night. And yes, I did. And it was just so sensational, I had to give you some photos of it, and do everything I can to encourage you to make this. Prepared as is, it’s an entree salad, but you could eliminate the chicken and just serve it as a spectacular salad course. Don’t serve with other things – you want the grilled Romaine to be the star. I served it with some toasted garlic bread (and the chicken). There are some ifs:

1. You like garlic and Caesar dressings (but want one that’s easier than the real thing)

2. You like Romaine lettuce (the salad needs a sturdy lettuce to stand up to the grill)

3. You have the real-thing Parmesan cheese (the Reggiano-Parmigiano type)

If those are check-marks next to each, then this salad is a must-fix. I think I mentioned that our grandkids and their mom just luv Caesar dressing. Dana makes a couple of my salad dressings already, but this is a new one she says she’s adding to the repertoire. It is very easy, although you do have to make it in the blender. Their family couldn’t get enough of this dressing.

First you cut up the Romaine into halves or quarters and slather some of the dressing on the cut edge(s). I have this new tray (the green one pictured) that’s plastic, sits on little knobs on the bottom, but the tray is slightly tiled (to drain whatever). You’re viewing the high side.

Dave fired up the grill. I told him medium-heat, but he didn’t quite do it high enough, so it took longer than planned and we didn’t quite get the grill marks the way I’d visualized, but it worked eventually. Just so you know – heat the grill to the high side of medium (remember, either indoor or outdoor – if indoor stovetop grill you can heat it higher) and you only want to lay these puppies on the grill, cut side down (if you’re using quarters, you grill the two – smaller – cut sides) for about a minute. You’re not really “cooking” them, just giving them some grill marks. In reality, this is mostly for show – the inner leaves don’t really even get warm. You’ll wilt the cut edges just a bit. The dressing/slather gives the grill something to char. That’s all you want. Here’s the photo of them on the grill.

See, the edges just barely brown. That’s all you’re looking for. Note that the stem ends are still attached. You can cut off the stem if you prefer, but we left them on to serve. And here below you can see the finished heads. There wasn’t any meat type bacteria on the board, so you can take these on and off the same board.

If you enjoy croutons, here’s a simple method. Mix up some unsalted butter, minced fresh garlic, even some grated Parmesan if you have some. Melt the mixture and pour it over the fresh bread cubes (I used a baguette, sliced and cubed), toss with your hands so all the cubes have a bit of butter on them.

Just bake them at 400 for about 4 minutes.

So now you know how simple this is. Wow some dinner guests with this salad sometime soon. This recipe is going on my “Carolyn’s Fav’s” list, it’s that good. And thanks again, Phillis. The post/recipe again: go to Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad with Chicken and Caper-Parmesan Dressing.
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A year ago: How to Pick a Peach (about a Russ Parsons book)
Two years ago: Cream of Tomato Soup (oh my, yes, one of my fav’s, and I have some in my freezer)

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At the Phillis Carey class the other night, she made entree salads. That’s what it was all about. Great for summer, for eating outdoors, for cooking early so you don’t have to heat up the oven or the kitchen. But satisfying salads, nevertheless. Chinese Chicken Salad is a favorite in my book, but other Asian-style noodle salads I might not seek out, usually (too many carbs, for one thing). BUT, this salad was just wonderful. What makes it unusual is the orange-scented dressing. And it’s lemony. And slightly sweet (from honey). If you want more vegetable ratio here, just ramp up the amounts of sugar snaps, red bells, celery, for instance.

The salad dressing was ever so tasty. I might make the dressing for something else, although with sesame oil in it, it wouldn’t go with just any salad. Since I’m a bit on hiatus buying shrimp because of all the health scares about it, I might make this salad, though, with scallops perhaps. Or even chicken.
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