Best-Ever Berry Vinaigrette

How to make a salad taste like candy/make non-salad eaters ENJOY greens:

1. Mix up a pourable form of blackberry-raspberry jam with a hint of tangy vinegar to coat its leaves.

 2. Go berry nutty in the topping department. I like some combo of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, toasted walnuts, sugared pecans and/or avocado.

3. Toss it all together, and you might never take your salad a savory direction again.

I inherited a treasure trove in the salad recipe collection of Fancy Nancy (my mother), but this is my favorite to share with friends, mostly because then I get to keep eating off the dressing myself. No bottled or restaurant vinaigrette even comes close.

Props to my gardener roommate for the photo backdrop and my neighbor with excellent taste in kitchen wares for the dishes.

Lemony Farro Salad

Now that we are exiting soup season, my make-a-dish-I-can-eat-off-of-all-week strategy has shifted to grainy salads. This week's adventure was my first with farro, which is kind of like a thick brown rice. I like how nutty and filling it is, so much so that I wasn't even looking for meat.

It meets the standards my mom taught me from her college home ec classes (those weren't in our catalog)- variety of texture, color and temperature (only if your farro's still kind of warm and your cheese is cold, but still).

However, keep your eaters in mind. This is for the grain-adventurous. My coworkers enjoy talking about how farro salad at a new restaurant near us is "bird seed."

Try-A-New-Green (Fennell, Raddiccio and Endive) Salad

As I exited college, I journaled about a life vision: "Live simply (little "stuff") and naturally (eat local). Be deeply invested in serving my community and pouring into people using my gifts. A home (in the city?) that welcomes guests and friends for homemade food, fellowship, refuge, discipleship and learning..."

What does this have to do with a bowl of funky lettuces? Everything.

Five years later, these hands are a piece of my community, the produce selection a sign of knowing a friend's special diet and her desire to turn it into an adventure.

They are in my home (in the city!), the place of warmth and invitation I once dreamed of.

Texture experimentation: Success!

My ellipsis (fancy word for "...") cut off another part of that vision: some mushy words about a husband and children. Five years ago, that's what I envisioned as the ultimate in home life. What I didn't realize then is the degree to which I could so beautifully realize my hopes of everyday companionship and community through a wider body of people, especially its (insert "Single Ladies" chorus here).

The mushy part is still part of the life vision. But for now, I rest in the gift of the present. This night, it's crisp and colorful with a hint of licorice-tasting fennell. (Oh, and there was salmon to go with it. It was not local. Minor life vision fail.)

Slicing this babe resulted in oooing and ahhing over how beautiful its layers of innards are

Grilled Caesar Salad

Grilling: A technique that guarantees to make any and every food taste exponentially more mouth-watering.

Apply said technique to classic Caesar, lettuce and all (but not the dressing), and boom! you've a lunch that makes people say "interesting," think "weird" and then pronounce "delicious" upon taste.

 I recommend serving it up on a back deck with my favorite Caesar twists: bell peppers and almonds in place of croutons.

Tomato Watermelon Salad Stacks

I think I am eating out too much. Because I  plated my salad to look pretty yet have few degrees of functionality. To eat this masterpiece, you must in fact slash it up into pieces that end up looking like a normal tossed salad.

Blame my leaning tower of tomato and watermelon on Chis Hastings' tomato salad stacking at Hot and Hot. Or blame Slice's tomato-watermelon fancification. That's where the idea come from.

Still, I did dumb down chefly salad over-orchestration to six simple ingredients. And  mint+tomato+watermelon+feta tastes like an explosion of the fresh sweetness of summer in your mouth.

So try it in towers that can topple, or just cut it all up and toss it together like a normal person. Your call.

Arugula-Corn Salad with Feta and Pecans

My friend Amy always tries to claim she had nothing to do with a recipe being amazing because she "just found it online" or "just got it from a friend." What she obviously doesn't understand is that finding an awesome recipe like a corn salad with feta and nuts is feat in and of itself. And she didn't just find it; she made it. And she put pecans in instead of walnuts, and that was brilliant.

In the age of Google and 17 billion food bloggers, no recipe is really original. There's just a bunch of us finding food combos we like, mixing them up and sharing them with people in our real life and internet life. Cultivating recipes in the digital age is still an art best created in community, my friends. 

Anyway, Amy's corn salad has been spreading in-person meme style amongst the original cookout crew that feasted on it last summer.

As for me, I added some green and protein, tweaked a lime vinaigrette recipe (thanks, Google), and poof! had an innovative farmer's market-fresh meal salad to share with yet another friend, for a weeknight dinner on the porch this go-round. 

And then I made it again the next night. Because pre-prepped leftover ingredients rock almost as much as corn corn and feta cheese.

Pesto Quinoa Salad

Spring happened today. Actually, that was just a calendar thing. It didn't feel like spring today. But last week it did. That's when the sun came out to play, and when I started craving fresh summery foods. Like salad of random veggies and grains (not lettuce!). And basil. And garlic+nuts+oil+basil, which gives you pesto.
 
That's also when I took my container of aforementioned foods outside to lunch. Context: Out of the 15 buildings in my office complex, no one is outside eating, ever. There's just smokers by the smokers' doors. Then there's me: the strange girl who grabs a towel out of her car, finds the opportune spot for soaking up sun and plops down in the middle of the grass.

Oh, and my date for sunshiney lunch was Patti Callahan Henry's new book, And Then I Found You, which arrived that morning/a few days after I had written a story about it for Village Living. To keep this spring theme going, the plot is centered around the first day of spring, the day that the protagonist placed her daughter for adoption. The kind of book I liken to emotional candy, I ended up finishing in two late night sessions and getting excited whenever I came upon a Birmingham reference like Highlands Bar and Grill or Vulcan or the field by Mountain Brook Elementary.

Why to amend a chef's recipe [Citrus Beet Salad]

To the rest of the food world who turns on cable television more than once every six months, Chris Hastings is a big deal. Key words: Iron Chef.

To the world of critical food snobbery, he is also a big deal. Key words: James Beard.

And while I am certain he lives up to his fame as Best Chef in the South, I do know one thing: he crafts restaurant recipes, not so much friendly-for-the-home kitchen recipes. Or such was the case in my experience.

The "Chef's Garden Beet Salad" trouble started at the grocery store when I was executing the first step of Project Make-a-Recipe-to-in-the-Name-of-Needing-a-Photo-for-the-Paper. Three kinds of beets? Surely one will do. Arugula and frisee? I see mixed baby greens!

Photos for Village Living

And then when I got to the kitchen, it was two kids of olive oil? Why in the world when you can just have one? Fresh orange juice? I have carton of oj in the fridge that surely will do just fine. Fresh thyme? Umm, let's do dried. Lemon and lime juice? I have lemons; they'll do. Individually plate each salad with all ingredients? Salads taste pretty swell tossed en mass in my book.

And then came the necessary evil: reducing 1 cup of orange juice to 3 tablespoons. Is this what chefs do all day --> — wait for-e-ver for juice to reduce to a tiny fraction of its volume?  I just roasted beets for more than an hour, and I thought that was my time splurge. I did in fact wait and wait and wait for the oj to reduce to a thick, dark and delicious syrup. I do not know that I would have the patience for it again when surely just juice would taste good enough for a citrus dressing.

I don't mind spending time in the kitchen on a special project, but this project required cutting corners to avoid spending literally all night to make a salad. Power to chefs, but on this here blog you will find home kitchen recipes. And that is why I dumbed down poor Chris Hastings' recipe.

Disclaimer: This post is in no way meant to belittle the awesome work of Chef Hastings and Hot and Hot. I just felt the need to simplify his recipe when I was making it for personal consumption. His recipe is indeed tasty my way and would probably be all the more so with his much more complex method.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Inspiration: Fancy French lunch of Shrimp and Avocado Salad and warm bread and butter at Chez Fon Fon in Five Points.

Adaption: Greek yogurt as the only source of creaminess (no mayo!) plus freshly shucked corn, because it grabbed my eye in its husks at the store. Also, serving with warm grainy bread and freshly picked berries from Witt Farm in Hayden with whipped cream (as in whipped whipping cream, the real deal).

Setting: Adirondack chairs on the front porch while the air chilled as the sun went down, a ladies' luncheon in the eveningtime because we ladies have jobs. Being real with one another. Bliss.

Variation: We ate this with grilled chicken with Cajun seasonings instead of shrimp for Easter lunch.

Mango-Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Fresh mango. Cheese. Bacon! Warm bacon dressing with lime, honey and sauteed red onions. Do you really notice any spinach when you toss it in all that goodness? Not really. It just adds color and hidden nutrients.

I am always looking for a new salad of the fruit and cheese variety, and this one from Southern Living is definitely worthy of making the weekend salad treat rotation. It even turned out delicious on my first try when the power went out just after the bacon cooked, and we ate raw onions and an improvised dressing in the dark. The warm bacon dressing on the second try made it all the better, and it looked quite pretty in the light.

Panzanella Salad

Does picking up fresh produce and throwing it on the grill for a meal excite you as much as it does me? The fruits, the veggies, the sunshine, the long days—springtime makes my heart happy. Remembering what fun the grill and I had with chicken breasts (topped with mango salsa!) and zucchini last week, I was overcome with an urge to grill something fresh ASAP.

What came to mind for a new recipe experiment? This grilled tomato-bread salad I had stared at many a times on the Southern Living website. Between the crusted fresh bread and the simple and scrumptious Mediterranean combo of tomatoes, onion, fresh basil, and olives, we decided eating this meal in the sunshine was about 56 times better than any restaurant experience. If only I could make lunch at home and eat in the backyard with special people in sunshine everyday…

Jamie Oliver's [Greek Yogurt] Caesar Dressing

Light Caesar dressing? Yep. Jamie Oliver confirmed that Greek yogurt does in fact make almost anything creamy healthy and just as tasty as the original. I have always been a little fearsome of anchovies, but the salty essential hidden among the canned sardines and tuna at the grocery store wasn't so scary after all.

Simply stir together the yogurt with the fishies and a few other ingredients, and, voila, homemade, natural, good-for-you Caesar. Now, Cardini's does taste slightly more flavorful, but I like how this one is not heavy yet gives your taste buds a creamy, salty satisfaction.

For a Sunday lunch in the sunshine, I tossed my dressing with a variation on Caesar Power Salad: romaine, red bell peppers, sliced almonds, and chopped grilled chicken.

Recipe: Caesar Power Salad

First thought: Make Caesar salad with lefover romaine lettuce and the fabulous Cardini's dressing; add some rotisserie chicken for super-fast dinner. (Side note: If you have never tried Cardini's Caesar, you must. The company's namesake created the salad, after all.)

Second thought: Be more adventurous. Scour the internet for Caesar variations.

Results of brainstorming: A filling dinner Caesar that was a bit more funky (in a good way) than normal. Red pepper added more color and veggilicious flavor than the normal light green-cream variety. Super salty pancetta contributed a flavorful Italian flair. Almonds made for crunch in place of croutons. Cannellini beans varied the texture and added some fiber. Parmesan, romaine, and Caesar dressing kept it classic.

Dinner: Wild Rice Salad

Chicken and wild rice make a scrumptious main-dish salad. I prepped it on a Sunday night when I was already in a kitchen for insta-dinner the next [busy] night. This Southern Living version (which isn't online-- lame) was sweet with dried cranberries and diced Granny Smith apples in a simple balsamic dressing, but you could throw in any fruits, veggies, and nuts that sound good to make it your own. I served it with Berry-and-Spice Whole Wheat Muffins and roasted asparagus.
I cooked my chicken with Greek spices and olive oil in a skillet to make sure it had plenty of flavor; boiled chicken tastes so blah to me unless it is covered up really well, even if it is easy and healthy.

Wild Rice Salad

1 (6-oz.) package quick-cooking long grain and wild rice mix

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

½ cup dried cranberries

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

1 medium carrot, grated

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 green onions toasted

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

Cook rice according to package instructions; cool. Stir together chicken, next 8 ingredients, and rice in a large bowl. Cover and chill 8 hours. Sprinkle with almonds just before serving.

Recipe: Moroccan Carrot Salad

I have my friend Anna to thank for introducing me to the only dish that has made me like the taste of carrots (versus hide it in a butter-laden casserole or cake). This salad enhances the that ever-so distinct orange carrot taste by marinating thin shreds in lemon juice, honey, and a Moroccan spice combo (cumin, paprika, and cayenne/red pepper). Golden raisins and toasted pine nuts add more crunchy texture and a sweet and nutty, respectively, twist. If you think you don't like carrots, I challenge you try this.

I pulled the dressing recipe from Sandra Lee, who made it semi-homemade by using packaged shredded carrots. She is a smart lady, because shredding my own carrots took, like, way too long. My carrot, raisin, and pine nuts measurements are guesstimates.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

4 cups shredded carrots

3/4 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup, chopped cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 pinch cayenne (I used red pepper.)

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, pine nuts, and raisins. Set aside.

For the Dressing: In a small mixing bowl, combine lemon juice, cilantro, spices, and honey. Slowly whisk in extra-virgin olive oil.

Pour dressing over carrot salad and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to meld.

Three Things: Simple Salad Ideas

Salad greens almost permanently live in the fridge at my house, and I like to play around with different ways to make them taste more exciting your average salad bar. Here are my latest favorite ways to dress up those greens, each with three ingredients or less.

1. Creamy Italian Dressing

Italian Dressing (or any vinaigrette) + Plain Yogurt

Yet again yogurt takes the traditional place of mayo to make something creamy and good for you. Just stir about half bottled dressing and half yogurt, and then toss the mixture with greens. I like to add feta and other veggies to the mix.

2. Insta-croutons

Bread + Olive Oil + Greek Seasonings

I don't care for store-bought croutons but have always loved eating them at the few restaurants that make them in-house. So I figured I could make them, too. I just tore up a piece of sandwich bread, sprayed it with olive oil, sprinkled it with my mostest favorite Greek seasonings from Zoe's  and baked it at 425 degrees until the pieces got brown and crunchy. (Photo is from before they were baked.)

3. Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Olive Oil + Balsamic Vinegar + Honey

Oil and balsamic are a great combo on salad, but it's a bit too twangy for my taste. So I followed my [natural] sweet tooth and added honey to the mix. I mix about equal parts of each of the three ingredients with a whisk (which in reality is usually a fork). In the photo, I tossed the dressing on spinach with chopped pear, toasted walnuts and crumbled feta cheese to go with the pork and potatoes my college friends and I made at our most recent, most glorious reunion (a.k.a. food fest).

Recipe: Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad

The mission: Pesto pasta salad for picnic.

The ingredients: At first I toyed with putting in pesto and mozzarella and tomatoes because I knew it would be good. But then I saw a recipe from Sweet Savory Life with creamy pesto and artichokes and peas. I don't really like peas, but the appeal of creaminess and artichokes would cover them up enough, I figured. And they did. I just tweaked my recipe to use yogurt, because in my book yogurt>mayo and Greek yogurt>plain yogurt. The end. 

The result: A flavor-packed cold pasta that got me on a kick of mixing vinaigrette-type dressings with yogurt to toss in my salads.

Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad

1/2 recipe pesto

5.3 oz. Greek yogurt (1 package)

1 package penne pasta

1 1/2 cups peas, cooked

1 can artichokes, chopped

Cook pasta. Stir prepared pesto with Greek yogurt. Mix pasta, pesto-yogurt mixture, peas and artichokes.  Serve cold.

Recipe: Tomato Tort, Broccoli Salad

These two dishes probably aren’t the best complement to one another in flavor; they both have a lot going on. But I wanted to make both, and what-Madoline-feels -like-making/eating won over tonight. 

I pulled this recipe out of the May Cooking Light because I was fascinated by the idea of a crust made of brown rice. I love crusts, but usually they have very little nutritional value.  Mine didn’t turn out terribly crust-like, but the layer of seasoned rice tasted quite good with the tomato-egg-cheese flavors.

The recipe tells you to prepare it in a pie plate, but I modified it to go in a bread pan to make fewer servings. I also made a few other modifications based on what ingredients I had on hand.

Italian Tomato Tort

Crust:

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 ½ Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. Greek seasonings

1 egg white

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Filling:

½ cup fat free milk

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

salt and pepper

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ oz. prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 tomato

1 Tbsp. basil

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare crust, combine all ingredients; firmly press mixture into the bottom and up sides of a bread pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven.

3. Increase oven temperature to 400°.

4. To prepare filling, combine milk, eggs, egg yolk, salt and peppe; stir with a whisk.

5. Sprinkle half of mozzarella and half of prosciutto into bottom of prepared crust. Top with half of tomato slices. Repeat procedure with remaining mozzarella, prosciutto, and tomatoes. Pour milk mixture over tomatoes; bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325° (do not remove tart from oven); bake an additional 35 minutes or until set. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with basil.

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I only eat broccoli if its taste is well disguised. The best tasting yet relatively healthy broccoli veil to reach my palate recently was a broccoli salad a caterer prepared for my grandfather’s 80^th birthday in May. I recreated the recipe tweaking this Cooking Light broccoli salad to incorporate two of my favorite salad staples, cranberries and pecans.

Broccoli Salad

4 cups  small broccoli florets (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 cup  chopped celery

1 cup  dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup  plain lowfat yogurt

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine mayonnaise and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture, and toss well. Chill for 1 hour.

Recipe: Mango-Salsa Salad

Tonight’s dinner combined my farmers market salsa making inspiration with my memories from the mango salsa and salads at Costa Vide. I made it for one serving, but you could multiply it easily.

Above: salsa. Below: full salad.

Salad

3 cups salad greens, loosely packed 

1 mango, chopped

¼ cup cheddar (or jack) cheese, shredded

½ cup salsa*

 1 recipe Honey-Lime Dressing**

*Salsa

2 tomatoes

¼ onion

1 jalapeño pepper

1 garlic clove

3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. lime juice

salt and pepper

Chop first five ingredients to desired size. Stir together chopped ingredients, lime juice, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to blend flavors.

**Honey-Lime Dressing

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix ingredients and toss with other salad ingredients.