Heirloom Tomato Salad

There is nothing better than a fresh, simple salad for dinner on a nice warm day. I got off work yesterday and ventured into Whole Foods and came upon these delicious heirloom tomatoes and knew immediately that I needed to have them for dinner. I added some fresh herbs, mozzarella cheese, and home made croutons, it was delicious! I can't wait to have the left overs for lunch today.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

1 Small Loaf Crusty French Bread

2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt, divided

1/2 Cup Cider Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, chopped

3 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped

2 Large Heirloom Tomatoes

3 Regular Red Tomatoes

1 Pound Small Mozzarella Cheese Balls

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Cut the crust off the bread and tear the remaining loaf into 1-inch pieces. Toss with 1/3 cup of the olive oil, squeezing the bread to help absorb the oil. Sprinkle lightly with a bit of salt, and place on a baking sheet. Toast stirring a few times until the croutons are golden brown, about 15 minutes, let cool.

Using a wooden spoon or muddler, pound the oregano and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl to release the oils from the herb. Add the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, vinegar and basil and whisk to combine.

Stem and chop tomatoes into large pieces and add to the vinegar mixture. Cut the cheese into bite-sized pieces, if necessary, and add to the tomato mixture, stir well to combine. Let rest for about 15 minutes to let flavors meld together, stir again. Serve in a bowl with the fresh croutons.

Beet & Cabbage Coleslaw

My friend just made this and it's delicious! I also love how easy it
is to make, and it's beautiful.

Beet & Cabbage Slaw

1/2 Cabbage, shredded
1 Beet, shredded
3/4 Cup Italian Dressing
Salt & Pepper

Mix cabbage and beets with dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yum, enjoy!

Roast Squash

Roast squash is one of my favorite fall items, I love the sweet yummy flavor that it has. I like how versatile it is because you can use it as a side dish, a snack or like I have done here, added to a salad. Taking the skin off the squash is the hardest part of the process, make sure you have a very sharp knife or heavy duty vegetable peeler!

Roast Squash

1 Squash (Acorn or Butternut are my favorites)
Olive Oil
Brown Sugar
Salt

Cut squash in half, remove seeds and skin. Cut into 3/4 inch cubes and place on a non-stick baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and then lightly sprinkle with salt and brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees until sugar starts to caramelize and squash is just tender, about 20-30 minutes. Serve hot or let cool and use on salads or enjoy as a snack.

I made a simple salad using some mixed greens, a seared steak and a pungent blue cheese...the sweet squash and blue cheese together were to die for!

Steak and Potato Salad

It seems that I have been eating really hearty meals the last couple weeks, and wanted to do something healthy, but filling at the same time for dinner this week. I created this delicious salad with mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes, grilled potatoes, and skirt steak. It turned out just like I imagined it…light, but filling, and a nice combination of flavors with the fresh summer and fall veggies mixed together.

Steak and Potato Salad

1 ½ Pounds Skirt Steak
1 Pound Mixed Greens (I used the pre-washed bagged mix)
2 Carrots, julienned
2 Stalks Celery, sliced thin
2 Tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 Avocadoes, cut into wedges
1 Pound Small Red Potatoes, cut in half
½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for the steak
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
½ Teaspoon Salt & Pepper, plus more for the steak
½ Teaspoon Sugar

To prepare the steak, brush liberally with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, let sit covered at room temperature for one hour. In the meantime boil the red potatoes for about 10 minutes, or until just tender, drain and cool.
Heat a grill pan over high heat, brush lightly with oil and grill potatoes until lightly charred, remove and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper, set aside to cool. Next heat grill pan until smoking, add steak and cook for 3-5 minutes per side over high heat or until medium rare. Place steak onto a clean plate, cover and let rest for at least five minutes. Cut steak at a diagonal into ¼-inch thick slices.
To make dressing whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt & pepper and sugar until well combined.
To assemble the salad, arrange greens , veggies, and steak onto a plate and then drizzle with the dressing, serve immediately.

Apple Citrus & Avocado Salad

This is the salad that I served along with the blue crabs and it was really, really good! It has such a great contrast of flavor and with bacon on top, how could you go wrong? Everyone laughed at me that I made such a formal table, and a salad considering how messy crabs are, but they all ate this up, so I’m assuming it wasn’t too bad. Plus, I’m the one throwing the party, so I can do whatever I want , right?

Apple Citrus & Avocado Salad

Dressing
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
2/3 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salad
1 Large Container of Mixed Greens (2 Pounds)
1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and cut into thin slices
2 Grapefruits, peeled and sectioned
2 Oranges, peeled and sectioned
3 Avocados, skinned and cut into slices
1 Bunch Green Onions, thinly sliced (green part only)
8 Thick Cut Bacon Slices, fried until crisp and crumbled
Salt & Pepper

For the dressing mix the mustard and vinegar with a whisk until combined. Next drizzle olive oil in while constantly whisking, until thickened and combined, set aside.

For the salad set out your bowls and fill with the mixed greens. Next fan out the apple, grapefruit, oranges, and avocado. Top with green onion, bacon and a pinch of salt and pepper, then drizzle with a bit of the dressing. Serve immediately so the apples and avocado don’t turn brown.

This recipe makes enough for 12 people, you might want to cut it in half!

Summer Pasta Salad

I just can’t get enough fresh veggies during the summer and thought I would throw all my favorites into a pasta salad. I almost named this Ratatouille Pasta Salad but Summer Pasta Salad seemed to fit better. This is such an easy recipe to whip up for a picnic, dinner, or a barbecue, you must try it out. I usually make my more traditional pasta salad with the mayonnaise based dressing, but thought I would change it up a bit this time.

Summer Pasta Salad

1 Package Tri-Colored Rotelli Pasta, cooked, drained, and cooled
2 Yellow Summer Squash
2 Small Zucchini
1 Cucumber, peeled and seeded
4 Roma Tomatoes
1 Red & Yellow Bell Pepper, seeded
½ Red Onion
8 Ounces Fetta
1 Bottle Italian Dressing (yes I cheated a bit here)

Cut all veggies into similar sized pieces, toss with pasta, cheese, and dressing and let sit for a couple hours for the flavors to meld together. You will probably need to add more dressing before serving, the pasta soaks it up very quickly.

Carrot Salad

I am not a huge carrot fan, but this salad looked too good to pass up, and it was a hit at dinner. I love the simplicity of the salad and the beautiful color of the carrots. The tangy lemon juice, with the earthiness of the cumin, and the sweet carrot just really blended so well together. In the original recipe it called for boiling the carrots and then cutting into pieces, but this just didn’t sound good to me so I opted to use my vegetable peeler and make long ribbons, which were pretty and fun to eat.

Carrot Salad

6 Carrots, peeled
¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (one large lemon)
2 Cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Salt
¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, finely chopped

Using a mandolin or vegetable cut the carrots into thin ribbons and place in a large bowl. Next mix all other ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Pour dressing over carrots and mix well. Let sit for a couple hours or until flavors have melded with the carrots.

Fennel Salad

I love the fresh anise flavor of fennel and thought I would make a simple salad to go with dinner last night. This salad turned out absolutely delicious. The fresh taste of the fennel, cucumber, cilantro and spinach was a little taste of summer. The good thing about this salad is that the ingredients are available year round so you can always have a very fresh tasting green salad, even before summer hits.

Fennel Salad

1 Large Cucumber
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Handful of Cilantro, lightly chopped
½ Bunch Spinach
Salt & Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Peel and seed the cucumber and cut into very thin slices. Next cut the fennel bulb in half, cut out the core and slice as thinly as you can, leaving the frauds. Mix together the cucumber, fennel, cilantro and spinach in a large bowl. Now drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper and mix together. If you don’t care for cilantro, you could substitute a handful of flat leaf Italian parsley.

This is what a fennel bulb looks like if you haven't used this vegetable before. The frauds look similar to dill and the some stores cut these off when putting it out on their shelves. I have also seen fennel labeled as "anise" so don't feel you picked the wrong thing if that's what it's labeled as.

Japanese Pickled Cucumbers

I absolutely love cucumbers and love them even more when they are seasoned with any type of pickling spice. I found this recipe in my last Gourmet magazine and had to immediately go to the Asian market and buy the ingredients. I had never heard of Japanese cucumbers before this recipe, but sure enough they had them at the marked. They are really thin and don’t have any seeds, the skin is tender and has a bit of a spicy kick to it, I will definitely use these in the future, as I hate de-seeding cucumbers when I make salads.

Japanese Pickled Cucumbers

5 Japanese Cucumbers (you can find them at your Asian supermarket)
2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
½ Teaspoon Wasabi Powder
¼ Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
½ Teaspoon Soy Sauce

Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, cut cucumbers into long thin strips and place into a colander. Toss cucumbers with salt and let drain for 15 minutes. Rinse cucumbers under cold water, then squeeze handfuls of the cucumbers to remove excess water; pat dry.
Stir together the wasabi powder, vinegar, and soy sauce until wasabi powder is dissolved. Toss the cucumbers with the sauce and let sit for a few minutes for flavors to mingle. Serve within 2 days.

Easy Greek Salad

Simple is better with this salad. If you can find really good tomatoes and cucumbers, this is the salad to make. I always get tied up in trying to be overly creative with food, and this salad shows that you can have an amazing side dish with no effort. I love the contrast of colors from all the ingredients and it is a way to bring some fresh yummy summertime flavor to your table during the winter months. This would also be good with fish, like halibut, or chicken if you wanted to make it into a meal.

Easy Greek Salad

2 Cucumbers, peeled and cut into ¼ inch thick slices
6 Roma Tomatoes, cut into large cubes
Handful Baby Spinach, cleaned and stems removed
8 Ounces Feta Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Divide into 6 bowls cucumbers, tomatoes and spinach, stir to combine. Crumble feta cheese over the top, drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar of the veggies and top with salt and fresh ground pepper. I used a yummy coarse black volcanic salt for this to add a little contrast.

Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is one of my favorite things to eat. It is such an easy side dish to make and who doesn’t love pasta salad? I made this for Christmas, although it seemed strange eating pasta salad during winter, everyone absolutely loved it, I finished the rest for lunch today.

Pasta Salad

1-16 Ounce Bag Shell Pasta, cooked and cooled
2 Pounds Purple Grapes, cleaned and cut in half
6 Stalks Celery, sliced thin
½ Purple Onion, minced
2 Carrots, peeled and julienned
1 Cup Sliced Almonds
Dressing

Dressing

1 ½ Cups Mayonnaise
½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
6 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
¼-½ Cups Sugar, Depends on how sweet you like your dressing
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper

Make dressing by whisking all ingredients until well combined. Mix all ingredients and pour dressing over top, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. You can add a shredded rotisserie chicken if desired.

House Green Salad

This salad is a staple at my dinner parties and everyone loves it! If you’re not up to making the dressing, a raspberry vinaigrette works really well with this too. I have also added pine nuts or candied pecans to this salad, to give it a bit of extra flavor.

House Green Salad

1 Bag Mixed Greens/Spinach (8-10 ounce size)
6 Ounces Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese
Large Handful Dried Cranberries
House Dressing

Dressing:

1/3 Cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper

Wisk together all dressing ingredients until well combined. Toss greens with dressing and place on platter or in bowl; crumble gorgonzola and Dried Cranberries over the top.

Orzo Salad

This is one of my favorite salads and has so much flavor. This recipe makes a huge bowl full, so it's a great side dish if you are having a lot of people over. I just had 10 people over for dinner the other night and still had plenty left over. It's also great as a meal on it's own.

Orzo Salad

1 Pound Orzo Pasta
3 Bell Peppers, sliced into thin strips (I like to use red, yellow, and orange for color)
1 Small Red Onion, sliced into thin strips
1 Cucumber, sliced into ¼ inch pieces
4 Plum Tomatoes, cut into ½ inch pieces
Handful Baby Spinach Leaves
8 Ounces Feta Cheese, crumbled
1 Bottle Greek Feta Salad Dressing (I like to use Girard’s)

Cook pasta according to manufactures directions, then drain in colander and run cold water over pasta until completely cooled. In large bowl mix all ingredients and until well blended. This recipe works best if the dressing is mixed in just before serving, as it will soak up all the dressing as it sits.

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Cucumber Tomato Salad

3 Cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into ¼ slices
4 Tomatoes, cut in half and then into large pieces
Handful Basil, chopped
1/3 Cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper

Place cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil in large serving bowl. Wisk together all remaining ingredients until well combined. Pour over cucumbers and tomatoes, mix well and enjoy.