Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski

Posts Tagged ‘salad’

Joelen of Joelen’s Culinary Adventures has an unbelievable array of food blogging events going – don’t know how she keeps up with the round-ups. There are lots of tasty-looking recipes from previous events to read about and maybe try.

Right now, at the height of the summer, the event she has going on is Summer Produce, and we have lots. The basil and roma tomatoes are really coming in now, and the cucumbers are catching up. So I made a sort of caprese salad over greens for dinner one night. I know, using vinegar isn’t traditional, but I just love red-wine vinegar with this, so that’s what I use

Fresh basil, cucumber and roma tomato from the garden

Caprese-inspired Green Salad

3 cups chopped romaine
1 small cucumber, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Layer half of romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese and basil in each of two bowls. Whisk together vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and drizzle over salads.

We had a really delicious dinner last weekend – grilled romaine, tuna and peaches. Yum, yum and yum

It fits in perfectly with Joelen’s food blogging event Tasty Tools – the theme this month is Basting Brush, and of course, you need to oil up most foods before grilling them, so they don’t burn or stick to the grill grates. So here’s Dan ready to take the food out to the grill:

And, not my best photo, but here’s the tasty result:

This really doesn’t even require a recipe. For two servings, cut one romaine heart in half, keeping the root end intact, to prevent it from falling apart. Cut a ripe peach in half and remove the pit. Sprinkle the about 8 oz. of fresh tuna with Paul Prudhomme’s Blackening Seasoning (we didn’t really have enough – time to get some more), and brush it and the romaine and peaches with olive oil. Then, while Dan was grilling, I made a balsamic vinegar reduction – took about 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, brought it to a boil in a small saucepan, and simmered till it was reduced by half.

Then we cut up the tuna, put it on top of the romaine and topped that with salad dressing – Italian for me and bleu cheese for Dan. We drizzled the balsamic reduction over the peaches and that was dinner. As I said – yum, yum and yum

Back in March, Dan and I went to see Bobby Flay do a cooking demonstration in downtown Norfolk. It was lots of fun, and I got an autographed copy of one of his books: “Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchen.” I’ve made several recipes from the book and loved them all – although I’ve tweaked a couple

We both really like this recipe for Southwestern Potato Salad – I’ve made it three or four times now. This last time, I used green onions, a red onion, and cilantro from our garden. I know the cilantro looks a little funny, but it’s trying to bloom and I’m trying to stop it

I’m trying to expand my taste horizons, so I went ahead and added the red onion, even though I don’t like the flavor of raw onion. Guess what? I still don’t. But Dan does, so next time, I will just dice an onion for him and he can add it to his portion.

Also, the recipe says to add one jalapeno pepper, finely diced. If you like a lot of heat, go ahead and do this. I made it this way the first time, and it was too hot for us. The second time, I removed the seeds and membrane first, and it was too mild. The third time, I cut the pepper in half and removed the seeds and membrane from one half, leaving them in the other half. This time, it was just right

Bobby Flay’s Southwestern Potato Salad

2 lbs. small new potatoes (I used Yukon Gold potatoes)
Kosher salt
1 cup prepared mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 tbsp. ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 large ripe beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped (I used 2 roma tomatoes)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced (I used two)
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Put the potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Add 1 tbsp. salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pieced with a knife, 12 to 15 minutes.

Drain well, let cool slightly, and slice 1/4 inch thick (I cut into 1/2-inch chunks). Put in a large bowl and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm while you prepare the dressing.

Stir together all remaining ingredients except black pepper in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture over the warm potatoes and mix gently until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature. This can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated.

We had this with cole slaw and our first smoked BBQ ribs. It was a great meal.

This is my contribution to the Grow Your Own food blogging event, hosted by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes.

Leftover Tuesdays is a food blogging event where you make a dish and make sure you have extra to make a new dish with the leftovers. This is my first entry, and it’s also an idea I’ve had for a while but I never actually made it before – the salad, I mean. It turned out really well.

So one day I made salmon poached in water and white wine with tarragon sauce. Then I used the leftover tarragon sauce and salmon to make salmon salad.

Poached Salmon
2 cups white wine
2 cups water
1-1/2 pounds salmon

Bring water and wine to a simmer in a large skillet. Season salmon with salt and pepper and poach gently, skin side down, for 8-9 minutes, until just cooked through. To serve, spoon some Tarragon Sauce onto dinner plates and place a serving of salmon on top. Pass remaining sauce at the table, reserving some for the salad.

Tarragon Sauce
1/2 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 large shallot, coarsely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white wine vinegar

Put all ingredients in the food processor and process until the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. May be made one day ahead and chilled.

Salmon Salad with Tarragon Sauce
2 cups leftover poached salmon, flaked
1/4 cup leftover Tarragon Sauce, or to taste
1 stalk celery, finely chopped

Mix celery with tarragon sauce, then gently mix flaked salmon with the sauce. Serve on crackers as an appetizer or on bread or rolls for sandwiches.