Harlequin salad dressing

My mom has made this salad dressing forever. It's a little time consuming, but worth every second.
It's the best I've ever had anywhere! I'm just learning about this gluten free world and this is a great gluten free dressing! You want to use a regular blender, not a vitamix or any blender that will heat the yokes



2 egg yokes at room temperature
2 cups vegetable oil ( it must be wesson oil)
1 t salt
1 t pepper
3 T grated Parmesan cheese (use the chunk and grate it yourself)
4 drops Tabasco
1 t Worcestershire
1t garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

All at room temperature and in a blender, whip the egg yokes until creamy.
Add the vegetable oil very slowly while blending. You want it to incorporate completely.
Then add the cheese and the spices. Add the lemon juice last. Blend for a few seconds.

Makes 2 1/2 cups.
Refrigerate  and mix before using.
I keep mine in a salad shaker and just shake it up before using.
 

Basil salt - simply summertime

Just another use for all your herbs - Herb Salt!

Simple and satisfying! With the bumper crop of

tomatoes coming in, we think this is the perfect time to post this recipe.

Nothing is better than a tomato right from the garden with a little salt.

Everyone knows basil and tomato's are besties, so why not

simplify the moment. The recipe below is for the herb salt but

you could take any of your favorite herbs and combine them. 

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup packed basil leaves - press them in tightly to measure.

Preheat your oven to 225.

Process the salt and basil  in your food

processor, until its well blended. 

Then spread this on a baking sheet and bake until dry. You'll want to toss it

at least once 1/2 way through. Bake it about 30-40 minutes until dry. Let this cool.

Then put this back into your food processor and pulse again, until  Serve this with tomatoes and motz or just tomato's. 

Below are some of the Italian tomato's. Hanging is best for them - its the authentic Italian style and they stay fresh for a long time. Plus no bruising!

Next we'll be making some fire salt with some mixed peppers from the garden...why not? 

Enjoy

Summer Corn Arugula Salad

Summer is all about light dinners for me. Quick, easy & fresh foods are the best for this time of year.  I tried this recipe yesterday for dinner and posted it on Facebook.  A few people asked for the recipe so here goes, a few things I did do to change it up a bit was to add some honey & few herbs from my garden to the dressing and I used brown rice instead of white because I am trying to stay away from the "white stuff" when I can.  Give it a try!

2 ears fresh corn roasted or boiled 
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, cooled 
1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 
2 c. fresh arugula 
1 small red onion, cut in thin wedges
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced 
4 tablespoons rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil 
1 t. honey 
2 t. fresh herbs chopped (I used dill & basil) 


fresh cracked pepper & kosher salt

Cook corn in boiling, lightly salted water for 3 minutes. Remove corn; let cool. Cut corn off the cob in planks (see note). You may also roast the corn-your choice!
Combine cooled cooked rice, tomatoes, arugula, onion and jalapeno pepper. Transfer to serving bowl; top with corn.
In a separate bowl combine the vinegar, herbs, honey salt & pepper.  Whisk in the oil until well blended.
Drizzle dressing and toss gently as to not to break up the corn. Serve at room temperature.

From the Test Kitchen
Note To cut planks, place an ear on its side on a cutting board. Holding the corn firmly with fingers away from the blade, cut off a side of the corn. Rotate and repeat until all sides are removed. Use a spatula to gently move planks to salad. 

Celebrity Cruise Line's Chopped Salad

We recently bought the Celebrity Cruise lines cookbook, Excite the Senses. Everything looks so good and so many of the recipes we've actually had on board! They call this the Italian Tagliare Assortito but it is a chopped salad. We've made a few changes to the original recipe, to make it more to our liking. You can surely put whatever you like in it.  Its really is really a great salad.
There is a lot of chopping and dicing but its all worth it. Prepare this ahead of time and keep all your bowls covered in the fridge. Serves 6

1 1/2 head of organic Boston lettuce roughly chopped
12 Cherry tomatoes diced
2 stalks celery diced
European cucumber peeled and diced
1/2 bag frozen corn- roasted in a little butter
1 avocado diced (don't do this until you are ready to serve)
3 hard boiled eggs sliced
6 slices of sopressata julienned
1/4 lb pancetta baked until crispy
6 radishes cubed
chives for garnish

Add a little butter to a frying pan and cook the corn until golden brown. Put into a bowl to cool. Add your lettuce to each of the 6 bowls. Start cutting the vegetables to be about the same size as the corn kernels. and add to each bowl keeping each ingredient separate from the other. You can work in a circle around each salad.
When the corn is cool, add that to the salad as well.  Cover each bowl and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  Before serving add the avocado and dressing, garnish with fresh chives.

Use our Caesar Salad Dressing also on our blog under salads.

Soup Croutons

6 slices of your leftover dried and cubed homemade crusty Italian bread. See our recipe!
4T olive oil
5 cloves of garlic sliced
Fresh Parmesan cheese grated

Add your garlic to the olive oil and let it sit for about 2 hours. Remove the garlic. Cut the crust off the bread and paint the olive oil on both sides of the bread. Cut into cubes and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes turning every 5 minutes until golden brown.
You can also use fresh bread just cut the crust off and put on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for about
15 minutes..turning often until its dry.

Caesar Salad Dressing

Enough of the vinegar and oil already. Try this one. Its great.

6 cloves garlic, mashed and minced
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T Vinegar
2 T mayonnaise
1/2 cup olive
salt
pepper
Lemon juice

Combine garlic, mustard, vinegar and 2 pinches of salt in a blender and mix thoroughly.  Add mayonnaise and blend together to form a thick base. In a slow stream add olive oil through the hole in the lid. Scrape dressing with a spatula into a bowl and season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
If desired you can add anchovy to the dressing for the deeper, saltier flavor.

Caesar Salad Croutons

6 slices of your leftover dried and cubed homemade crusty Italian bread. See our recipe! Or any older bread that you don't want to throw away!
3 T butter
1 t garlic powder
1 t paprika
1 t pepper

Melt the butter in a skillet and season with garlic powder, paprika and pepper. Add the cubes and saute
just until the bread crumbs begin to brown. Set aside to let cool. Enjoy

You can also use fresh bread, just cut off the crust a place in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes turning often.

Grilled Romaine Wedge

4 heads of Romaine lettuce
1/2 c. shaved parmesan cheese
1 small red onion sliced thin
1/2 lb. proscuitto baked & crumbled
1 c. canned cannellini beans rinsed & drained
olive oil

Wash lettuce & pat dry, brush with olive oil. Place flat side down on a hot grill for about 5 minutes until lightly charred. Place the sliced proscuitto on a cookie sheet & bake at 400 degree oven until crispy.  Cool & crumble and set aside until salad assembly.

At this point if you don't want to make it a wedge style salad you will need to tear the romaine and place it in a bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and toss lightly with dressing. For a wedge style, place romaine half on a plate & layer with onion, shaved cheese, beans, top with crumbled proscuitto and drizzle with dressing.

Dressing-this is actually my "go to vinaigrette for almost any salad I make. The only thing I do differently is change the vinegars up a bit & sometimes I will use flavored olive oil depending on the taste I am looking for.
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. good quality olive oil
3 T. sugar

1 T. Kosher salt
1 t. dijon mustard

3-4 gloves of minced garlic
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
Chopped fresh basil, oregano, parsley and any other herbs to taste
Squeeze of lemon

Place in a screw top jar and shake like crazy or whirl it in the blender or food processor. Then I put in an extra clove of whole garlic and the lemon I squeezed in the jar. Store in the refridgerator, it keeps well.

Grilled Artichokes with creamy white wine vinaigrette

Tom and I love artichokes and this is a new twist but also allows us to cook on the grill all summer long!

1 T plus 1 t kosher salt
2 large lemons quartered
3 large artichokes (1 lb each)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T honey
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper

In an 8 quart saucepan, bring 8 cups of water to a boil over medium high heat. Juice the lemons into the water and add the squeezed lemon shells.  Using kitchen scissors, remove the thorns from the tips of the artichoke leaves. Cut off the tip of the stem. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the outer skin from the remaining stem.

Cut each artichoke into 8 wedges. Take a paring knife and remove the fuzzy choke making sure to get all of it out. Take a toothpick and stick it through the center to hold all the leaves in place. Place the artichokes into the boiling water and allow it to return to a boil.  Cover the pan and boil until they are tender, about 20 minutes.  Using tongs, remover the artichokes and arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet.

Have the grill preheated to medium high. Brush the grate with olive oil.  Drizzle both sides of the artichokes with olive oil and season with 1 t salt and 1/2 t pepper.  Sprinkle with chopped garlic and rosemary.  Grill, cut side down, until lightly charred, 5-6 minutes on each side.  Side aside and allow to cool slightly.  This can also be done on your stove in a grill pan if you have one or just a frying pan in a small amount of olive oil.

For the Vinaigrette:
In a medium bowl,  whisk together the sour cream, olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper until smooth.

Arrange the artichokes on a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside as a dipping sauce.

Guacamole Salad so beautiful

This past weekend, we headed  to our friends lake house. My friend Laura made an wonderful guacamole  salad. It was so colorful! We ate some with chips, some with rosemary flat bread and the rest with breakfast. Its he perfect side for summer.

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half

1 yellow bell pepper seeded and cut into small pieces

1 can black beans (15 oz) rinsed and drained

1/2 cup diced red onion

2 T minced Jalapeno peppers

1/2 t freshly grated lime zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 olive oil ( we prefer Colovita)

1 t kosher salt

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 t minced garlic

1/4 t cayenne pepper

2 ripe avocado's peeled and seeded, 1/2" diced

In a bowl, add the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno peppers and lime zest. In another bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. Pour this over the vegetables and mix well. When you are ready to eat, add the chopped avocado and mix well. Adjust the seasoning and serve at room temperature.

Marinated Asparagus - One of the best

This is one our favorites - you can serve it on a bed of lettuce or have it by itself or even just for a snack.

4 lbs Asparagus
1 cup vegetable oi
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 t dry mustard
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 t sugar
1/2 t paprika


Cook the asparagus in a steamer if you have one or find a way to steam it..that is the best way. I've seen people boil it, but it takes all the flavor out. Depending on the thickness of your asparagus, cooking time will vary. But you want it al dente - with a crunch to it.  This was very thin and the steaming  time was just 4 minutes. When its done, immediately cool it a water bath. You want the cooking to stop.

Combine oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, sugar and paprika in a 2 cup measuring cup. Mix well.  When the asparagus is cool, drain it and  put it in a container with the snap on lid. Pour the marinade over it.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.

You will love this, promise!

Grilled Potato Salad - The fresh taste of summertime!

8  sliced red potatoe's  3/4" thick
1 1/2 large sliced white onion 3/4" thick
1/2 cup olive oil plus 2 T
2 T chopped rosemary
3 T chopped basil
2 T chopped parsley
1 T chopped chives
1 T salt pork

Boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Mix the olive oil, basil and rosemary together. Preheat the grill. Dry the potatoes and place on a tray along with the sliced onions. Brush the potatoe's and onions with the olive oil mixture. Place the  potatoes and onions directly on the grate, oil side down. Brush the top with the olive oil mixture.  Grill 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Turn them frequently.

In a small saucepan add the chopped salt pork and render until crispy - about 5 minutes.

After removing the potatoe's and onions from the grill. Cut everything  into bite size pieces. Add the rendered salt pork (liquid included) add the 2 T  olive oil. Garnish with  parsley and chives . Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately.

Panzanella Salad - Tuscan Bread Salad - great for the summertime.

6 cups day old bread cubed
3 cups cherry tomatoes halved
3/4 red onion sliced
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1 green pepper chopped
1/2 cup black olives sliced
1/4 cup olive oil plus 3T
4 t red wine vinegar
2t dijon mustard

Heat a frying pan and add 3 T olive oil. Add the bread cubes and cook until a deep golden brown.

Separately, combine the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, green pepper and black olives.

In another bowl, blend the olive oil, vinegar and dijon mustard.

Then combine everything and salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.
Serves 8