Grilled Shrimp Panzanella

There is something about cooking everything, and I do mean everything, on the grill that makes things taste just so much better.  And as these last days of summer fade into autumn, I'm kicking ye olde grille into overtime, baby.  This recipe is a case in point...technically it is a salad, but two of the major ingredients are cooked on the grill.  (In about 5 minutes, which makes it even more enticing in my book.)

Panzanella is traditionally a salad that substitutes bread for the lettuce (how great is that??), usually tossed with some tomatoes, olive oil and a little vinegar, which in and of itself is pretty wonderful.  This particular recipe adds some shrimp and basil and substitutes lemon juice for the vinegar, but here's the beauty part...the shrimp and the bread are cooked on the grill first.  That gives the whole thing that charred grill taste that makes everything feel like the best part of summer.

So while we still have these lazy, hazy days of summer, surrounded by tomatoes and basil, grab yourself some bread and shrimp and crank up that grill.  Salad never tasted so dang good.

Grilled Shrimp Panzanella, from Real Simple

• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp


• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


• 4 tablespoons olive oil


• kosher salt and black pepper


• 1 small baguette (about 8 ounces), split lengthwise


• 2 1/2 pounds heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes, cut into wedges


• 2 cups fresh basil leaves

1. Heat grill to medium-high. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Brush the baguette with 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil.


2. Grill the baguette and shrimp, uncovered, until the baguette is golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side, and the shrimp are opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Cut the baguette into bite-size pieces.


3. In a second large bowl, toss the shrimp, baguette, tomatoes, and basil with the lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

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Shaved Asparagus with Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette

Things that I previously knew could be shaved:

1. The Southern husband's beard.  I would cry real tears if it ever happened, but I know it's possible.

 (photo from Serious Eats)

2. Ice.  And then you add fruit and sugar and other wonderful things and it turns into an amazing dessert.  (Note to self: figure out shaved iced recipe for this summer.)

3. Legs.  I'm not showing a picture or going into any more detail than this one word.
You're welcome.

A thing that I did not know could be shaved:



But then I read a recipe for shaved asparagus with lemon Parmesan vinaigrette in Bon Appetit and my head started spinning.  Paper thin sliced of fresh asparagus that you get from just shaving thick asparagus spears with your handy vegetable peeler.  A quick and easy dressing made from olive oil, lemon juice, some grated Parmesan and a little salt and pepper.  No cooking involved...just send someone outside to grill up a nice flank steak while you do the shaving.  Ten minutes later there you are, with a fresh asparagus dish that will have even picky teenagers cleaning their plate.

For this one, you need to get the thicker asparagus...the delectable little thin ones won't work for this (although I love them for pretty much anything else involving asparagus!)  And all you do is this: grab your handy vegetable peeler.  Lay an asparagus down on a sturdy surface (I used a cutting board) and hold the bottom part down firmly.  With your other hand, run the peeler up the length of the stalk.  I found that using a very slight zig-zag motion as I peeled the asparagus worked like a charm.  In less than five minutes I had a very exciting pile of shaved asparagus.  (Hey, different strokes for different folks, right?)

Now take that same vegetable peeler and a hunk of Parmesan and peel off a few slices of the cheese, nice and thin.  You want about 5 or 6 small slices per serving.  Now all you need to do is whip up a lovely little dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a little fresh ground pepper.  Drizzle it over your asparagus, which are so thin and tender that you don't even need to cook them.  And whatever you have going on the grill...chicken, steak, seafood...is going to taste even better with this gorgeous little side dish nestled up next to it.

Asparagus, I love you so.

 Shaved Asparagus with Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette, from Bon Appetit

• 12 large asparagus spears (about 1 lb.), trimmed and peeled
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan plus a piece for shaving
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Working with 1 asparagus spear at a time, use a vegetable peeler to shave spears into long, thin shavings, using a slight zig-zag sawing motion.Transfer to a medium bowl. 

2. Combine grated Parmesan and lemon juice in a small bowl and slowly whisk in oil until well blended. Season vinaigrette generously with salt and pepper. 

3. Drizzle vinaigrette over shaved asparagus and toss to coat. Divide asparagus salad among plates. 

4. Use peeler to shave more Parmesan over salad.

 

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Cucumber Wrap Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Okay, so I have to state for the record right here that this is EXACTLY the kind of recipe I usually run away from as fast as possible.  It looks hard to make, and it involves inserting little strips of carrots into the center just so, and the cucumber-made-into-a-bowl part looks fraught with peril.   

But those two strips of bacon.  They kept calling my name.  And finally one day I gave in to temptation and purchased a cucumber.  There's only so much one woman can take before the bacon wins, and so I put it on one of our Friday Night Lights menus.

And guess what?  This was pretty much as easy as it gets.  You peel thin strips of the cucumber with a vegetable peeler or a mandoline...make the strips as thin as you can, because the thinner they are the easier they will turn into these little bottomless bowls.  I have an OXO Good Grips Mandoline Slicerand I love it...just be SUPER careful if you are using one, because those babies are sharp.  The moisture of the cucumber will make the ends stick together once you have fashioned them into these little bowls, which will take you about 2 minutes.  I used two strips per bowl, just for sturdiness.  

In the meantime, cut some bacon in half and cook it up however you like to...I always cook bacon for about 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven and it comes out just perfect.  Yes, you do have to cut up a carrot into little strips, but with bacon on the horizon, I was willing to cut up carrots.  Tear up some lettuce and toss it with your favorite dressing (a balsamic vinaigrette works great with this recipe), some crumbled blue cheese and some chopped pecans.  Or walnuts...or whatever catches your fancy.  Now take your favorite tongs, scoop up some of the lettuce mixture and nestle it into your cucumber bowls.  Fill them right up.  When you are done, stand two pieces of bacon and some of those carrot strips into the lettuce mixture.

Now stand back and look modest. 

The moral of the story: Never try and resist bacon.  It always ends up happily ever after.

Cucumber Wrap Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese, adapted from My Recipes

• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 2 medium cucumbers, peeled
• 3 cups mixed baby greens
• 2 cooked thick-cut bacon slices, halved
• 1/3 cup shredded or matchstick carrots
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Salad dressing to taste (any sort of vinaigrette will work great)

1. Place chopped pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan.

2. Bake at 350º for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.

3. Using a mandoline slicer or a vegetable peeler, cut cucumbers lengthwise into very thin strips just until seeds are visible. Discard cucumber core.

4. Shape largest cucumber slices into 4 (2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch-wide) rings. Wrap evenly with remaining cucumber slices. Stand rings upright on 4 serving plates.

5. Fill each cucumber ring evenly with mixed greens, next 3 ingredients, and toasted pecans. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle each salad with vinaigrette.

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Mustard Chicken Salad

These days my house pretty much either looks like this, is about to look like this, or has just looked like this:

So you better believe that if I am going to have a SALAD for dinner, it is going to be a nice, hearty, substantial salad that gives me the strength I need to shovel the driveway again.

Okay, so I don't personally shovel the driveway.  Ever.  But you get my drift.

This scrumptious chicken salad fits the bill perfectly, and in addition the recipe has forever convinced me that if you needed pieces of cooked chicken for something, you MUST roast it in the oven.  I used to be a poach it on the stovetop girl, and all these years I never realized that roasting it makes the cooked chicken taste one million percent better.  One million, not kidding.

Anyway, after you have roasted the chicken and gotten your fabulous-tasting cooked chicken, you quickly dunk some broccoli in some boiling water, just until it is cript-tender and a lovely bright green.  After that it is just a matter of mixing up the mustard dressing and tossing the whole thing together: the chicken, the broccoli, the dressing, some cherry tomatoes and a little tarragon. 

Now THAT'S a salad that a person can eat in front of a fireplace.

Mustard Chicken Salad, from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips 

• 4 bone-in chicken breast halves
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 5 cups small brocolli florets
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Place chicken in a baking pan lined with foil and rub with olive oil.  Sprinke liberally with salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes.  Cool, discard skin and tear chicken meat into bite-sized pieces.

2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add broccoli to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about one minute.  Drain and place the brocolli in the bowl of ice water.

3. make the dressing by whisking the mayo, mustards, vinegar 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt together.  Add enough dressing to the chicken to moisten well.  Add the tarragon, broccoli and tomatoes and mix gently to combine.  If you have time, cover and let sit in fridge for a couple of hours so the flavors can develop even more.  Serve at room temperature.

Click here for printable recipe

Coconut Shrimp Salad

So, this happens to me WITHOUT FAIL every January.  Right about now, I get a hankering for something tropical.  Something made with coconut and corn and seafood.  Something that makes no sense to be eating when all of us here in the Northern Hemisphere are pretty much standing around in a big old pile of this:

But I want it anyway, and since it isn't always practical to hop on a plane to the Cayman Islands, this recipe might possibly be the next best thing.  The most challenging part of it is the corn - I was lucky enough to snag some Actual Fresh Corn at my local market (probably flown in from the Cayman Islands.  I try so hard to be a locavore, but sometimes I stumble in big ways), but if you need to, you can definitely sub in some defrosted frozen corn.  Aside from that, you are home free in terms of the ingredients.  The basis of the salad is that corn, some nice cooked shrimp that you have chopped into bite-sized pieces, some fresh parsley or cilantro, and a chopped up avocado.  The dressing is a mixture of olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice and some minced jalapeno.  I tossed in a chopped shallot just because I happened to have one lurking around.

But the crowning glory, the thing that makes this dish sing, is about a half cup of toasted sweetened coconut flakes.  Scatter a generous handful over the whole thing, turn up the thermostat, put on some shorts and some Bob Marley music and you can almost forget that your mailbox looks like this.

(Note to self: get Southern husband to dig path to mailbox so mailman will be able to deliver packages from Stonewall Kitchen.)

Coconut Shrimp Salad, adapted from Cooking Light The Essential Dinner Tonight

• 16 large cooked shrimp, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley (or cilantro, if you like that better)
• 1 peeled diced avocado
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 head frisee lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup toasted sweetened coconut

1. Combine corn, shallots, parsley, avocado and pepper in large bowl.  Stir in shrimp.  Combine lemon juice and oil and pour over salad mixture, toss to coat.

2. Divide lettuce among 4 plates, top with shrimp mixture and sprinkle coconut over all.

Click here for printable recipe

Fried Goat Cheese and Fig Salad

Okay, so I will tell you right now, this salad is a complete and total show-stopper.  If you are looking around for a first course to make for the holidays, look no further...you're there.  And best of all, it is super easy in addition to being one of the best things you will ever eat that doesn't involve either bacon or chocolate.

This recipe comes from a gorgeous new cookbook called The New Brooklyn Cookbook.



Some of my favorite people live in Brooklyn so I loved this cookbook at first sight, and once I found out the recipes were taken from some of the most fantastic restaurants in Brooklyn (Buttermilk Channel, I love you!!), I was in, and this was the very first recipe I tried from this book.  Because among other things, it involves fresh figs, which are my current obsession.

I did alter the recipe by adding a bed of chopped frisee lettuce, but that is because (after figs) frisee lettuce is my other current obsession.  It's just so dang FANCY.  You put a nice handful of it on a plate, and then grab a few of these babies.

Chop them in half and pop a couple on the lettuce.  Next, take a piece of thin-sliced prosciutto and lay it elegantly in the center.  Now you are ready for the most dramatic part.  Heat up some canola oil in a saucepan until it is nice and hot - you want it to be about 350 degrees.  Roll up some soft goat cheese into one inch balls and stick them in the freezer while the oil heats up.  When the oil is good and hot, take the cold goat cheese and dunk them in beaten egg and flour twice, and then drop them carefully in the hot oil.  In about 3 minutes they will be golden brown...scoop them back out and put a couple on your plate.  Last but not least, drizzle on some honey, some olive oil and just a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar.

Now serve it up and sit back while the rave reviews wash over you.  Because they WILL.  Thank you, New Brooklyn Cookbook!

Fried Goat Cheese and Fig Salad, adapted from the New Brooklyn Cookbook

• 1 head frisee lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1 eleven ounce log goat cheese
• Canola oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 6 fresh figs, cut in half
• 4 thin slices prosciutto
• Honey
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Sea salt

1. Roll the goat cheese into half-dollar sized balls and place on parchment-lined sheet.  Put in freezer for 20-30 minutes.

2. Heat about 4 inches of oil in large deep pot until hot, about 350 degrees on a deep fry thermometer.

3. Place the eggs and flour in two separate bowls.  Dip the goat cheese balls in egg, then flour, then egg again, then flour.  Using a metal slotted spoon, carefully lower the cheese balls into the hot oil and cook until golden, about 3 minutes.  Using the slotted spoon, gently remove and drain on paper towels.

4. Assemble the salad as follows:  place a handful of frisee on each of four plates.  Arrange figs, goat cheese and one slice of prosciutto on each plate.  Drizzle with honey, a little balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil, sprinkle with red pepper and salt and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Lobster BLT Salad...and the Stonewall Kitchen Cookbook Winner!

If I ever had to make the agonizing decision between lobster and bacon, I'm not sure what I would do.  They are two of my favorite taste sensations in the entire world, and so when I read about the Lobster BLT Salad that is on the menu at the Stonewall Kitchen Cafe, I just had to take a whack at it.  Someday I am going to make it up there to Maine to try the real thing, but for now I had to be satisfied with doing my own imitation of it.  The menu description went like this:

Cafe Lobster BLT Salad - Local lobster meat, tossed lightly with mayonnaise & chopped celery served on a bed of chopped baby iceberg lettuce. Topped with crumbled cherrywood-smoked bacon, slices of vine-ripened tomatoes and housemade croutons. 

So I sent the Southern husband off to the store to pick us up a couple of steamed lobsters (because I am a complete sissy when it comes to cooking my own lobsters.  I'm sorry, but it's true.).  I had some nice farmer's market tomatoes, and of course you know I had bacon in the house already.  I used romaine instead of iceberg, although I'm sure iceberg would be perfectly fine.  A leftover hunk of French bread turned into some lovely croutons.  The restaurant menu says that their BLT salad is served with the dressing of your choice -- I found that the lobster salad provided enough "dressing" taste for the salad, but go for addition dressing if you like.  I'm sure the original is even better, but for a New Jersey version, this was pretty dang good.

Meantime, thank you to EVERYONE who commented on the giveaway post for STONEWALL KITCHEN FAVORITES, the amazing cookbook from my friends at Stonewall.  What a great group of suggestions for summer favorites!  My menu for next summer is now completely figured out!  As usual I went to Random.org to pick out the winner, since I can't bear to choose on my own, and the lucky winner of the signed-by-the-authors cookbook is Holly, who commented that marinated flank steak is one of her favorites.  YUM, me too!

Here's the recipe, and onward to fall...

Lobster BLT Salad, inspired by the Stonewall Kitchen Cafe

• Two lobsters, cooked, shelled and torn into pieces
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• One head romaine lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup large croutons

1. Mix lobster, mayo, celery and pepper together.
2. Place lobster mixture in large bowl with all other ingredients and toss gently until well mixed.
3. Add your choice of dressing (if desired - we didn't use any) and toss again.  Serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Panzanella!

Panzanella! Isn't that a great word? And if you saw it actually being said by my pale, freckled, Irish girl self you would laugh your head off, because it really needs to be said with a fabulous Italian accent to get the true benefit. But no matter, it is wonderful and summery, and the perfect, perfect thing to make when tomatoes and basil are in full swing and the days are still too hot to even THINK of turning on the oven.

Basically, it is a bread salad that involves tossing chunks of crusty bread with tomatoes, basil, red onion and just enough vinegar and olive oil to soak into the bread and soften it up just a little bit. This particular version calls for a generous scoop of fresh ricotta on the top, which then gets drizzled with a little more olive oil. Some fresh ground pepper, and you are good to go.

Now, we ate this all by its gorgeous self, but I can also imagine it as a scrumptious side dish alongside grilled sliced steak or chicken. Yum, right? In any language.

Panzanella!  Adapted from Everyday Food

• 5 cups crusty bread, cut or torn into one each pieces
• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into one each pieces
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup basil leaves, torn
• 2 cups fresh ricotta

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spread bread on a baking sheet and toast until golden, about 20 minutes.

2. Combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar and oil in a large bowl.  Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.  

3. Add toasted bread and basil and toss to combine.  Let sit for 20-30 minutes so bread can soak up the liquid.

4. Divide among plates and top with a generous spoonful of ricotta, a drizzle of olive oil, and a little more salt and pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Tarragon Lobster Salad with Corn and Tomatoes

Here we are smack dab in the heart of summer. It's hot, hot, hot out there, and while I do my share of complaining about the hazy hot and humidness, I secretly love it, and will take it over February any day of the week.

We are also happily right in the middle of fresh Jersey tomato season. None of those hard, pale-red supermarket February tomatoes...we have THESE now, in every variety from tiny heirloom varieties to big old beefsteaks...

...and along with tomato season comes fresh corn season. Fresh, sweet corn that is so tender you sometimes don't even have to cook it.

Which is the case with this recipe. Now, you know my philosophy on lobsters, which is that cracking and eating lobster out of the shell is something that is better done in a really great seafood restaurant at the shore, where someone else gets to both cook the lobster and clean up all the flying pieces of lobster shell and lobster juice that sail all over the place. If you are going to go to the time and extravagance of making lobsters at home, let's make it a happy, peaceful experience that even the cook (ahem!) can enjoy. My all-time favorite recipe for this is something called The Way Life Should Be, but I think this gorgeous salad of fresh lobster, sweet corn and summer tomatoes is a close second.

Two preparation notes. You really do need one lobster per person to make this dish all that it should be, and ask your supermarket to steam it for you right in the store, so you are going home with nice freshly cooked lobster. Then all you need to do is talk someone into taking the meat out of the shell. (I don't even have to ask the Southern husband to do this any more. He sees the lobster come in the door and he springs into action. There is, after all, a great dinner in it for him at the end.)

And the corn...as I mentioned above, if you get great young corn, you don't even have to cook it. Just cut those kernels off the cob and toss them in the bowl. They will be perfect just as they are. If you really need to cook your corn to feel like everything is right with the world, then drop the cut-off kernels into simmering water for about 1 or 2 minutes, tops. You want the corn nice and crunchy in this recipe.

Lobster, corn, tomatoes...do it now. Summer is speeding along!

Tarragon Lobster Salad with Corn and Tomatoes, adapted from Emeril LaGasse's recipe

• Two medium size lobsters, cooked (get your supermarket to steam them for you)
• 2 tablespo9ons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1. 1. Combine the shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Whisk in the 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cayenne. Add the corn kernels and mix together. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Cut the tiniest heirloom tomatoes in half, and quarter the larger ones. Add the tomatoes to the corn mixture. Add the lobster, tarragon, and parsley, and mix gently to combine.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp and Watermelon Salad

I have to say, I paused a bit on the idea of this salad. Shrimp and...watermelon? In the same bowl? Possibly ending up on my fork in the same bite? Really?

Really.

It's one of those things that sounds like it might not work, but trust me, it does. It's kind of the whole sweet and salty thing that I love so much, only seafood style. The shrimp and the feta cheese are the savory salty end of this recipe, and the watermelon and fresh tomato are the sweet side. Even the dressing has the sweet and salty thing going on -- the sharp taste of vinegar and Dijon mustard and garlic are mixed with the sweetness of honey and orange juice, and the whole thing is a Taste Sensation! Sweet and salty and tropical and summery and cool and wonderful. Summer on a plate.

Plus it is as easy as easy as easy can be.

Thanks for walking on the wild side with me, shrimp and watermelon-wise.

Shrimp and Watermelon Salad, adapted from Epicurious

Dressing:

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 6 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• Juice and rind from 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 cups chopped watermelon
  
• 1 pound heirloom tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
  
• 1/2cup crumbled feta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in food processor and process to blend.

2. Fill a 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil; add lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt. Add shrimp, cover, remove from heat and let stand until shrimp is cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool 10 minutes, then refrigerate 30 minutes, or run under cold water to cool if you are in a hurry.

3. Toss shrimp, melon, tomatoes and cheese together in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing to taste and toss again. Scatter basil on top and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad

Summertime is most definitely chicken salad season, and I don't mean the old chicken plus mayo plus celery version. Although there's definitely nothing wrong with that. But there are SO many chicken salads out there that are a perfect fusion of all that great summer produce that (yahoo!) springing up all around us. (Remind me that I just said that in about 6 weeks when I am complaining about being surrounded by my basil.) Mediterranean Chicken Salad, with fresh string beans and tomatoes. Tarragon Chicken Salad, with the delicious sweet taste of fresh tarragon. And one of my absolute faves, Chicken Salad with Corn, Fresh Thyme and Goat Cheese Dressing. Yum, yum and yum again.

The great thing about chicken salad -- one of the great things -- is that you can throw it together in practically no time if you remember to toss a few chicken breasts on the grill every time you fire it up this summer. Bathe them in a little Italian salad dressing, or even just some olive oil and vinegar with fresh pepper, and grill them until they are just cooked, about 4-5 minutes per side. Then store them in the fridge until you are ready to use them later in the week. When chicken salad time rolls around, tear the chicken with your fingers so you have some nice bite sized pieces, and then you are ready to roll.

This particular chicken salad is loosely based on a recipe from Cooks Illustrated, and features chopped cheddar cheese, chopped apple, dried cranberries, candied walnuts and romaine lettuce, tossed with a simple viniagrette. In this case, I had a bag of mixed candied nuts left over from something, and that's what I used. (Chicken salad is all about improvisation.) Toss it all together in pretty much whatever portions you like (I like LOTS of chicken) and summertime, super-easy dinner is served!

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad, adapted from Cooks Illustrated

• 1 pound boneless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar, cut into small cubes
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into small chunks
• 1 cup candied or spiced walnuts (or any variety of nuts that you like)
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Dressing

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, peeled
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

1. Process all dressing ingredients except oil in food processor until shallot and garlic are finely chopped. Add oil and continue to process until emulsified.

2. Combine all salad ingredients and toss with 1/2 to 3/4 cup dressing. Divide salad among plates and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Tomato Blue Cheese Napoleons

Fresh tomatoes, creamy blue cheese, a little home-made remoulade sauce - do I have your attention yet? For some reason, I am on a roll with the side dishes (see my recent post on Lemon Ricotta Potatoes), which is unusual for me, but I am going with the flow here.

For this one you need some great fresh tomatoes, a mild blue cheese, the makings for a quick food processor remoulade sauce that serves as a dressing, and a little lettuce. Once you whiz up the sauce in the food processor, all you have to do is slice up the tomatoes and the cheese, layer them up on a bed of lettuce and drizzle the sauce over the whole thing. Drop a few red onions on the top and you have a very handsome dish that will completely outshine whatever the main course is. In our case, the Southern husband was grilling up some chicken while I made the napoleans. We sliced up the chicken, tossed it on the plates next to the napoleans, drizzled the left-over remolaude sauce on the sliced chicken, and oh my my. Summer tomato season, here we come!

Tomato Blue Cheese Napoleans, adapted from Taste of the South

• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish
• 2 large eggs
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1 small head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into four slices
• 8 ounces blue cheese, cut into eight slices
• Shaved red onion

1. Combine first 12 ingredients (celery through salt) in food processor and process until smooth. With processor still running, pour oil through feed tube until emulsified.

2. Divide lettuce among four plates. Top with one slice tomato, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place slice of blue cheese on top, top with another tomato slice. Drizzle with remoulade sauce, top with another slice of blue cheese. Drizzle more remoulade over top of both tomato stack and lettuce. Garnish with red onion. (Leftover remoulade sauce will keep in the fridge, and it makes a great salad dressing, a light sauce for chicken or seafood, and/or a delicious marinade.)

Click here for printable recipe

Asian Shrimp, Pineapple and Peanut Salad

Here's the back story on this one. (You know I love the backstory).

Here are the main loves of my life.



Aren't they the sweetest?

And this, God help me, is the other love of my life.

And I was pretty much living happily ever after with all three of them, thinking life couldn't be much better.

Until this came along.

Yes, I know it is not right to fall in love with inanimate objects. But it plays all my favorite songs. It plays all my favorite movies. It lets me read all my favorite books...with a backlight!!! It shows off all my nine million pictures of chocolate chip cookies. And you can jazz it up with apps that tell you everything from where you parked your car at the mall to what to make for dinner when you have shrimp, pineapple and peanuts on hand and you just KNOW there's a good recipe in there somewhere.

For those of you who have one of these babies, there is an app called EPICURIOUS that is in the App Store for the low, low price of $Free. And for those of you who don't have one, as far as I can tell all the recipes are also available on www.epicurious.com. Anyway, one of the first delectable recipes that caught my eye was this one for a salad of shrimp, pineapple, avocado and peanuts, with a jalepeno lime mint dressing. Yes please, and thank you. It was quick and easy and delicious in a fun, tropical, summer-is-almost-here kind of way.

Asian Shrimp, Pineapple, and Peanut Salad, from Epicurious

Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 large)
1 small jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons (packed) fresh mint leaves

Salad:
16 peeled deveined cooked large shrimp with tails intact
6 ounces fresh pineapple, peeled, cut into 2x1/4-inch spears (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons salted peanuts
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges (for garnish)

For dressing:
Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, oil, and sugar in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir in shallots, chile, and mint.

For salad:
Toss shrimp with salt and pepper in bowl. Add pineapple, avocado, and dressing; toss to coat. Divide among plates, top with nuts, and garnish with lime wedges.

Click here for printable recipe

Bistro Salad

Oh, I love this recipe. Can you fry an egg? Can you make a salad? Then you can make this lovely elegant number that is light and delicious and colorful. This is one of those dinners (and sometimes lunches) that I always have on call for those days when I have run out of clever ideas for what to make for dinner...or those nights when whatever clever idea I DID have on the menu just seems too exhausting.

So here's the scoop: you cook up a few pieces of bacon however you like to make it (I'm currently a fan of baking it in the oven, it's fool-proof and a lot less messy than the stove). Mix up a quick and easy mustard dressing, which you toss with mixed up greens -- your choice but personally I like romaine. Fry up as many eggs as you have people. Or poach them - whatever you like best. Then it goes like this: bed of salad, egg on top, chopped cooked bacon scattered over all, a little fresh ground pepper. If you cook the egg so that the yolk is not too firm, the egg will add to the dressing and you are in Bistro Salad Heaven.

If I have some French or Italian bread around, I will slice and toast it and spread it with whatever soft cheese I have in the fridge...or if not, a little butter will do. Arrange those artfully on the side of the plate and your lucky fellow diners will think you have been planning this meal for days.

Bistro Salad, adapted from Cooks Illustrated, The Best 30 Minute Recipe

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 shallot, peeled
i clove garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Salt and fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
12 baguette slices
2 tablespoons olive oil, toasted
your favorite spreadable cheese -- Brie, Boursin, etc.
8 slices bacon, chopped and cooked
1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
10 cups of your favorite lettuce variety

1. First, make dressing by processing vinegar, mustard, shallot, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in blender or small food processor for 15 seconds. Add oil and process until emulsified, about 15 seconds.

2. Drizzled baguette toasts with olive oil and spread with your favorite cheese, set aside.

3. Fry eggs in butter until desired doneness (about 2 minutes for soft yolks, 3 for soft set and 4 for firm set.)

4. While eggs are cooking, toss lettuce with bacon and enough dressing for your taste (start with 1/3 cup and add more as needed). Divide among plates.

5. When eggs are done, slide one onto each plate and arrange cheese toasts around the edge. Grind fresh pepper over all and serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

Chicken Confit

This recipe almost didn't get made, because it is one of those recipes you tear out of the paper because it sounds so lovely and elegant, and then every time you come across the clipping it just sounds too fancy and complicated, but there's something about it that makes you hang on to the clipping...repeat as needed. But one day I got up the energy, and decided it was Chicken Confit Day.

What is confit, you may ask? (I definitely had to ask.) "In the savory kitchen, it historically refers to a meat submerged in flavorful rendered fat and cooked slowly until very tender. Confit has recently been expanded to include interpretations such as slowly cooking meat, fish or vegetables in a flavorful oil such as olive oil (which may or may not be infused with secondary flavors)." I got this helpful info from CD Kitchen, which is a great place to go for cooking info, along with some pretty cool recipes (right now they have a recipe up for something called "Death by Garlic Penne." I guess if you gotta go, that's as good a way as any.)

But I digress. So, in this case chicken confit turned out to mean heating up a LOT of olive oil with garlic, shallots, rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes, and then slowly cooking boneless chicken cutlets in the oil until they are tender. In the meantime you make a simple dressing out of minced anchovies, garlic, parmesan cheese and lemon juice (think Caesar salad-taste) that gets drizzled over the chicken, and I served the whole thing over Bibb lettuce.

I found this recipe in the New York Times and the original link is below, but I did adapt the cooking method here. Their approach was to heat the oil up, drop in the chicken, turn it off and let the chicken cook in the off-the-heat oil. I found that this method did not cook the chicken completely, so MY approach was to leave the heat on medium. But with that change, this recipe makes a very interesting, different and delicious chicken dish.

CHICKEN CONFIT, adapted from The New York Times

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cutlets

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 cups extra virgin olive oil, more if needed

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 shallots, thinly sliced

3 rosemary sprigs

1/2 bunch thyme

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

5 anchovy fillets

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, more to taste

Salad greens, for serving.

1. Season chicken well with salt and pepper. In a very large skillet or stock pot with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat with half the garlic and all the shallots, rosemary, thyme and crushed red pepper flakes until there are small bubbles on surface and around garlic.

2. Carefully slip in the chicken cutlets, making sure they are submerged in oil (add more oil if necessary.) Cover skillet or pot and turn heat to medium.

3 Cook chicken for 10 minutes. Make a small cut into middle of a cutlet. If chicken is not done, return to pot for another 2 minutes and check again. When cooked through, drain chicken on paper towels; remove cooked garlic, shallots, herbs and red pepper flakes from oil and discard, reserving oil itself for dressing.

4. Prepare dressing by mincing anchovies and remaining garlic and mixing them together with a large pinch of salt until you get a rough paste. Put paste in bowl and whisk in the parmesan, lemon juice and another pinch of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in 7 tablespoons olive oil from pan. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt, or both, if needed.

5. Serve chicken over a bed of greens drizzled with anchovy dressing.

Yields: 4 servings.

Click here for printable recipe

Chipolte Chicken Salad

I love this salad. It's right up there for me with my favorite taco salad -- one of those "chop up a bunch of those things that you like, toss them all together and voila! a scrumptious dinner" type of recipes. I will be perfectly honest and say that the original recipe for this dish, which I found in my new favorite Cooking Light cookbook, called for black beans, and if you like black beans you should feel perfectly free to throw them on in there. But in my house, I am sorry to tell you that black beans are the enemy, along with: mushrooms, eggplant, lima beans and cilantro. I wish I could like all that stuff, and so does my mother, who keeps getting me to "just try them." But I have, and I don't, and I gotta be me.

But everything else in this recipe was A-okay with me -- chicken, corn, tomato, avocado, lettuce, all tossed with a spicy sour cream dressing and served with some nice tortilla chips on the side. Which leads me to ask you about one of the great searches of my life: the quest for the perfect tortilla chip. I am looking for suggestions, folks...I still haven't landed on a brand that makes me stop and sing. So if you have, please share in the comments section? And in the meantime, here is my black-bean-less version of this nifty chicken salad. Yum.

CHIPOLTE CHICKEN SALAD, adapted from The Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook

Dressing:

• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 4 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons minced chipolte chile in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 peeled and diced avocado
• 1/3 cup sliced red onion
• 1 cup corn

1. Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well.
2. Combine all salad ingredients and toss. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss again. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips...whatever they are.

Click here for printable recipe

BLT Salad

I should start by saying that the major item that I have in common with the dog is a deep and abiding love for bacon. I totally feel her pain when I am cooking up a skillet of bacon and then don't turn around and put it in her dish. She always looks like she can't quite believe I'm not making it all for her. In my next life I think I will invent a completely bacon-flavored kibble and make a million bucks.

In the meantime, I always pause on any recipe that has bacon in the title. And of course, if the title also has the word "salad" in it, I feel like it is a healthy bacon recipe. This is my own little fantasy world that I have created, so please don't try and talk sense into me. So when I saw BLT Salad as an entry in Mark Bittman's new book KITCHEN EXPRESS, it was only a matter of time...a very short amount of time...before it ended up on our plates. As with all dishes in this book, there is no actual recipe, so I put together my own. It's a nifty little salad with a scrumptious avocado dressing, and since the book doesn't tell you specific amounts for all the ingredients, MY version goes a little heavy on the you-know-what.

This is probably a good time to tell you that I gave the romantic Southern husband chocolate bacon truffles for Valentine's Day last year, and oh, my my. Take a look:

Bacon and Chocolate


But if you want to stick with bacon health food, try this salad.

BLT SALAD, adapted from Kitchen Express

• 4 slices thick bacon, cooked until crisp and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 2 ripe tomatoes

1. Puree avocado, basil and garlic in food processor until smooth. Juice the lime and add to the avocado mixture.

2. With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until blended in. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Tear up lettuce and add to salad bowl. Chop tomatoes and add to bowl along with chopped bacon.

4. Add dressing and toss. I like to add the dressing gradually and taste as I go along to make sure the salad is not "over-dressed."

Click Here For Printable Recipe

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

How many of you out there own the SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK? How many of you have a version that is splattered and dog-eared and slightly falling apart because you have used it so much? If you have this book and it doesn't look like it has been through the wars, well then, you are missing out, because this book (along with its brethren, the SILVER PALATE GOOD TIMES COOKBOOK and SILVER PALATE NEW BASICS) are packed with some of the best, most creative recipes you will find anywhere. There is a reason this book has sold millions of copies -- it is a dang good cookbook. A classic.

I was so sad to hear that one of the authors (and founders of the original Silver Palate store in New York City) just passed away. Sheila Lukins was not only one of the geniuses behind the Silver Palate, but also took over from Julia Child as the food columnist for Parade Magazine. She knew her food, and luckily for all of us, she shared it.

This recipe is a slightly modified version of her delightful Mediterranean Chicken Salad -- modified only in that she gives fool-proof directions for poaching a chicken breast to use in the recipe and I used a grilled chicken breast, so I am giving you my version, with a deep bow and heartfelt thanks to Sheila Lukins. If you don't yet have her cookbooks, run, don't walk, to the nearest bookstore. If you do, go get it off your shelf and browse through those classic pages. It is a treasure trove.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN SALAD

Serves 4-6

• 4 chicken breasts, grilled and torn into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 really good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 pound cooked green beans
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Combine chicken in large bowl with oil and oregano. Cover and marinate for one hour.
2. Add remaining ingredients, toss and season to taste with salt and pepper
3. Serve with fresh bread -- I usually also put some goat cheese on the table to have with the bread. Adds to the Mediterranean ambiance!

Click here for Printable Recipe

Caesar Salad with Poached Egg

I do love a good Caesar salad. I love them plain, I love them with grilled chicken, I love them with shrimp. I am brimming with love for Caesar salad. I am also brimming with love for poached eggs, as those of you who have read this blog for a while already know. So when Caesar salad meets poached eggs...heaven.

This recipe calls for a couple of slices of bread as the base, and luckily I had a few slices left over from my baguette baking, but you can use any kind of country-ish bread you have on hand. Next comes layers of romaine lettuce, and unlike the standard Caesar salad, I leave these whole, just because it looks so fancy that way. Next...oh happiness!...comes the poached egg. There is one in the picture above but if you want to go really crazy, you can use TWO! Drizzle with the quick Caesar dressing in recipe, then grind some pepper over the top, and finally finish with a scattering of really nice Parmesan cheese. One of my friends gave me a big wedge of Parmesan that she brought me back from her vacation to Italy, and it is so unbelievably good that I am practically doling it out shred by shred. I'm not sure what I am going to do when it is gone and I have to go back to my usual Parmesan cheese, now that I have been so incredibly spoiled. That's the cheese I used for this recipe, because a great Parmesan makes a big difference in this one.

Anyway. That's all there is to this one, but it makes a great light meal, and if you poach the egg just right, when you cut it open the egg will mix with the dressing, and you will eat the whole thing with a blissful smile on your face. I promise.

CAESAR SALAD WITH POACHED EGG

Serves 4

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 4 slices country bread, lightly toasted
• Romaine lettuce leaves
• 4 to 8 poached eggs, depending if you are using one or two per salad

1. Put mayo, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons cheese in food processor and blend until smooth. Add oil in a steady stream until creamy and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Lay bread on plates. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Lay lettuce leaves on top of bread, and top lettuce with egg or eggs.

4. Drizzled dressing over all. Grind pepper on top, and scatter remaining cheese over eggs. Serve immediately.

Chicken Salad with Corn, Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Dressing

One of the cardinal rules of my kitchen is, if we are grilling chicken, we make extra. I have an entire collection of recipes that call for cooked chicken as one of the ingredients, and pretty much no matter what it is, if the chicken is grilled it is twice as good.

The ever-helpful Southern husband grilled chicken early in the week, so I had a nice supply of the extra in the fridge. Note: this only works if you say in a very firm voice, "I am using the leftover chicken for another supper in a few days, so please don't EAT it." I speak from experience.

Anyway, I also had some corn and tomatoes from our local farm market, and a nice hunk of goat cheese from Fairway, and so this tasty little salad came together in two shakes. Fresh thyme is essential for the nice flavor of this one, and luckily I have it in abundance in my herb garden, so all set there. We had the salad with some cracked peppercorn flatbread and a glass of Malbec wine, which I just discovered a few weeks ago. Malbec is an Argentinian wine that has flavors of black cherry and chocolate. But you probably knew that already and I am the last one to find it out.

So next time you grill chicken, make a few extra pieces and then try this salad, while the corn and tomatoes are still all around us. These lazy hazy days of summer are going by all too fast...

CHICKEN SALAD WITH CORN, TOMATOES AND GOAT CHEESE DRESSING

• 4 ounces crumbled mild goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 4 chicken breast halves, grilled and shredded into bite size pieces
• 2 ears of corn, kernels removed and cooked
• 1 large tomato, chopped

1. In food processor, puree cheese, oil, sour cream, milk, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and two tablespoons of thyme until smooth. Thin with more milk if needed until it is the consistency of thick salad dressing.

2. Place chicken, corn and tomato in large bowl and toss with dressing.

3. Serve with the rest of the thyme sprinkled on top.