hungry poodle

Last weekend we attended a wedding reception that featured a wonderful summer-themed dinner. Mother-of-the-bride Kathleen is a Francophile and a fabulous cook; the menu epitomized the way she approaches food–seasonal, fresh, using the highest quality ingredients you can get.

The salad contained fresh cherries–in season now–with pistachios and warm goat cheese toasts. Lovely. I made a version of it last night to go with our weekly roast chicken (I’ll have to post a recipe for that as soon as I can get a picture of it before Champ carves it up!).

Fruit is not a novel salad ingredient: strawberries have long been a staple in spinach salads. The key is to use whatever is in season–in the summer, cherries, blackberries, blueberries. In the winter, apples, oranges, pears.

Add your favorite extras–a few toasted nuts, hearts of palm, dried fruit. Or grill some large shrimp and make this a main-course salad.

Perfect summer accompaniment to roast free-range chicken

Fresh cherries, halved
Baby salad greens
Goat cheese
Lemon vinaigrette

Combine cherries and greens in a salad bowl and toss with vinaigrette. Crumble goat cheese onto individual servings.

Lemon vinaigrette

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2. T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed (but not broken-hearted)
1/4 to 1/2 t. kosher or sea salt

Whisk together ingredients and lightly dress salad.

Classic vinaigrettes are usually made with a ratio of one part vinegar or lemon juice to three parts oil. If you want to lighten yours, add more lemon juice; it will be tangier, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If your salad includes grilled shrimp, serve with lemon wedges.

Otherwise known as black bean salad, or salsa if you’re so inclined. Thanks, Kristin, for suggesting this very simple recipe, which can be modified according to your tastes and/or the amount of time you have to toss it together. Good rolled up in a lettuce leaf, on a green salad or with chips. Also a great high-protein snack that you can take to work in a plastic container.

Last night I grilled a whole chicken and brought it to the table on a platter with this as the only side. I added pickled jalapenos to kick it up, and squeezed fresh lime juice on as well. Refreshing, easy, healthy, not to mention totally delicious. We dined al fresco on the back patio with two hungry poodles keeping constant watch over the chicken.

BTW, I put up a similar recipe last year in the salad section, but this one deserves inclusion because of its stripped-down, ready-at-a-moment’s-notice nature.

Don’t laugh when you read the ingredients. There are a mere four. Think you can handle that?

1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed well and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed and drained*
1 10-oz. can Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Combine in a bowl. Ta da!

I squeezed some fresh lime juice on mine and gave it a few turns with the pepper grinder. You could also gild the lily and add chopped sweet onion, pickled jalapenos or jarred salsa.

*You can make this an all-pantry recipe by using canned corn, but I prefer the crispiness of frozen. It also has less sodium.

Serves: 4

Chinese Chicken Salad has become almost as common on restaurant menus as the ubiquitous hamburger. Speaking of which, Wendy’s even has their own version; it’s one of their “Garden Sensation Salads”, and they boast that it’s “unforgettable”.  (How many euphemisms can you count?)

Since Chinese Chicken Salad is an American culinary invention (The Chinese don’t eat salads like we do. They eat white rice too, and they aren’t nearly as fat. Has anyone done a study on this paradox?), I think it’s fair to lay a few ground rules for its preparation.

Rule One: It should not contain everything but the kitchen sink. Rule Two: it should be fresh, crispy and refreshing, anything but what we usually get from restaurant fare. And Rule Three: it shouldn’t be laden in oily, overly sweet dressing. After all, by its very nature it should be healthy.

This salad, an adaption from Cooks Illustrated, fits the bill exactly. There aren’t many ingredients (you can add the mandarin oranges, a la Wendy’s, if you wish), thus it retains it’s unique flavor. Resist the temptation to add too many extras. They only serve to muddle the overall taste and texture of what should be a delightful summer salad.

3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 t. vegetable oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned is better here)*
3 T. hoisin sauce
1 1/2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. grated fresh ginger
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 medium head napa cabbage, sliced thin crosswise
1 cup bean sprouts
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 T. minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup chow mein noodles**

Pat chicken breasts dry and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat 1 t. oil in a nonstick skillet and add chicken. Cook until browned on one side. Turn over, add 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer another 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in the plastic and refrigerate chicken while preparing the other ingredients. When chicken is cool, shred it into bite-sized pieces.

Combine the rice vinegar, the remaining 3 t. oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and ginger together in a bowl.

Toss together the chicken, shredded carrot, cabbage, sprouts, bell pepper, green onions and cilantro in a large salad bowl. Shake the dressing to combine and pour over the salad. I didn’t use all of the dressing but brought it to the table to add to individual servings.

Sprinkle with chow mein noodles and serve.

*Seasoned rice vinegar is the most widely available Asian vinegar and is sold in the Asian section of most supermarkets. It’s sweeter than unseasoned rice vinegar. If you can find it, get the unseasoned version for this vinaigrette. I found the seasoned vinegar to be a bit too sweet, although it may suit your tastes.

** Chow mein noodles can be found in the Asian section of most large supermarkets. La Choy is the most visible and popular brand.

Champ suggested the addition of a few peanuts, which we tried and found delightful. Don’t overdo, though. Again, you don’t want to be biting down on the proverbial kitchen sink.

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There’s something to be said for living in the Midwest, where roads are generally in better condition than they are out here in flat-broke California. I’ve seen pot holes as big as the pot you use to make chili for a crowd of 30. Lest you’ve never made that much chili, we’re talking a 12-quarter.

Best friend Michael and I are house-sitting in the foothills above Sacramento. Yesterday morning it rained, then it snowed, then the sun came out and finally, this hail storm, all within a span of about six hours. In Kansas we say that if you don’t like the weather, stick around for five minutes and it will change. Add California to that list.

I roasted a chicken the other night and served it with a Mediterranean vinaigrette I adapted from Bon Appetit. (Vinaigrettes are not just for salads.) This one has a higher ratio of lemon juice to olive oil, making it less rich and also more lemony tasting on the chicken. It’s a lovely introduction to spring. Here’s the recipe:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you have wimpy taste buds)
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk all together and drizzle over roast chicken and vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli or potatoes. You can also place salad leaves on your plate, top with sliced chicken and then drizzle away. Yum.

This almost-end-of-summer salad may sound ordinary, but don’t let its simple nature fool you. It’s delicious–crunchy, tart and refreshing. Use heirloom tomatoes if you can still find them at the market.  It takes minutes to toss together, and its salsa-like texture can put a real charge on one of those plain grilled chicken breasts you’ve been enduring. The original WW recipe called for chopped mint, but I prefer basil. Or try cilantro for a Mexican flair.

2 cups fresh corn (about two ears, or use frozen thawed)
2 small tomatoes, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. lime juice
2 t. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. salt
fresh basil, cilantro or mint, chopped

Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl. You can refrigerate this up to two hours. The tomatoes will render lots of liquid but don’t worry about it. It just adds more flavor.

Makes 4 servings (3/4 cup)

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