Asparagus Salad

Salty, sweet, and de-lish!  This salad is great for warm summer days because it is light but substantial enough to be dinner, & is served cool!


Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 ripe cantaloupe cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 4oz pancetta, baked until crisp and then cumbled
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Place pancetta on cookie sheet & bake in oven until crisp.
3. While pancetta is cooking, trim asparagus & cut into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside
4. Cut cantaloupe into bite-sized pieces & set aside.
5. When pancetta is crisp remove from cookie sheet & drain on paper towels - DO NOT discard pancetta drippings
6. Place cut asparagus onto cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
7. Season asparagus with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Toss seasoned asparagus in the pancetta drippings and olive oil.
9. Roast asparagus in oven until crisp tender.
10. Remove asparagus from oven & squeeze 1/2 a fresh lemon over freshly roasted asparagus.
11. When asparagus is cool, pour asparagus (including pancetta drippings, olive oil, and lemon juice) into a bowl.  Toss & combine with cantaloupe, crumbled pancetta, and mozzarella

Serve as a side or as an entree with crusty bread!

Garlic Confit Vinaigrette

I know the name makes it sound way to high-class, but it is such a good dressing and its something I stumbled upon thats a keeper for me now.

Confit (French, pronounced "con-fee") is a generic term for various kinds of food that have been immersed in a substance for both flavor and preservation. Sealed and stored in a cool place, confit can last for several months. Confit is one of the oldest ways to preserve food, and is a speciality of southwestern France.

In this case its garlic that have been slowly simmered in olive oil and then used as the base for a salad dressing. I would add this to almost any salad, its light, full of flavor, and because you're cooked the garlic, its not rough on the stomach. Plus you get this leftover garlic confit to put in other dishes and some amazing infused garlic oil. Like I said, its a keeper for sure.

Garlic Confit Vinaigrette
Makes 3/4 cup of vinaigrette. The extra garlic confit can be stored in the refrigerator submerged in the remaining oil for about a week.

(For the garlic confit)
the cloves from 2 heads of garlic, peeled and stem ends sliced off
3 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary
1 to 1/2 cups olive oil

(For the vinaigrette)
8 cloves (or so) garlic confit
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup garlic-infused olive oil

First make the garlic confit. In a very small saucepan, combine the peeled garlic cloves, thyme or rosemary and the olive oil. Make sure the olive oil completely covers the garlic cloves. Cook the mixture over as low a heat as possible for 25 to 35 minutes, until the garlic cloves are golden brown and very tender. Allow the garlic and oil to return to room temperature.

To make the vinaigrette, take 8 or so of the garlic cloves and place in a small bowl or in a food processor (my preferred method). Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and using a spoon (or pulse the food processor), mash the garlic until it is very smooth. Add the lemon juice and vinegar and whisk to combine. In a slow, steady stream, add 1/2 cup of the oil that the garlic cooked in, whisking to emulsify. Grind in a bit of fresh cracked black pepper and taste to see if the seasonings need adjusting.

Tortellini SALAD

Tortellini Salad, a summer favorite in our house! This salad can be served warm or chilled. A great side dish for a summer BBQ's or potlucks! Can even be served as an entree with garlic bread.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• one package of frozen or fresh tortellini (I prefer 3 cheese filling for this recipe)
• one container cherry/grape tomatoes
• 6 tbl. chopped fresh basil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 c. EVOO
• 2 tbl. white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. sugar

Directions:

1. Cook tortellini according to directions on the package. Drain pasta and run cold water over it once it's done cooking to cool it down a bit. Place in desired serving bowl.
2. Slice tomatoes in half, add to the pasta.
3. Prepare dressing, crush garlic in a small bowl, add chopped basil, EVOO, white vinegar, salt and sugar. Whisk together and drizzle over pasta and tomatoes. Toss to combine then chill in refrigerator or serve right away.

Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

I love a good Caesar salad in a restaurant but am often disappointed when I try and recreate the dish at home. Often times I'm disappointed because I fall back on a bottled Caesar dressing. This recipe offers an easy dressing that will knock your 'garlic' socks off! :-)

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 2 garlic cloves
• S&P
• rustic French bread (crusts removed, cut into small crouton size pieces)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 heads Romain lettuce (outer leaves discarded, inner leaves cut into strips)
• cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, crush 1 garlic clove and blend with some salt and 1 tablespoon of EVOO. Add bread cubes and toss to combine. Spread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crisp and golden, about 20 minutes, turning once.
2. Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, crush remaining garlic clove (I was tempted to add another garlic clove but was happy that I didn't; since the garlic is raw in the dressing it keeps its strength.) whisk in lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard and pepper. Slowly whisk in the EVOO.
3. In a large serving bowl, toss lettuce and tomatoes with vinaigrette and croutons. Serve immediately , garnished with shaved Parmesan.

Salmon Niçoise Salad

This easy french niçoise salad (pronounced ni-swaa) is a great fresh tasting main course! I was first introduced to this salad during my bridal shower. I loved the blanched vegetables and potatoes! This particular recipe calls for salmon which was a nice addition but not mandatory if you are looking for a vegetarian option.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 2 skinless salmon fillets (or about a 1lb. piece)
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 heads of Romain lettuce
• Steamed Green Beans
• Fingerling Potatoes
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 3 Hard-Cooked Eggs
• 1 medium red onion
• 1/4 cup Kalamata (or black) olives
• Dijon Vinaigrette (see recipe below) 

Directions:

 

1. If you haven't already hard boiled your eggs, do that first so you can place them in an ice bath allowing them to cool down while you prepare everything else.

2. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil; add fingerling potatoes about four to five per person for each person you'll be serving. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 14 to 16 minutes.

3. With a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a bowl salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. Add a generous handful of green beans to the pot of boiling water. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Rinse under cool water, and set aside.

4. This recipe suggests you cook your salmon in a skillet on your range. I always cook my salmon under the broiler so I opted for that method. If you decide to broil your salmon place it on some foil S&P it and set it under the broiler for 7-10 minutes; until it is opaque throughout. Here is the skillet method: Fill a deep skillet with 1/4 inch water. Season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper; place in skillet. Bring water to a gentle simmer; cover, and cook until salmon is opaque throughout, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate; flake with a fork, and let cool.

5. While salmon is cooking, tear lettuce into pieces, quarter potatoes and tomatoes, peel and quarter eggs, and thinly slice onion.

6. On a large platter (or four serving plates), arrange lettuce, salmon, green beans, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, onion, and olives. Serve with Dijon Vinaigrette on the side.

 

Dijon Vinaigrette:
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Broccoli Tomato Salad

This is a delicious summer time salad, and a nice alternative to a pasta salad! 

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• Large bunch of broccoli
• 1 pint of little tomatoes, I've used cherry or grape both are great.
• 4 green onions sliced thinly
• Cheddar Cheese Chunks, as many as you would like.  
• 1/2 c. mayo
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Cut the broccoli flowerettes off and steam in shallow boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the boiling water immediately and place in a colander.  Rinse with cold water to get the broccoli cooled down.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half, chop the onions, and cheese.  Combine in a bowl with broccoli.
3. Put mayo, sugar, and red wine vinegar in a bowl and whisk together. 
4. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and combine.
5. Serve right away or place in the refrigerator and serve later.  I've even made it a night before and taken it to work for lunch and it still tastes fresh!