This recipe with the addition of cashews and water chestnuts, different from the norm, was just the ticket. I punched up the dressing with a little bit of dry mustard, taking it from drab to dynamic.

Broccoli Salad with Cashews and Water Chestnuts

 2 large crowns Melissa’s Organic Broccoli, cut into florets

6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1 c. cashews

¼ c. chopped red onion

½ c. golden raisins

⅓ c. chopped water chestnuts

 Dressing:

1 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 T. cider vinegar

¼ c. sugar

½ t. kosher salt

¼ t. dry mustard

Whisk together dressing ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

 Play, broccoli, bacon, cashews, onion, raisins, and water chestnuts into a large bowl. Pour dressing overall and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Sometimes the best dishes are the simplest ones; this beautiful heirloom tomato salad is a perfect example. It’s very simple to put together, can be assembled ahead of time, and drizzled with the dressing just before serving, a dressing that is both sophisticated and flavorful. If, like me, you’d prefer not to work with anchovies, do like I did, and use the paste instead. If you grow tomatoes in your garden, consider growing heirlooms. That way you can have this beautiful salad all summer long.  Heirloom Tomato Salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette

Adapted from foodandwine.com

¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil

4 anchovies, minced*

1 garlic clove, minced 

1 t. finely grated lemon zest

1 medium Melissa’s shallot, thinly sliced

2 T. red wine vinegar

2 hard-boiled eggs

1½ lb. assorted Melissa’s heirloom tomatoes, sliced

Fleur de sel

Freshly ground pepper

Flat-leaf parsley, for serving

Marjoram leaves, for serving 

In a small skillet, combine the olive oil, anchovies, garlic and lemon zest.

In a small bowl, toss the shallot with the vinegar and let stand for 10 minutes.

Arrange the tomatoes on 4 plates and season with fleur de sel and pepper. Scatter the shallot and vinegar over the tomatoes.

 Warm the anchovy dressing over moderate heat to a gentle simmer; pour over the tomatoes. Cut the eggs in half crosswise and place a half on each plate. Scatter the parsley and marjoram over the salad and serve at once.

*I used ½ t. of anchovy paste

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

To keep things from getting routine in the salads that I’ve been having every day (and honestly, if it would help get rid of the lettuce, I would have one at breakfast), I’ve been experimenting with different ingredients. As is the case with most salads, the dressing is the star of the show, but this combination of ingredients is not only delicious, but it is highly nutritious with the spinach, beets, walnuts, and pears. It’s also beautiful, and makes a lovely presentation.Spinach, Beet, and Pear Salad with Raspberry Mustard Vinaigrette

Salad:
Fresh baby spinach
1 Melissa’s Bartlett pear, peeled and thinly sliced.
1 8-oz. pkg. Melissa’s steamed baby beets, thinly sliced.
Handful of broken walnuts
Blue cheese, as much as you like

Raspberry Mustard Vinaigrette:
¼ c. canola oil
¼ c. raspberry balsamic vinegar
2 T. grated shallot
1 T. raspberry jam

1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. sugar
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients into a mini food processor, and process until emulsified. If you don’t have a mini food processor, you need to get one. You can use them for so many things, and they make salad dressing like nobody’s business. When you use one of these to make salad dressing, it quickly emulsifies, and stays emulsified; there is no separation in the fridge.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How did the holidays turn out for you? Ultimately, mine were reasonably good although they didn’t turn out entirely as anticipated. Due to illness, the dinner that I made for Christmas Eve was only enjoyed by my son and me. It was a pretty fancy dinner for just the two of us, but I think we really enjoyed not just the food, but the time that we spent together in such elegant surroundings.

 I sent him home with plenty of food, but I still had a good bit of ham left, as well as the ham bone. I set the bone aside to use in pea soup, used slices in casseroles and sandwiches, and decided to toss what was left into the food processor for ham salad. Generally, when I make ham salad I use sweet pickle relish, but because I had gotten a glazed ham that had a lot of its own sweetness, I decided to replace the sweet pickle relish for olives. It made a wonderful difference!

Olive Ham Salad

 ¾ lb. piece of baked ham, cut into chunks

1 rib celery, cut into fourths

1 scallion, cut in half

10 small pimiento-stuffed olives

1/3 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

1 t. Dijon mustard

Few gratings ground black pepper

Put all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until. Cover and chill for at least a Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to meld.

This will keep up to three days, covered and refrigerated.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

The week before last we had a little bit of spooky fun with a skull-shaped cheese ball. This week the skulls are of a smaller size and part of a Caprese salad. You have probably seen this online as it seems to be quite popular this year. It’s easy to put together, and quite tasty, working equally well as a side dish, or as a part of a charcuterie tray. The skull molds are a breeze to use (I got them here), and you can even mess things up and still come out just fine. The directions call for you to soften the cheese in the oven, and then press it lightly with a paper towel into the mold.  I was busy the day that I made these, left them in the oven too long, and the cheese melted. Not to worry, I put them right into the fridge, and after 30 minutes popped them right out. Are they perfect? No. Do they look just fine? They certainly do, and have the added benefit of looking as though they’ve rotted away a bit.  Great fun for Halloween.Halloween Caprese Salad

8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls 

1 pt. Melissa’s organic heirloom tomatoes

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. good olive oil

¼ c. fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Make the mozzarella skulls:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the  silicon molds onto a rimmed baking sheet for stability. Lightly spray the interiors of the skull molds with PAM. Add a ball of mozzarella to each skull cavity. Bake for 6-8 minutes to soften the cheese. Use a folded paper towel to press the softened cheese into the molds (the paper towel will absorb the liquid that is released from the mozzarella). Transfer the molds to the refrigerator and let chill for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the mold and repeat with remaining cheese until all the mozzarella is formed into skulls.

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and then toss the tomatoes and mozzarella skulls, with the balsamic and olive oil. Scatter basil leaves over top and sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving.

 Happy Halloween, everybody!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

 If you’ve never used a ring mold, let me tell you it is the simplest thing ever. Just put it on your serving plate, fill it with salad, and tamp it down, and slowly lift up the ring and there is your beautiful salad. It also works quite well with rice.

 This is an exceptionally good combination of ingredients. Make it fancy, serve it simply, or enjoy it as a main dish. Don’t let this one get by without giving it a try.

Ruth's Chris Chopped Salad Copycat

As seen on lakesidetable.com

 Salad Dressing

½ c. sour cream

2 fresh lemons, juiced

1 t. kosher salt

½ t. garlic powder

1 c. finely chopped fresh basil

Salad

½ head Iceberg lettuce chopped

6 slices bacon cooked and chopped

1 small radicchio, chopped

1 c. croutons, chopped

½ c. green olives, chopped

½ c. Melissa’s heart of palm, chopped

2/3 c. blue cheese, crumbled

4 medium mushrooms, chopped

2 boiled eggs, chopped

½ red onion, minced

Topping & garnish

1 c. crunchy fried onions

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

 Salad Dressing

Mix all the salad dressing ingredients together and set aside.

 Salad

Gently mix all of the ingredients together except for the crispy fried onions and cherry tomatoes.

 Pour salad dressing over the salad and mix together until thoroughly combined.

 Divide salad between 4 plates and top with crispy fried onions and garnish with cherry tomatoes.

 OR place the metal salad ring mold on the salad plate and fill it with salad. Then with the bottom of a glass, gently tap the salad down to compress it. This will help it keep its shape.

Remove the glass and top the salad with crispy onions. Then using the bottom of the glass again to keep the salad on the plate, bring the ring up, and remove the ring.

 Garnish with tomatoes.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

 Have you ever wondered why it is that sub sandwiches that you get at the deli always taste better than yours? I mean, no matter how hard you try to replicate that sandwich, it’s never quite as good, is it? The reason for that may not be what you’d expect. It has nothing to do with the bread, or your selection of meats and cheeses; it has everything to do with the salad. Salad, you ask. Yes, the salad the tops that sandwich. I don’t know if you have ever deconstructed one of those sandwiches and taken a good look, but it is way more than just lettuce. There is a lot of flavor there, a lot of ingredients, and all that combines to make your sandwich delicious. This deli sandwich salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. Use it on top of any meat or cheese sandwich. I think you will be surprised at the difference that it makes. Vive la différence!

Deli Sandwich Salad

Adapted from closetcooking.com

 ¼ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

½ T. red wine vinegar

1 t. Italian seasoning

1 t. Melissa’s minced garlic

1 T. grated Parmesan

½ t. red pepper flakes

¼ t. kosher salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

4 c. lettuce, thinly sliced

¼ c. Melissa’s pickled yellow peppers

¼ c. red onion, thinly sliced*

 Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, oregano, garlic, Parmesan, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

 Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, oregano, garlic, Parmesan, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

 *I used a mandolin

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 It has been my experience that “Seinfeld” is a lot like cilantro, you either like it or you don’t. I happen to like both, so when I learned of the publication of Seinfeld: The Official Cookbook I had to have a copy. I tried two recipes from the cookbook, and both were very good, so that bodes well for the rest of them. The first that I tried was this one for Elaine’s Big Salad. Essentially, it’s a Cobb salad, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious. I liked the way that the avocado was sliced in the salad so that you get big bites of it. I also liked the quartered rather than chopped egg, and halved cherry tomatoes. It was a delicious combination. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I added a pinch of sugar and a pinch of oregano to the salad dressing to suit my own personal taste. Be sure to keep a watch on this page. Next week I’m going to share a recipe from The Soup Nazi.

 Elaine’s Big Salad

 For the dressing:

1 large head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 ripe avocado
2 hard-boiled eggs
4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled 
1 c. shredded cooked chicken 
½ c. grape tomatoes, halved 
½ c. crumbled blue cheese

To make the dressing: Combine all ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk vigorously to emulsify. Adjust the seasonings to taste. You may want to add more lemon juice depending on how flavorful your olive oil is. Set aside.

Using a paring knife, make a vertical cut all the way around the outside of the avocado, stopping when you hit the large pit inside. Pull the halves apart and discard the pit. While the flesh is still inside the skin, score the avocado meat into slices, and then scoop out using a large spoon. Set aside.

Peel the hard-boiled eggs and slice into quarters. Set aside.

Divide the salad toppings in half and arrange them in the two salads so that each one is displayed individually on the lettuce: Designate separate areas for the avocado slices, bacon crumbles, shredded chicken, eggs, tomatoes, and blue cheese.

 Top each salad with dressing and serve.

 Despite the fact that I briefly lived in and went to university in Florida, until recently I had never heard of The Columbia Restaurant. Opened in 1905, it is one of the longest running restaurants in the state and the birthplace of the 1905 Salad. You may have seen this recipe going around the web recently, as have I. Lover of salads that I am, I naturally had to try it. Interestingly enough, the salad was not created until the 1940s when waiter, Tony Noriega, created it one night from random leftovers in the fridge. Who among us hasn’t done that?!

Personally, I am a fan of the crunchiness of iceberg lettuce. I think the addition of this to a salad gives it such life. It’s not the most flavorful of lettuces, however, hence the need for other ingredients and a very flavorful dressing. The dressing, I thought, had too much oregano, so I cut that with a teaspoon of sugar. In my opinion, that makes it perfect.

1905 Salad

Slightly adapted from The Columbia Restaurant

 For the Dressing:

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

½ c. extra virgin Spanish olive oil

1/8 c. (2 T.) white wine vinegar

2 t. fresh lemon juice

1 t. sugar

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 For the Salad:

½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded

2 ripe tomatoes, sliced into wedges

½ c. Swiss cheese, sliced into matchstick strips

½ c. baked ham (or shrimp or turkey), sliced into matchstick strips

¼ c. green Spanish olives, pitted

2 t. freshly grated Romano cheese

 In a bowl, whisk together the garlic, dried oregano, and Worcestershire sauce. Gradually beat in the olive oil to form an emulsion. Mix in the vinegar and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

 In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, tomatoes, Swiss cheese, ham, and olives.

 Pour the dressing into the salad and toss well to coat. Sprinkle the Romano cheese and toss again. Serve and enjoy!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.