Salad! Salad! Salad!

"...once you put bacon in a salad, it's no longer a salad. It just becomes a game of 'find the bacon in the lettuce'. It's like you're panning for gold. Eureka!" -Jim Gaffigan

I had such a fun time teaching my salads class at Whole Foods this last Thursday! I adore a good salad, and the ones I chose to make were good (if I do say so myself!) and, what's more, pretty darn healthy. Finding a healthy salad, surprisingly, can be a difficult task: they're often covered in globs of mayo, layered in fried chicken or drowning in cheese. Damn. Now I'm hungry. There's nothing wrong with a little fatty-salad-lovin' from time to time, but I can tell ya, if you make my Waldorf Salad, you probably won't miss the lipids as much as you may imagine.   

Balsamic Vinaigrette & Marinade

Ingredients:

½ c extra virgin olive oil

½ c balsamic vinegar

½ shallot, finely minced

1 garlic clove, finely minced

½ t kosher salt

¼ t ground pepper

Method:

1.         Combine all ingredients in a spill-proof jar or container, attach lid and shake until ingredients are well mixed.

2.        Use as a salad dressing or as a marinade for meat, seafood, tofu or vegetables.

Tuna Tarragon Salad

Ingredients:

2 heads romaine lettuce, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces

2 cans oil-packed Italian tuna, drained

1 small red onion, sliced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

3 T fresh tarragon, chopped

2 avacados, cubed

About 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette

Method:

1.         Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl, toss with dressing & serve immediately.

Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup Parmeggiano Reggiano, grated

2 cups homemade croutons

2 egg yolks or 2 T mayonnaise

2 garlic gloves

3 anchovy filets

Juice of one lemon

2 t Worcestershire sauce

2 t Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1.         In a blender, combine yolks, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, Worcestershire  sauce, & Dijon & blend until smooth.

2.        Taste dressing, add salt and/or pepper, if necessary.

3.        Toss lettuce in dressing.

4.        Add cheese & croutons and toss, serve immediately.

Homemade Croutons

Ingredients:

1 loaf good quality bread, such as ciabbata, cubed

2 garlic gloves, finely minced

¼ c butter, melted

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 t kosher salt

Method:

1.         Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.        In a bowl, combine all ingredients until bread is evenly coated.

3.        Spread bread evenly on a baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes, tossing once half way through cooking.

Ingredients:

2 cups apples, cubed

2 cups walnuts, toasted & roughly chopped

1 cup dried cherries

2 cups celery, chopped

1 cup blue cheese, cubed

1 cup grapes, halved

½ cup red onion, sliced thin

6 oz. bib lettuce

2 cups chicken, cubed (optional)

For the Dressing:

1 cup Greek yogurt

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

1 T honey

1 t Kosher salt

½ t ground pepper

Method:

1.         Place cherries in a small bowl and cover with boiling water, let sit for 5 minutes & drain.

2.        To make the dressing, mix ingredients until smooth

3.        Combine all ingredients (except lettuce) in a large salad bowl & toss with dressing until evenly coated.

4.        Place lettuce on a serving plate and top with the mixed salad.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

10 cups Napa cabbage, shredded

2 cups carrots, shredded

1 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup crispy wonton noodles

2 stalks of green onion

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

2 cups shredded chicken

For the Dressing:

½ cup rice wine vinegar

2 t sesame oil

1 clove garlic

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 T lime juice

1 T smooth peanut butter

Salt & pepper, to taste

Method:

1.         To make the salad dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth.

2.        Mix all ingredients together in a large salad bowl and add the dressing, tossing until evenly coated; serve immediately.

Waldorf Salad

Risotto alla Milanese Class at Whole Foods

Well, on July 21, I taught patrons at Whole Foods how to make Risotto alla Milanese, a recipe I adapted from my mother and grandmother. The class went really well, and my risotto was by far the best I've made (if I do say so myself!). Where's the pictures, you ask? I forgot. I'm sorry. I know, I know, you want pictures. Can you forgive me? OK, thanks. Anyway, here's the recipe, and it's damn good.

Ciapponi Risotto alla Milanese

Serves 8

Ingredients:

12 cups chicken stock

¼ tsp saffron threads

I lb mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic gloves, crushed

1 ½ cup unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

4 cups aborio rice

1 glass dry white wine, such as pinot grigio

1 lb cooked chicken, shredded

2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions:

1.        In a large pot, bring chicken stock to a simmer over medium high heat. Do not boil.

2.       Once stock is simmering, remove 1 cup of stock, place in a small bowl and add saffron and cover.

3.       In a sauté pan set over medium heat, place mushrooms, 4 T butter and garlic. Sauté for 10-15 minutes, or until mushrooms are browned.

4.      In a wide-bottomed, rimmed pan set over medium heat, sauté onion, salt and pepper in 4 T butter until soft but not browned, about 15 minutes.

5.       Add rice and stir over medium to medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the rice is translucent but not browned.

6.       Add the wine; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until most of the wine is evaporated.

7.       Ladle about 1 cup of simmering stock to rice, and stir until most of the stock is evaporated.

8.       Continue to ladle the stock into the rice 1 cup at a time, as you stir – almost constantly – to cook and bring the starch out of the rice, for about 20-25 minutes.

9.       After 20 minutes, taste the rice for doneness.

10.  Once cooked to your desired texture, vigorously stir in Parmigiano and remaining 4 T butter.

11.   Stir in the chicken and mushrooms.

12. Cover and let sit for 3-4 minutes, and serve immediately.