Chickpea, Tomato and Feta Salad

I was looking for a way to spice up my boring salad lunches, so I decided to make this easy salad after seeing something similar on Martha Stewart's website. This was super easy and I was actually excited for lunch today! I filled Tupperware with some leafy greens and baby carrots. Then I added about 3/4 cup of the Chickpea salad and enjoyed it with a whole wheat pita. Yum!

Ha ha, so much so that I finished it off before I remembered to take a photo! Use your imagination....

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion (finely chopped)
2 oz. crumbled feta (approximately)
1 lemon (juice + zest)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions
Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion and feta in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Voila! Lunch is served!

Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

It's SPRING! I was actually watching Giada's show and saw this and had to make it! She made it look so easy and sound so good! It's a great salad, side dish or dinner. We had it with some tomato, basil and burrata cheese (my favorite!) and italian bread. The perfect Spring meal!


Ingredients
1 cup orecchiette pasta (we used small shells because our pathetic Giant didn't have orecchiette)
2 cups Mediterranean-style mixed salad greens
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon goat cheese, crumbled (we definitely used more than 1 tablespoon!)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper

Directions

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the water.

In medium bowl, mix the salad greens with the sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and Parmesan. Top with warm pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and wilt the greens. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper, or to taste. Garnish with additional Parmesan, if desired, and serve. So easy!

Happy (Valentine's) Lobster Day!

Tony told me Valentine’s Day is favorite day of the year…. aw!…. because we eat LOBSTERS! Ha ha! As usual, Tony and I made dinner at home this year. It’s just so much more our style than going out to an over-priced restaurant. We can go out to eat any night of the year!

We popped a bottle of Prosecco and started with a simple salad of Arugula, Pecans and Roquefort cheese (my favorite!). Tony thoughtfully got some Roquefort last time he was at Whole Foods so we can enjoy it while it lasts… For those living under a rock (or just not into stinky cheese) in its final days, the Bush administration imposed a 300 percent tariff on Roquefort (!!!!) in effect closing off the U.S. market. What did the cheese ever do to you George? Apparently we have until March 23 to consume as much as possible before the tax goes into effect and it disappears from stores forever. For those interested, read more here. R.I.P. Roquefort….

I drizzled the salad with a White Truffle Oil vinaigrette- just a simple combination of lemon juice, salt, pepper and white truffle oil (brought back from Italy!). I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this sooner… using the subtle oil in a dressing really brings out the truffle flavor.

We decided to forgo whole lobsters this year and just got tails. We steamed them ourselves and enjoyed with simple drawn butter. For an extra treat (and because they were on sale!), Tony threw in a Dungeness crab leg! Wow those are good!

For dessert we made chocolate dipped strawberries! Yum!

Classic Summertime Dinner

I hosted our book club meeting this month. We read I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. It was a fun book to read for the summer and made for some interesting discussions. The author is our age (29) and the book is a collection of humorous essays about a number of topics we could all relate to including childhood, first job, moving, college experiences and family drama. For dinner I prepared a light and summery meal:

Lemonade
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Pressed Panini Sandwiches
Strawberry Shortcake

Watermelon and Feta Salad

Ingredients

1 small seedless watermelon, cut into small cubes
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
Mixed lettuce (I used red leaf and arugula)
4 ounces feta cheese
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, oil, honey, salt, and pepper to create the dressing. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, onion, watermelon and feta. Toss with dressing to taste.

Pressed Panini Sandwiches

Using my Cuisinart Griddler, I made an assortment of pressed panini sandwiches:

Grilled eggplant, mozzarella and tomato

Grilled zucchini, yellow squash and mozzarella

Prosciutto, arugula and mozzarella

Directions

First, heat up the Griddler and prepare the vegetables for grilling. Cut the eggplant and tomato into thin rounds. Slice the zucchini and squash lengthwise into thin strips. Drizzle with olive oil and grill the vegetables until soft and tender. In the meantime, begin to slice Italian bread to make as many individual sandwiches as you need. I used a baguette for the prosciutto sandwiches (cut lengthwise and then across) and extra large Italian rolls for the grilled vegetable sandwiches (cut lengthwise and then in half).

Next, in a small bowl whisk together a generous amount of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Using a grill brush, sweep the olive oil mixture over each half of the bread, creating a base coat. Once the breads are prepared, begin to layer the assorted grilled vegetables and sliced mozzarella onto your breads (careful not to stuff them too full). Place the completed sandwiches in the Griddler and press in batches until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisp.

For the prosciutto sandwiches, I brushed the baguette with olive oil, salt and pepper and layered thin slices of prosciutto, mozzarella and arugula. I then heated the individual sandwiches in the toaster over at 350 degrees until the bread is just lightly toasted and the cheese is soft.

Onion Tarts with Mixed Greens

These tarts went perfectly with the Carrot Fettuccine (see below) as a light and "springy" Family dinner. I used store-bought dough for time purposes and because making my own dough scares me. I am happy to say it tasted delicious and looked exactly like the image below! (Again, too eager to eat to remember to take a picture- this is from www.williams-sonoma.com).

Ingredients

2 rolled-out rounds savory tart dough, each 12 inches in diameter (homemade or store-bought)

5 Tbs. olive oil

4 yellow onions, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. minced fresh thyme

2 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 oz. mixed salad greens

2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

Place the dough rounds on separate parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F.

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the thyme, parsley and 2 tsp. of the vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Spread half of the onion mixture on each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the dough up and pinch together at 2-inch intervals. Lightly brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg. Bake the tarts until the crusts are golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the tarts cool for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tsp. vinegar, the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper to form a vinaigrette. Top the tarts with the mixed greens, dividing evenly, and sprinkle with the cheese. Drizzle salads with the vinaigrette. Serve immediately. Serves 8.

Lemon Dijon Dressing

I started making my own salad dressing- usually only when I make a salad worthy of the effort (like my Spring salad- see below). I have tried different variations, basically attempting to avoid using olive oil. This one came out very well. It was a bit bitter, but adding a pinch of sugar really helped. The rest of the proportions are estimates. I usually just keep adding and tasting, and adding and tasting, until I get the right mixture!

Ingredients

Dijon mustard (1/4 cup)
Lemon juice (1/4 cup)
Apple Cider Vinegar (2 tablespoons)
Honey (2 tablespoons)
Sugar (just a pinch to cut bitterness)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and immediately serve with salad! Simple!

Spring Salad

Inspired by the turn of the season (at least that's what the calendar tells me- so why is it still dark and freezing outside?) I decided to make a healthy salad for dinner. I saw a recipe for a salad with radishes in Shape magazine, so I knew I wanted to include them. I picked up the other ingredients while strolling through our local organic market. Served with a cup of soup and warm bread (pumpernickel loaf for us!), this salad is a great, light spring dinner.

Ingredients

Green leaf lettuce
Radishes (thinly sliced)
Red D’Anjou Pears (sliced)
Sunflower seeds
Goat cheese

Toss ingredients in a bowl and serve topped with Lemon Dijon Dressing.

Roasted Beet Salad

I LOVE beets. I don’t know why, but I do. I only recently discovered how easy it is to make them yourself. Yes, they actually sell bunches of beets in the grocery store. They look like something out of Farmer McGreggor’s garden but they are delicious!

I adapted the following recipe from Giada De Laurentiis’ Family Dinners cookbook:

Ingredients

1 bunch (4-6) beets (peeled and each cut into 6 wedges)

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 large shallot (chopped)

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet. In a medium bowl whisk together the vinegar, shallots and honey. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss beets in enough dressing to coat. Place beets in center of foil on baking sheet. Top with another piece of foil and crimp edges of foil to seal tightly. Roast beets until they are tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Uncover beets and continue roasting until slightly caramelized, about 25 minutes longer. Set aside and cool.

Toss together lettuce, walnuts, cranberries or whatever other topping of your choice. Arrange beets around salad and top off with remaining vinaigrette. Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese on top and serve! Or chicken!

Warm Mushroom and Goat Cheese Salad

adapted from Bon Appetit 2005



Ingredients

3 large shallots
1 pound fresh mushrooms (chanterelle, oyster, baby bella)
2 ounces Goat Cheese
6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar
1 8 ounce bag lettuce mix

Directions

Thinly slice shallots. Clean mushrooms and slice into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots; sauté until beginning to brown. Add 2 more tablespoons olive oil, then the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sauté until the mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar and boil until evaporated, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Pour lettuce mix into a salad bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss. Add 2 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and toss again. Add the mushrooms and cheese; toss lightly and serve immediately. Instead of tossing all together, we waited and added the cheese and then the mushrooms to each individual plate.