Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Golden Beet Salad with Blue Cheese

This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging round up. This blogging event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen. This week's host for Weekend Herb Blogging is Katie of Thyme for Cooking- be sure to pop by to see what other bloggers have come up with.

When I was looking for a salad for our St Patrick's Day dinner I wanted something that would combine the colours of the Irish flag (orange, green, and white). When I saw this salad on Elise's blog Simply Recipes I knew that I could tweak it to fit the bill. Her salad included pomegranate seeds and feta cheese which we deleted. Instead of the feta we added a nice Irish blue cheese from Cashel.

Everyone raved about the salad. In fact we ate the leftovers the next night and we're having it again tonight. When we eat something three times in less than a week you know that it is pretty incredible!

One of the best things about it is that you can make it ahead of time. Simply store the beets in the refrigerator and whip it all together just before serving. Easy, delicious, and attractive - it does not get any better than this!

Golden Beet Salad with Arugula and Blue Cheese

3 golden beets (can use regular red beets if you want, just not as pretty)
1 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons Triple Sec or other orange-flavored liqueur
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
Salt
2 cups arugula
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese cheese

Cook the beets - either boil them for 45 minutes or roast them at 375°F for an hour. Let cool. Peel and dice into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a 10 to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat, boil beets, onion, vinegar, broth, liqueur, sugar, and orange peel, stirring often, until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, or chill airtight up to 1 day.

Arrange the beet mixture on top of arugula on individual plates. Sprinkle with blue cheese.

About Arugula
Arugula is an aromatic salad green.  It is also known as rocket, roquette, rugula and rucola, and is popular in Italian cuisine.

Nutrition
Like most salad greens, Arugula is very low in calories and is high in vitamins A and C. A 1/2 cup serving is two calories.   

History and Lore
In Roman times Arugula was grown for both it's leaves and the seed. The seed was used for flavoring oils.  On another interesting note, Rocket or Arugula seed has been used as an ingredient in aphrodisiac concoctions dating back to the first century, AD. (Cambridge World History of Food).

Part of a typical Roman meal was to offer a salad of greens, frequently Arugula ( spelled Arugola), romaine, chicory, mallow and lavender and seasoned with a "cheese sauce for lettuce"

How to Store
Rinse the leaves in cool water and dry on paper toweling. Wrap leaves tightly in plastic or a zip lock bag.  Best if used within two days.

Substitutes
You can substitute water cress for a simliar peppery flavor.  You can also use fresh baby spinach (but the flavor will not be the same). Also dandelion greens have a tart flavor but a bit more bitter.

Orange, Spiced Walnut and Cranberry Salad

a gratuitous self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 13 out of 467 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

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We made this salad for mom's birthday dinner on Saturday and it was a huge it. It is a refreshing addition to a holiday meal, The cool oranges and tangy dressing delicately spiced with allspice and ginger is sure to clense the palatte. One of the best things about this salad si that it can be made in advance and just plated prior to serving.

6 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground ginger
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup dried cranberries

8 oranges, peel and white pith removed, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, chilled
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add nuts; toss to coat well. Strain nuts, reserving liquid. Transfer nuts to baking sheet. Sprinkle nuts with sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 17 minutes. Cool completely.

Whisk 3/4 cup water, cranberry juice and reserved liquid from nuts in medium saucepan to blend. Stir in dried cranberries. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until cranberries soften and liquid is reduced to thin syrup, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store nuts airtight at room temperature. Cover and chill cranberry mixture.)

Arrange orange slices on platter. Spoon cranberry mixture over. Sprinkle nuts over. Garnish with mint, if desired.

Summer Salad - Thai Chicken Salad

In keeping with the - it is too damn hot to cook situation - we made another summer salad tonight. I don't know why I call it a summer salad. I grill all year around.  I have salad all year around. Who knows. calling it a summer salad works but like all good food things - I won't restrict myself just to summer!

This recipe was from the Better Homes and Gardens Grilling Cookbook.

I modified the recipe a bit. I added julienned carrots. I skipped the toasted sesame seeds - not for a good reason. I just forgot!

The flavours came together very nicely. This is a great, fresh tasting salad.

4 servings Prep: 30 minutes

Marinate: 2 to 24 hours

Grill: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup salad oil
2 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups pea pods, trimmed and strings removed
8 cups torn mixed salad greens
Toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Place chicken breast halves in a plastic bag; set aside. For marinade, combine the 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ginger, and white pepper; pour over chicken. Close bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Drain chicken; discard marinade. Grill chicken on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender and no longer pink in center, turning once. (Or, broil 3 to 4 inches from heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once.)

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk salad oil into peanut butter. Stir in 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, and crushed red pepper; set aside.

Meanwhile, cook pea pods in a small amount of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.

To serve, diagonally cut chicken breast halves into thin slices. Arrange greens on a serving platter or individual plates. Top with sliced chicken and pea pods. Drizzle with peanut butter dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Summer Beef Salad

This recipe was originally in my Better Homes and Gardens Grilling cookbook.

The weather has been hot and muggy here so I have decided to start experimenting with dinner salads. I'll confess to not generally seeing a salad as a meal; I blame that on my childhood where meals were traditional things.

Prior to last night our only experience was in making a Caesar salad and tossing it with a slab of grilled chicken. Big deal!

The Better Homes and Gardens Grilling Cookbook has a great section of salads on the grill. I selected about 8 to try and Paul selected this one. It was a snap to make and the taste is incredible.

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cooked edamame (we found this frozen in the organic section of the grocery store)
1 1/2 cups cooked fresh corn (I cooked 2 ears and cut the kernels off)
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
12 oz sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
salt
pepper
4 cups torn mixed salad greens
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges

In a medium bowl combine the vinegars, brown sugar, cumin, and garlic. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add edamame, corn, bell pepper, and green onions. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours, stirring once.

Trim the fat from the steak. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the steak until it is done to your liking.

Cut the meat into bite0sized strips. Stir the cut up steak into the vegetable mixture. Add salad greens and cilantro. Tossed lightly to mix. Transfer the salad to plates and garnish with the tomato wedges.

This recipe was not meant as a diet recipe but given the nutritional information below I have included it in this category.

Nutritional facts: 313 cal; 8 g total fat (2 g sat fat), 40 mg chol; 221 mg sodium; 34 g carb; 6 g fiber, 30 g protein.

Daily values: 41 % vitamin A, 109 % vitamin C, 15 % calcium, 26 % iron.

Fennel and Apple Salad with Blue Cheese and Pecans

For dinner on Saturday Paul was making fennel brined pork steaks. The recipe called for 2 tablespoons of fennel frond chopped into the brine. Unfortunately we had to purchase an entire fennel bulb for this use. Rather than having it go to waste we decided to make this amazing salad. It took less than 20 minutes to prepare and packed a flavour wallop.

Make it just prior to when you wish to serve it so that the apple doesn't discolour.

If you weren't too concerned about fat content you could use candied pecans for an interesting flavour and texture contrast.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large fennel bulb halved lengthwise, cored and sliced crosswise paper thin
1 tablespoon finely chopped fennel fronds
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted

In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice, vinegar and mustard. Gradually whisk in the oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the fennel, fennel fronds and apple and season with salt and pepper and toss. Garnish with the blue cheese and pecans and serve right away.

Good Friday Dinner

Brunch was so good yesterday and the prosecco and OJ so effective that I had a food and wine induced nap until late in the afternoon. Paul was actually anxious about having dinner ready so he woke me up.

We started off by making the asparagus cannelloni. I had wanted to make ravioli and posted on the slow travel food and drink message board to see if anyone had a recipe. Alice, who lives in Milan and knows her food, suggested making cannelloni instead. We thought that we would do this because it would be easier than making ravioli (good thing given the way I slept through the day!)

The good thing was that I got to try out the pasta roller attachment for my kitchen aid mixer that I had brought back from CA with me. WOW what a treat it was to not try and manage the old crank style roller.

Alice's recipe isn't a recipe in the true sense of the word but a suggestion for style . . . it was great though. Here it is:

Roll out the pasta, cut it into rectangles, a bit longer than the width of the rolled sheet.

Clean and blanch the asparagus.

Combine ricotta with some grated Parmigiano Reggiano, one egg, a little white pepper.

Trim the asparagus so that they are exactly the same length as the sheets are wide.

Bring pasta water to a boil, add salt, add the sheets (no more than 3 of them even if you have a particularly wide pot of water) and blanch them for a bout one minute, than lay them out to cool on a white tablecloth.

Place some of the filling near one end of each sheet, leaving a 1/2 inch border; stick in a couple asparagus, roll, leave unsealed.

In a smaller pan, heat up about 50 grams of butter, add 50 grams of white flour, toast it until light brown, add 1/4 of a liter of milk and the same amount of the asparagus stock, stir until it's creamy and smooth, add a pinch of nutmeg.

Smear a baking pan with a little butter, add half the sauce, sprinkle with more Parmigiano Reggiano, place the rolls in a single layer in it, complete with the sauce, more Parmigiano Reggiano, a hint of butter more and bake until the top is golden and crispy. A couple cannelloni are enough for a portion.

Before we sat at the table we had assorted cheese and crackers. I had found some wonderful stilton with apricots, a soft blue cheese, a sharp white cheddar from a cheese maker we like here in Ontario, an italian cheese with black truffles, a layered cheese with alternating layers of stilton and chesire cheddar, an aged provolove, and a good quality asiago. With this we tried the balsamic jelly and the fig jam which we brought back from the Florence market with us - YUM

It was all so good that I will have to go back to the store to buy more before we have Easter dinner tomorrow. With this we served French Martinis.

The first course was the asparagus cannelloni. All agreed that it was amazing, definitely a recipe to try again.

This was followed by Paul's fig salad with arugula and Parmigiano.

2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 fresh figs, each cut in half lengthwise
6 cups trimmed arugula (about 6 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add figs; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Add arugula and pepper; toss well. Top with cheese. Serve immediately.

With dinner we served a bottle of wine that mom had bought at Casa Emma winery in Chianti. It was a super Tuscan, one that we can not get here in Canada. A shame because it was an amazing wine and now that we have drunk it we can't get more until we return to Italy. It was perfect with the salad and the next course.

The main course was a Wild Boar Stew. I used half of the boar that I brought back from Ottawa with me after the conference this week. The recipe is an old Tuscan recipe that Judy - the amazing Diva, had recommended to me. An aside - if you love food and are in Florence you really should consider taking Judy's cooking class. It is an experience you'll love!

Being an old recipe it has a wonderful mix of flavours - sweet (chocolate), savoury (chili peppers), and tangy (orange peel). We all loved it (although I think I'd cut back a bit on the chili peeper next time).

I served it on a bed of creamy polenta with a side of sauteed broccolini from the Jamie Oliver cookbook.

For dessert we had chocolate panna cotta with raspberry sauce. I didn't make this, it was purchased at our grocery store. You don't want to know how many calories were in it.

With dessert we had the last of our vin santo (a 1995 from Casa Emma). Paul was so sad that we finished the bottle he actually kissed the last drop as he finished. We had done well to nurse this bottle since we returned in October. Now we will just have to remember it fondly until we return to Italy at some future date.

We also enjoyed some chocolate chip biscotti from Nannini bakery in Sienna.

After eating we rested, cleaned up, and watched the first of the Brother Cadfael DVDs that I had bought at the huge Virgin Store in San Francisco. Actually that is not quite true, mom and I watched it while Paul snored. I think that the martinis, wine, and vin santo had gotten to him by now.

An amazing dinner and an example of how travel can so broaden your horizons and your palate!

Mango Salad, Chicken Saté

Last night we were craving Thai food. We love the 'layers' of flavour that you get with Thai foods; the combination of sweet, salty, hot, and cool. I also wanted to try some of the low-fat Thai recipes that I had found while searching about on the net.

We started off with chicken saté as an appaetizer. I didn't really do much so it isn't a recipe per se. All I did was take 4 boneless, skinless breasts of chicken and slice them into strips. I marinated them for 2 hours in a large sealable bag with a bottle of prepared low-fat peanut sauce that I had purchased from the market. Paul threadded the marinated chicken onto skewers. I grilled the saté on the BBQ for about three minutes per side.

I served the saté on a platter with a bowl of the peanut sauce. Because mom was over for dinner I was felling the need to 'fancy' things up so I sprinkled the saté with chopped cilantro and toasted chopped peanuts. Mom and Paul felt that the peanuts and cilantro made the saté. It must have been good because while they enjoyed their appetizers I made a chicken mango green curry and a basil beef stir fry. When I sat down to enjoy dinner most of the saté was gone!

We also served a mango salad. I lucked out and found some nice mangoes at the store so the flavour was exceptionally good.

2 limes
1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce or fish sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) granulated sugar

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR 1/2 tsp (2 ml) hot red chili flakes
2 tbsp (30 ml) peanut oil
salt to taste
2 ripe but firm mangoes

2 sweet peppers, preferably 1 red and 1 yellow
1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
1 chopped red onion

1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped fresh mint or coriander
1/3 cup (75 ml) toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Finely grate peel from 1 lime and place in a measuring cup along with 1/4 cup
(50 ml) lime juice. Whisk in soy sauce, sugar, and jalapeno pepper until sugar is dissolved.

Gradually whisk in peanut oil until blended. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Peel mango, then cut away chunks of fruit from pit. Cut into thin strips and place in a bowl.

Seed peppers and cut into thin strips and add to mango.

Coarsely grate carrot and thinly slice onion and add to bowl along with mint or cilantro.

Toss gently until combined.

Place mango mixture in a large bowl. Toss with dressing until mixed. Add nuts and serve garnished with some more toasted peanuts and chopped cilantro. YUM