Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Feta Cheese

The July/August issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine has an article on “The Best Way to Boil Green Beans.” The author talks about how he stumbled on a tip in the cookbook On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee that describes how heavily salted water speeds up the cooking of vegetables. According to him, the cookbook said the key was to cook your vegetables in water as salty as the sea which roughly translates to about 2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water. In typical Cook’s Illustrated fashion, the author proceeded to experiment, trying out different ratios of salt to water, to finally discover that the book was right and the heavily salted water produced tender, vibrantly green, deeply flavorful beans.

I decided to try the green bean salad recipe included in the article and serve it at Christmas dinner. The salad was a hit. I don’t have a copy of Harold McGee’s book so I don’t know if this secret works for other vegetables as well, but I’m definitely boiling green beans this way from now on.

GREEN BEAN SALAD WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND FETA CHEESE

• 1½ lbs. green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• ¼ cup salt
• 12 ozs. cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. each of salt and pepper
• 2 ozs. (½ cup) feta cheese, crumbled

1. Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large saucepan over high heat.
2. Add green beans and 1/4 cup salt, return to boil, and cook until green beans are bright green and tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
3. While green beans cook, fill a large bowl halfway with ice and water.
4. Drain green beans in colander and immediately transfer to ice bath.
5. When green beans are no longer warm to the touch, drain in colander again, then transfer to salad spinner and spin to dry thoroughly.
6. Place green beans, tomatoes, oil, mint, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to combine.
7. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with feta, and serve.

NOTE:

• If you don’t own a salad spinner, you can lay the drained green beans on a clean kitchen towel after shocking them in the ice water, and pat them dry.
• The green beans can be blanched, shocked, and dried, then stored in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 days in advance.

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Salade Niçoise with Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

I’m sick as a dog. I caught that terrible flu that’s been going around. I had a fever of 103° and felt pretty darn miserable. Finally got rid of the flu, but my doctor says I now have bronchitis, not to mention I’m wheezing like an old asthmatic. Sigh….. Anyway, since I’ve been laid up in bed, I thought this would be a good time to catch up on the blog and post some of my recipes that have been sitting in draft form waiting for a little tweaking or something before being published, so don’t be surprised to see several posts come out all at once.

Salade Niçoise (pronounced ni swaz) is one of my all-time favorite salads. I believe it originated in France and my understanding is the original is made with anchovies, but never having been to Nice, I can’t say for sure. Every time I’ve had it, it’s been made with tuna and my family likes it that way so I just keep it up — though personally, I wouldn’t mind anchovies. Hey! I happen to like the little guys! Anyway, classic niçoise salad typically has boiled potatoes, green beans, and niçoise olives, but there again from my readings it seems that boiled veggies are frowned upon in some areas of France. Whatever. I happen to think the boiled potatoes and green beans are the best part of this salad! Anyway, give it a try. I guarantee you’ll love it!

SALADE NIÇOISE

(Makes 4 servings)

• 12 ozs. boston, bibb, or butter lettuce
• 16 baby yellow potatoes
• 4 large eggs
• 10 ozs. haricots verts or slender green beans, trimmed
• 2 cans (5½ oz. each) tuna packed in olive oil, drained
• 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup niçoise or Kalamata olives, cut in half

1. Fill a bowl with ice and water and set it aside. You may have to replenish the ice and/or water as needed.
2. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan, add enough water to cover the potatoes and add a teaspoon of salt.
3. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to the ice water bath to stop cooking.
5. When potatoes are cool, remove from ice water, cut in half, and set aside.
6. Place eggs in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover eggs by one inch.
7. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Let cook for 6-7 minutes until eggs are hard boiled.
9. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water to stop cooking.
10. When eggs are cool, remove from ice water, peel, and set aside.
11. Add fresh water to the saucepan and bring it to a boil again.
12. Add the green beans and blanch till they’re bright green, about 1 minute.
13. Remove green beans with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water to stop cooking.
14. Once green beans are cool, remove from ice water, and set aside.
15. Divide the lettuce equally into 4 salad bowls.
16. Top each with 4 potatoes cut in half, 1/4 of the green beans, 5 tomatoes cut in half, 1 egg cut into 4 wedges, 1/4 of the olives, and half a can of tuna.
17. Drizzle lemon-thyme dressing over each salad.

LEMON-THYME VINAIGRETTE

• zest of 1 lemon
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• ⅛ tsp. pepper
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, thyme, sugar, salt, and pepper with a wire whisk until well combined.
2. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified.
3. Dressing will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

NOTE:  We like our dressing with a touch of sweetness, but if you want the dressing to be less sweet, feel free to cut the sugar in half or omit it altogether. 

Green Dragon Chicken Rolls

My friend, Pooh, was at Trader Joe’s when they were handing out samples of these rolls. She loved them so much, she asked the lady how she made them, then wasted no time picking up all the ingredients to try making them herself once she got home. She then came over to my house and taught me how to make them.

These rolls make a great appetizer for parties or family gatherings. All the ingredients to make them come from Trader Joe’s but you could really buy them anywhere (except for the green dragon sauce). You can cut the recipe in half if you don’t want to make so many rolls.

GREEN DRAGON CHICKEN ROLLS

• 1 bag (1 lb. 12 oz.) frozen breaded chicken
• 8 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then crumbled
• 1 cup sour cream, plus extra to use as “glue”
• 2 – 8 Tbsp. Trader Joe’s Green Dragon hot sauce
• ½ small head of lettuce, very thinly sliced
• 1 pkg. (6 sheets) lavash flatbread

1. Bake breaded chicken according to package directions.
2. Let cool completely, then chop into little pieces.
3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and green dragon sauce. Start with two tablespoons green dragon sauce and keep adding, a tablespoon at a time, till it’s as hot as you like. Three tablespoons is plenty hot for me.
4. Toss chopped chicken, crumbled bacon, sour cream mixture, and lettuce together in a large bowl.
5. Place a sheet of lavash bread down on your work surface.
6. Mound 1/6 of chicken mixture down one long edge of lavash.
7. Smear about an inch wide of sour cream along opposite edge. This acts as the “glue” to seal the roll closed.
8. Roll lavash up tightly beginning at side with chicken mixture and ending at side with sour cream, pressing edge to seal well.
9. Repeat with remaining lavash and chicken mixture.
10. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
11. Slice into 3/4-inch thick slices and serve.

NOTE:  If you can’t get Green Dragon sauce, substitute some other hot sauce like Sriracha. You can also substitute tortillas for the lavash.

Wedge Salad with Bacon Buttermilk Dressing

Wedge Salad is a typical salad served at classic American steak houses as a starter to your meal. It’s traditionally served with crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, but blue cheese isn’t one of my kids’ favorite cheeses. I love wedge salad, though, so here’s a version I make for them without any blue cheese in it. If you find you’re really missing the blue cheese flavor, go ahead and sprinkle some crumbled blue cheese on your salad. It’s all good!

WEDGE SALAD

(Makes 4 servings)

• 1 small head iceberg lettuce
• 6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 slices sturdy white bread, crusts removed
• 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• garlic salt, to taste (optional)
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/4 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• chives, minced (for garnish)

1. Cut the lettuce into 4 wedges and place them in the refrigerator to keep cold until ready to use.
2. Fry the bacon until crisp, then transfer to paper towels to drain.
3. Dice the white bread into small cubes, a little less than a half-inch big.
4. Melt butter or margarine in a skillet and fry bread cubes, stirring often, until golden and crispy.
5. Season bread cubes with garlic salt to taste, if desired.
6. Assemble the salad by placing one wedge of lettuce on each of 4 salad plates.
7. Pour some dressing over each wedge.
8. Top with a little tomato, onion, bacon, and croutons.
9. Garnish with minced chives, if desired.

BACON BUTTERMILK DRESSING

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1. Place all ingredients into bowl of a food processor and process until combined.
2. Chill until ready to serve.

NOTE:  Dressing can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept chilled in the fridge.

Santa Fe Chopped Salad with Cilantro Citrus Vinaigrette

I always think of my daughter, Tissi, when I make this salad. Tissi and a friend of hers were discussing vegetarianism one day and he made her a bet that she couldn’t go without eating meat for more than 2 days. Tissi decided to take him up on it and she won the bet! The funny thing is, while she was trying to be all vegetarian in order to win, she realized she didn’t miss meat at all! So after her 2 days were up, she decided to just go on eating the way she was and she became a vegetarian for real! Has been for a couple of years now. Isn’t that funny? Anyway, when I make this salad and see all the colorful rows of veggies, I always think of my Tissi. You wouldn’t miss meat either when faced with a healthy, delicious salad like this one!

That being said, the “Tex-Mex” flavor of this salad makes it a great accompaniment to barbecued meat or chicken. It’s delicious alongside a pulled pork sandwich or some tender slices of smoked beef brisket. Sometimes I add crumbled bacon to it which makes it extra yummy in my book. After all, everything is better with bacon, right? (As you might have guessed, I’m not a vegetarian.) If you’re looking for a heartier, more filling salad that could stand alone as a light lunch or brunch dish, you could toss in some chopped grilled chicken.

The dressing for this salad has very little oil which makes it less fattening than other dressings, albeit rather thin. If you want a thicker, creamier dressing, try whisking in a half cup of plain greek yogurt.

SANTA FE CHOPPED SALAD

• 1 large head romaine lettuce or 2 romaine hearts, washed and roughly chopped
• 2 small (2.25 oz.) cans sliced black olives, drained
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 can (15.25 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1½ cups loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 cup tortilla strips
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
• half of a small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1. Place chopped lettuce in a bowl.
2. Arrange remaining ingredients in rows on top of lettuce.
3. Just before serving, drizzle with Cilantro Citrus Vinaigrette.
4. Toss and serve.

CILANTRO CITRUS VINAIGRETTE

• 1 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed
• ¼ cup orange juice
• juice from 2 limes (about 3½ – 4 Tbsp.)
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ⅛ tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil (can substitute canola oil)

1. Place cilantro, orange juice, lime juice, honey, cumin, salt and pepper in bowl of food processor or blender and pulse until well-combined.
2. Then gradually stream in the oil while processing until oil is completely incorporated. Dressing is thin and light.

Cheese Crostini

This recipe for cheese crostini is so simple to make and takes hardly any time. If you’re looking for a nice accompaniment to a crisp salad or a hearty bowl of soup, you need look no further than this recipe.

These crostinis are great served warm from the oven. But let them cool down for a few minutes before serving so you don’t burn the roof of your mouth. When I pull these out of the oven, the family can hardly wait for them to get to the table. I have to slap away the hands trying to sneak one off the baking sheet!

CHEESE CROSTINI

• 1 loaf (1 lb.) Italian or french bread, sliced
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 packet (.7 ozs.) Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix
• 1½ cups shredded mozzarella (or other white cheese like monterey jack)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, salad dressing mix and cheese together in a medium bowl.
3. Spread over bread slices.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops begin to brown

NOTE:  I like Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix, but you really could use any brand you like.

Summer Berry and Chicken Salad

Summer has kicked in with a vengeance! Boy is it Hot!….. with a capital H!  We’ve been experiencing some triple digit days these past couple of weeks. Believe me, 108 degrees is no picnic! This kind of heat makes me think of long, tall drinks, big bowls of ice cream, and cool refreshing salads.

This salad is a play on my friend Cyndi’s winter fruit salad. I thought why not do the same thing for the summer except using fresh berries? I had some leftover shredded rotisserie chicken so I added it in for some healthy protein. The salad made a great lunch served with some of No. 1’s homemade french bread and a cool glass of crisp white wine. Mm… mm… mm…..

SUMMER BERRY AND CHICKEN SALAD WITH LEMON POPPY SEED DRESSING

Dressing:

• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp. finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. poppy seeds

1. Combine lemon juice, sugar, onion, mustard and salt in the container of a food processor or blender; process until smooth.
2. With the machine running, add oil in a slow, steady stream and process until thick and smooth.
3. Add the poppy seeds and pulse a few times to mix.

Salad:

• 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup quartered strawberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ cup pineapple tidbits (or pineapple chunks cut in half)
• ½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Place the lettuce, chicken, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and nuts in a large salad bowl.
2. Pour the poppy seed dressing over the salad.
3. Toss to coat evenly.

 

Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken Salad

Oh my gosh, is it HOT outside! We hit 104º today! Whew! It’s even too hot to expend the energy fanning yourself! I needed to prepare something cool and refreshing for dinner but I didn’t want to work hard making it. Something quick and easy was in order. Enter my “Quick and Easy Chinese Chicken Salad.” What I love best about this salad is there’s very little prep needed if you buy pre-shredded rotisserie chicken, pre-cut lettuce, shredded carrots, and bottled dressing like I did! Then you literally just need to stack the water chestnut slices to cut them in half, and chop up the cilantro. Easy, peasy!

The dressing recipe I have here is a pretty simple one to make but if you really want to save time and effort, there are a lot of excellent bottled Chinese Chicken Salad Dressings out on the market. Just buy yourself a bottle and skip making it from scratch. Trust me, it’ll turn out just fine.

QUICK AND EASY CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

For the Salad:

• 1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 large head romaine lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces
• ¾ cup shredded carrots
• 1 small can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained and cut in half
• 1 small can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 cup canned crunchy chow mein noodles (can substitute ⅔ cup slivered almonds)
• 2-3 tbsps. toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

For the Dressing:

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup rice vinegar (plain or seasoned)
• 3 tbsps. soy sauce
• 1½ tbsps. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. peeled, grated fresh ginger
• ½ tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. If using rotisserie chicken:  Remove chicken meat from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces. (I buy it already pre-shredded at Costco.)
   If using boneless, skinless chicken breasts:  Drizzle chicken with olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and bake at 350ºF until chicken is just cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces.
2. Make dressing by whisking together all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl.
3. Place chicken, lettuce, carrots, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, cilantro and chow mein noodles in a large salad bowl.
4. Pour dressing over everything and toss together gently.
5. Serve in individual salad bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
6. Salad can be served cold or at room temperature.

Note:  For those of you who’ve asked me, one of my favorite bottled chinese chicken salad dressings is “Joey D’s Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing & Marinade.” It’s really good, but I’m sure there are others just as good out there. Use your favorite one.

BLT Salad

My friend, Pooh, told me about this salad that she and her daughter tried making for dinner one night. It was from a Williams Sonoma cookbook and it sounded really good so I decided that I would try it, too. The salad ingredients were delicious, but I didn’t care too much for the dressing so I altered it to come up with a creamy dressing that was more to my liking. The family liked it better with my dressing, too.

BLT SALAD
(Serves 4)

• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 8 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups croutons, homemade or store bought
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Spread out the bacon pieces on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake the bacon pieces until crisp, about 12-15 minutes.
4. When the bacon pieces are ready, remove them from the oven and transfer to paper towels to drain and cool.
5. Make the dressing by combining mayonnaise, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl, and blending until well-combined.
6. Place the lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, and croutons into a large salad bowl.
7. Drizzle with dressing and toss to mix well.
8. Serve immediately.

VARIATION:  You could make a BLTA salad, as pictured below, by adding one avocado to the recipe. Cut the avocado into cubes, squeeze a little lemon juice over the cubes to keep them from darkening, and then toss the avocado into your salad. Yum!

[Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking Together, by Erin & Tatum Quon (Oxmoor House, 2009)]

Vietnamese Shredded Chicken Salad

My sister, Helen, got the brilliant idea that we should all do this toxin-eliminating, inflammation-reducing, cleansing diet called the Whole 30 program. The program actually sounds really good. It’s supposed to restore a healthy digestive tract, balance your immune system, and raise your metabolism.

Old Goat Honey and I decided that we would do it! It could only help us, not hurt us, and Lord knows we could both stand to lose more than a few pounds. Plus the dramatic benefits of the program sound great! Our resolve firmed up as we read accounts of “consistently high energy levels, improved athletic performance, better sleep, improved focus and mental clarity, and a sunnier disposition.” But that’s about as far as we got on the program. Somehow, we just can’t seem to get started!

ME:  Let’s start the program on Monday.

OLD GOAT:  We’re supposed to take Bashful and her friend out to dinner on Tuesday. Maybe we should start it on Friday.

ME:  We can’t! I have a Mexican potluck at work on Friday!

OLD GOAT:  Well, we’re going out to lunch with your Aunt and her boyfriend on Saturday. Maybe we should start it next Monday instead.

And that’s pretty much how it’s been going. Helen has been successfully doing the program and bugging me everyday to get started on it, while we keep guiltily putting it off for one reason or another. Sigh…….. We’ll get started on it eventually. I know we will……..eventually……

In the meantime, in an effort to at least try to have something healthy on the dinner table tonight, I made this Vietnamese Shredded Chicken Salad. The only “questionable” ingredient in it is the white sugar, but I don’t see why you couldn’t use agave syrup or some other healthy sugar substitute in its place (though I haven’t tried it myself). Also, I used shredded rotisserie chicken which made it really easy.

VIETNAMESE SHREDDED CHICKEN SALAD
(Recipe from the November 2000 issue of Saveur magazine)

• 2 fresh Thai red chiles (can substitute serrano chiles)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. white sugar
• 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 3 tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce (nuó’c mam)
• 3 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 4 cups shredded napa cabbage
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• ½ cup roughly chopped fresh mint
• freshly ground black pepper
• cilantro leaves, for garnish

1. Cut chiles in half, remove seeds, then mince.
2. Place chiles in a large bowl.
3. Add garlic, sugar, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, and onion.
4. Mix until sugar dissolves.
5. Add chicken, napa cabbage, carrots, and mint.
6. Season with freshly ground black pepper and toss well.
7. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.

NOTE:  No. 1 got the idea to sprinkle chopped peanuts on top of the salad and loved it! He and Old Goat think the peanuts make the salad even better!