Kale, Blood Orange and Hazelnut Salad for Two

Last night I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart, found via The Bitten Word, for two instead of ten.

For two
1 bunch of regular kale tied up like you find at the grocery store. Stems and ribs removed, shredded
2 blood oranges
Maybe 1/8 cup roasted filberts
1 2/3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 2/3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

I peeled one orange and sliced it up, then juiced the other one. My neighborhood grocery store only had filberts, so I roasted those for about 15 minutes @ 350 until they smelled roasted. Then I rubbed them together with my hands to remove the skin. I poured the orange juice over the kale, orange slices and filberts, then combined the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Poured that over and let sit for 30 minutes.

For ten
1 1/2 pounds Tuscan black kale or regular kale, stems and ribs removed, leaves shredded
4 blood oranges, segmented, juices reserved
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine kale, oranges and hazelnuts in a large bowl. Drizzle with vinegar, oil and reserved orange juice; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving

It was really good. The roasted nuts really take over and the blood orange is delicious. 30 minutes was enough time to break down the tough kale leaves. It was yummy and seasonal! And good for you: antioxidants, fiber, vitamin A, calcium, beta-carotene and lutein.

Photo from here.

Green Green Spring Vegetables

I made this last night, intending to use the haricots verts I'd picked up at Sam's Club which turned out to be moldy. Instead I improvised with just broccoli and asparagus. It is a simple dish, but big on flavor. The shallots really make this shine. Ideal for entertaining since you can do the vegetables earlier in the day and then heat them up right before serving.

Green Green Spring Vegetables from Barefoot Contessa
1/4 pound French string beans (haricots verts), ends removed
Kosher salt
1/4 pound sugar snap peas, ends and strings removed
1/4 pound asparagus, ends removed
1/2 pound broccolini, ends removed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
3 large shallots, sliced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 minute only. Lift the beans from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Add the snap peas to the same boiling water and cook for 1 minute, until al dente, adding them to the ice water and the beans. Cut the asparagus into 2-inch lengths diagonally and cook in the boiling water for 2 minutes, and add to the ice water. Cut the broccolini in half, boil for 1 minute, and add to the ice water. When all the vegetables in the water are cold, drain well.

When ready to serve, heat the butter and oil in a very large saute pan or large pot. Saute the shallots over medium heat for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the drained vegetables to the shallots with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper and toss. Cook just until the vegetables are heated through. Serve hot.

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

I know not everyone is a fan of brussel sprouts and we don't have them that often, but this recipe is soooo good.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.

Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!

24 small brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing

fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese.

While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Serves 4.

Recipe and Photo from here.

Greek salad dressing and the salad, too

This salad dressing is the root cause of why practically half of the meals I consumed in August either involved Greek salads or had me wishing I had a Greek salad in front of me.

I found it at a random TV station's Web site that popped up during a Google search for "Panera greek salad dressing recipe." Their recipe makes two cups, but since I half it and only make one cup at a time, I'm posting my halfsies recipe along with my modifications and secret ingredient. The original recipe is available at the link above.

Jennifer's WBIR Panera Greek Salad Dressing

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced green onion
• 1 teaspoon oregano
  
• 1 teaspoon basil (I used dried, but you could do fresh, too)
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon or whole-grain mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Squeeze of lemon juice (Secret ingredient that MAKES this dressing. Not sure how much I actually squeeze in here. Maybe about a small wedge's worth)
• 1/2 cup and 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Whisk together all ingredients except olive oil in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking.

For the salad itself, I go with romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, red onions, grape or cherry tomatoes and feta. If you like cucumbers, those would fit in nicely as well. The salad is best tossed with the dressing so everything is coated. Drizzling the dressing on top just doesn't cut it. Enjoy!

Frozen Herbs and Vegetables

This past weekend I did my grocery shopping at SuperTarget, and while not a weekly occurrence, I always find fun things when I shop there. I haven't used them yet, but I bought some of these wee little frozen herbs and aromatic vegetables from White Toque. For me, parsley and shallots are two that many recipes call for, but I rarely remember to buy (shallots) or know what to do with all the extra (parsley). The boxes are so cute, maybe 3 or 4 inches x 3 or 4 inches. My only wish is that they had frozen dill, and I think you ladies know why....photos from White Toque.

Lettuce Salads?

This summer we are going to be on lettuce overload because we've planted a garden with lots of lettuce (and other good things, too) and we've also signed up for a crop share which starts next week. I'm really excited about the challenge of incorporating even more veggies into our menu but also know that I'm going to need to get pretty creative to use what we have.

Last night we had the sort of meal that I think will be more common than not this summer. I threw together what we had around the house with some fresh lettuce from the garden. It was tasty.

Chicken, Pear and Green Bean Salad

Two grilled chicken breasts (cut into bit sized pieces)
Sliced ripe pear
1 c. or so of steamed grean beans (so they are still very crunchy though)
Fresh picked lettuce

Toss with this dressing that I posted the other day.

Do you have a favorite lettuce salad that's a little out of the norm that you could share?

Southern Green Beans

When I think of comfort foods I think of stuff my mom makes, stroganoff, vegetable soup, and goulash. While I love this stuff, most of it relies heavily on McCormick seasoning packets. McCormick will always have a special spot in my heart (and cupboard) but I'm pretty sure you can read the packet yourself. So I will share a recipe that I crave on a regular basis but isn't something from my family.

1 lb of green beans, ends trimmed (fresh are best but whole frozen also work)
1/2 lb bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
3/4 c. of chicken broth (canned works fine but in this case I prefer powdered bullion)
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP red wine vinegar

Brown the bacon till nice and crisp, drain on a paper towel. Pour out all but 2 TBSP of the bacon grease out of the pan, cook onion on medium heat till soft and slightly golden. Add green beans, broth, and sugar to the pan, bring to a boil and cover. Cook till beans are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes, remove the lid and reduce the liquid to a few tablespoons (not soupy). Add vinegar, bacon and black pepper to taste. These beans are a little sweet and sour with a nice saltiness from the bacon, mmmmm.