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It is no secret that I am super lucky in the fact that my friends like to cook as much as I do. Not only are meals such a treat, but I love learning their tricks too.
But one of my favorite occurrences is seeing what they choose to serve. Many of us have the same go-to cookbooks and websites, like those of Heidi Swanson & Yotem Ottolenghi - but we pluck different recipes out of the fold.
Take for instance a gorgeous feast that Maya & Geoffrey put together on Sunday.
After a superb cheese & cocktail coarse, we had grilled rib-eyes, grilled peach salad with orange blossom water, salmon (that Jimmy JUST caught) with a pineapple salsa, roast potatoes & broccoli with eggs and gazpacho. It’s apparent that we weren’t very hungry!
Of {particular} interest here are the salads: while I love grilled peaches in any form, and often include them in salads, I would have breezed right by the orange blossom dressing. Now I know my mistake – the combination was floral yet warm and totally intoxicating. Maya & Ottolenghi are a very good combination!
And the roast potatoes & broccoli with egg from Super Natural Everday, also known as Roasted Potatoes & Broccoli Gribiche – a new favorite. I have been smitten with the idea of gribiche since I read about it on Orangette eons ago, and have in fact made it to serve with salmon and potatoes, but this combo was particularly great.
Until the next dinner at a friends, perhaps I’ll just have them flag my cookbooks…or I guess, that is what pinterest is for! 
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images via my iphone & instagram feed (@caitlindentino)
What do you think about fruit in salad? Not fruit salad – but green salads with fruit in the mix. I happen to love it and the combo shows up on our table often.
In the summer, peaches, nectarines and blueberries are some of my favorites; in the fall, apples and pears of course. For winter, persimmons and pomegranate seeds are a nice touch, and come spring I can’t wait to add red strawberries to the mix. And of course, a little complimenting cheese doesn’t hurt.
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Here are a few fruit & salad combos from past posts:
Spinach with peaches, blueberries and ricotta from a Summer Grilling dinner.
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Shredded kale with apples and persimmons (with beer braised turkey tacos).
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Butter lettuce with quinoa, roasted beets and blood oranges.
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Raw kale salad with grated pear, parmigiano, toasted breadcrumbs and a lemon vinaigrette (with weeknight turkey chili).
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Spinach with apples and blue cheese (and weeknight turkey burgers).
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Super quick holiday salad with spinach, persimmons and pomegranate seeds.
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And the fruit is equally at home in grain salads …
like this wheatberry salad with beets, carrots, apples and cranberries.
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What are your favorite fruits for salad (not counting the obvious veg-seeming-ones like tomatoes and avocado)? Or do you keep it separate and stick to vegetables for the add-ins?
On Saturday in Tahoe, the plan was barbecue chicken, smashed roasted potatoes and a big veg salad. Then the power went out on our block and so we switched the potatoes to the grill and same with the summer squash – nixing the salad that would be easiest made in the kitchen. But then, the propane ran out while the chicken was only not close to done. Half-cooked chicken is not exactly salvageable, so we scratched it all and walked down the street to dinner.
But the barbecue chicken hankerin’ has remained.
So last night I quickly grilled chicken thighs, painting on a bit of BBQ sauce at the end, just to caramelize. It was fast, easy and just what we were looking for in the weeknight version.
As for the salad, while the chicken was grilling, I added radicchio quarters to the heat, removing once they were nicely grilled on all sides. A quick blanch for the green beans, plus a basic shallot-red wine vinaigrette, made a little richer with the slightest splash of cream, toasted pinenuts, and we were just about there. Once those elements were tossed together, I finished it with basil and goat cheese. It was one of those things that came together on the fly, but will most definitely be added to the regular rotation.
Not quite as fun as the outdoor grilled version while sitting lakeside, but was a pretty close second.
It is no secret that I think roast chicken is just about the best dinner – simple, hands-free, delicious, and (for us) with built in leftovers. And while I don’t believe in messing with a good thing, a few change ups now and then never hurt.
This spatchcocked version is still done in the oven, but could easily translate to the grill … it would just require a bit more attention, which isn’t necessarily bad, if that means hanging outside, with a beverage, perhaps. I used the recipe from Amateur Gourmet (which in turn was from the NYT Magazine recipe, Butterflied Chicken with Cracked Spices) and was crazy about the spice rub from the start!
The rub is a mixture of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, dry toasted with a few peppercorns, then ground (in a spice mill or mortar and pestle), and mixed with salt and smoked paprika. I need to triple the batch next time and always have it on hand!
As for ‘spatchcock’ – it just refers to removing the backbone and the cooking the chicken flat.
The salsa verde was another component that made this seem more vibrant than my standard swipe with a bit of mustard version. This is not the tomatillo salsa verde of enchiladas and chile verde, but rather the parsley based classic green sauce of Italy. It can be made in a food processor, but becomes a bit homogenous that way … I highly recommend a mortar and pestle if you have it.
This one starts with a bit of garlic, capers and anchovies, ground to a paste, then met with some mustard, wine vinegar and lemon juice, filled out with a generous handful or two of parsley and mint, and finished with a slow drizzle of olive oil. The finished product comes together fully, but still retains each of the individual components. (Note, you can change the mint for an herb of your choice, as everything goes well with parsley).
Seeing that we know that bread salad is such a great match for roast chicken, it seemed obvious that a panzanella was in order.
Panzanella is an Italian bread salad with day-old bread, which is brought to life from the juices of the tomatoes and a perky vinaigrette. I often make croutons, but if you have stale bread on hand, this is absolutely the place for it. From there, just add in an assortment of your favorite summer vegetables. I keep it easy with just cucumbers and bell pepper in with the tomatoes (and some thinly sliced red onion when I remember), and of course with a generous handful of torn basil. As for the vinaigrette, I like a garlicky one, but without balsamic — instead one made puckery with lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Keeps is bright!
I may have thrown in a little bit of fresh mozzarella at the end, but that is strictly optional.
We enjoyed this at the table and caught up on our days, but I think a dinner like this is best enjoyed outside, just before the sun goes down with a nice glass of rose. Hmmm, may need to repeat tonight…
Do you adapt your favorite meals to the seasons?
This is hands down one of my favorite dishes in the summer – hand has easily been the thing most repeated around here in the last month or so.
You can dress it up as much or as little as you like, but I keep it pretty simple. Watermelon, cheese, herbs, and seasonings. If you want, some cucumber and a bit of red onion are also nice additions, but I usually just stick to the basics.
Feta or queso fresco are the best bets for cheese in my book (usually only going the queso fresco route on taco night, when I am using it in multiples places), but make sure you buy the feta in a block (often times still submerged in whey) – so you can cut it up yourself. The pre-crumbled kind is not nearly as good – and its not as though crumbling some cheese requires much work, no matter how simple you are keeping it.
Herbs – mint is my favorite here, but basil works too in a pinch – as would a combo of both. To season, I like a sprinkle of red wine or sherry vinegar and then a light drizzle of olive oil (a finishing one, if you keep multiples around) … the oil feels funky at first, but adds the perfect amount of richness.
The finishing touch, which takes it from super basic to a constant summer request, is a little bit of good flakey salt just before serving (i.e. Maldon) … it really brings it all together.
It is great for lunch, dinner, picnics and barbecues, but I recommend making it as close to serving as possible … or at least dressing it then. You want the melon to retain the water, not to have it become a soggy mess first in the bowl.
A few of the combos we have had it with so far:
- Lamb meatballs with tzatziki and grilled summer squash
- Fish tacos
- Buttermilk roast chicken and coleslaw
- Grilled halibut with basil aioli and sauteed kale
It really is great with everything! I have a feeling it will be on the menu again this week.
What are your summer favorites?
I am infinitely curious about what people eat and make for dinner at home. Not “magazine” weeknight dinners, or even blogs that showcase only one component or require endless time, but real dinners. To be honest, if I make dinner 3-4 nights a week, I consider that a HUGE success. I know there will be a dinner or two out, plus perhaps take-out and a ‘single gals’ dinner of popcorn or wine and cheese.
So every so often, I thought it would be fun to showcase a real weeknight dinner. Some of course will be more fun than others, but that’s life, right?
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While there are very few things I love more than roast chicken for dinner, I think it might be Billy’s absolute favorite. That, plus how easy it is, and the guaranteed leftovers means that it is without a doubt the most often repeated dinner I make.
This is the version I most often make – the crispy skin and short cooking time keep it in constant rotation – although I did through a lemon and some garlic in the cavity on a whim. Instead of my usual green salad with vinaigrette, I went for a super fast riff on Zuni’s bread salad. Toasted bread, tossed with a warm garlic vinaigrette and pan drippings, plumped currants, pine nuts and arugula.
Perhaps not the healthiest of Monday night dinners (at least not for me, as I think the skin is the main course), but definitely makes for a happy way to start the week.
What is most often in your dinner rotation?
As salads go, spring versions tend to be lighter, showcasing baby lettuces or the new harvest of the season. This salad does both, but in an amped up way that nods a bit to the winter right behind us. This one was made by my friend Catie, and it may be my favorite yet.
First in are carrots (go for the thinner, new carrots if you can) and asparagus, roasted until golden, but still crisp, followed by pickled pink beets and shaved fennel. Lots of baby spinach and a big handful of dill add body to the mix. It all comes together with a mustard seed vinaigrette (or rather, a mustard-shallot vinaigrette with coarse ground mustard).
Added bonus is with all those vegetables, it doubles as a salad and a side – which hits a nice note in my book.
When we had this at Catie & Jimmy’s, she served it with herb roasted pork and duck-fat potatoes (crazy-good), but I think it would be equally at home with roast chicken or grilled salmon, on a weeknight or for dinner with friends.
But either way, you may need to finish it off with chocolate-chip bread pudding – she did, and plus, we gotta balance those veggies some how!
I don’t know where to begin – recreating a restaurant salad? A salad so good that the veg-averse husband has seconds? How ’bout both. This salad is a favorite amongst my friends at a great little spot in Venice, AXE (ă • shay), and they list as:
SHAVED RADICCHIO + ARUGULA • Crispy Onions • Parmesean • Balsamic Dressing •
So that is exactly what we have here.
Few tips to get it just right:
Read the rest of this entry »
This is a definite salad of chicken and the egg – did I see the recipe on Food 52 because I spent Saturday morning at the farmer’s market, and knew that beets and turnips and brussels sprouts were still in abundance? Or did I notice the beets because I had already spied the Bagna Càuda Salad as part of the Oscar Menu ideas on the same site?
Regardless, I knew the bright raw vegetables would provide a nice contrast to the rich and heavenly dinner being planned by friends.
I have always loved beets, particularly in their ever present carnation with oranges and goat cheese, where they are usually roasted to develop a deep, earthy sweetness.
Here, where they are raw and shaved paper-thin the earthiness is more akin to carrot, which we are used to in its saw state. They combine well with other raw vegetables such as turnips, radishes, actual carrots and brussels sprout leaves. You could add other roots (ribbons of butternut squash were in the original)or take away some of the components, as long you still have 4 or so different offerings in the mix.
As for the name of this salad, ‘bagna càuda’ means hot bath, and traditional refers to a warm lemon-garlic-anchovy dip that is served with vegetables, fondue-style. Here, those same ingredients are used to make a {strong, but delightful} dressing, which adds body and bite to an otherwise virtuous salad.
Because the raw vegetables can hold the dressing for a much longer time than lettuce salads, this is also great to make ahead, for a packed/picnic lunch perhaps or just a dinner where you would rather be with your guests that back in the kitchen. One thing, make sure you have a mandoline or slicer – just a knife would take this from heavenly to torture.
For recipe, Read the rest of this entry »
Boy – I have really made this linger. I didn’t mean to, I promise, but sometimes that’s just what happens, ya know?
When we first started thinking about the dinner, I knew that we wanted to have a menu that was super simple. Things that required little to no cooking so we could really just enjoy being up at the lake for the weekend and not spending the whole day in the kitchen. Even so, dinner for 20, no matter how simple, takes at least a bit of time.
Thankfully we have awesome friends (who are great in the kitchen & out) and everything came together by committee.
What I was undoubtedly most excited for were the tomatoes. I had seen a few fun posts on Style Notes focusing on summer tomatoes (a tomato tasting from Martha Stewart and a tomato bar during cocktail hour at a wedding) and knew right away lots of heirlooms would be key for a low-stress summer dinner.
I thought it would be fun to highlight the different varieties will a plethora of salts and oils. Sometimes cool salts can be pricy, but when purchased in bulk (and without fancy-schmancy packaging) you can get some great finds at even better prices. We loaded all the salts (plus local crushed chiles and freshly cracked black pepper) in the little dishes from Chinatown and set them out in little grouping among the table for everyone to sample.
We had:
