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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!
Well, this isn’t technically juice, although I lovingly refer to it as green juice. It is in fact a smoothie, but green smoothie doesn’t quite have the same ring.
I don’t have a juicer at home, and so many mornings, this is my go-to drink. Plus, it still has all the fiber so it’s a bit more filling. Although, I have never been in the juice or smoothie is a meal camp – I usually have toast with peanut butter or avocado or an egg or in addition.
I have been wanting to share this version for a while – most of my friends now make this combo too – and my dad and grandmother even liked it. It is super simple and it feels great to start the day with a big handful of green goodness. (And in my mind, may balance the wine with dinner. 
)
Green “Juice” Smoothie
Like this:
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 once a week, 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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As you can see here, these really aren’t turkey burgers, but the term ‘patties’ wasn’t all too appealing.
But, thankfully they tasted great. Super simple turkey burgers – grilled with just salt, pepper, worcestershire & garlic powder – and topped with a big dollop of caramelized onions. On the side was sautéed kale with garlic and chili (standard prep around here) and spinach salad with pears and gorgonzola. Often times when I make turkey burgers, I add garlic, parsley, etc. – more like oversized meatballs – but here the theme was speed and ease.
What are your weeknight dinners? Do you have a routine or mix it up?
As you may have noticed, when it comes to cooking posts, there are a few sites I reference more than most: Smitten Kitchen & 101 Cookbooks. Between the two of them, they often seem to have what I want – one a bit more decadent, revved up versions of your favorites (or soon to be favorites) and the other healthful but not too ‘granola’ recipes that are perfect for weeknights.
And thankfully neither sticks to only one cuisine.
So when I was craving both dal (of any sort) and saag paneer (a spinach dish with paneer – a fresh Indian cheese with a texture similar to tofu), and when my store didn’t have paneer on hand, I did a quick search on my go-to sites to see what they offered that combined those two ideas.
It should come as no surprise that they both offered plenty in the lentil department, but it was Heidi’s Palak Daal that hit just the right notes with the spinach and lentil combo.
I attempted to make it without substitutions or changes, but alas, that did not happen. I doubled the amount of spinach as I really jonesing for some greens, but probably definitely should have chopped it a bit more finely. I skipped the asafetida, as I didn’t have any (or know what it is!!) and for the ‘pure red chile powder’ I used my regular chile powder with a touch of cayenne, because that was what I had (and again, not totally sure what ‘pure red chile powder’ is). Might be time for a spice class. : ) And according to the picture above, its looks like I threw in a few chile flakes too. Cie la vie!
To serve, we skipped the rice and heated up some (store bought) naan and topped it with a super-quick psedo-riata. Might not be the most traditional, but it was just what we wanted.
Thanks to Heidi {again} for another winner! Here is the recipe … Enjoy!
This weekend was one that dreams are made of:
Dinner and mezcal margaritas at Nopalita. A morning swim with a friend. Homemade brunch with the ladies. A stroll about town and some shopping. Dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Sushi Ran. And was just Friday night and Saturday.
And this brunch!! It was a last-minute idea and was not initially intended to make an appearance here (therefore few photos), but once it came out of the oven, we all quickly snapped a few iphone pics. It just needed to be documented. And once we devoured it, I knew it had to be shared.
I have made baked eggs with spinach before and each time they fell a bit flat. Not bad, but no wows. And so when we were looking at this recipe and truthfully a bit unsure about the yogurt, we decided to go for it, thinking it would add some needed pizzazz. And boy did it!
The chili-sage butter and garlic yogurt took these spinach-baked eggs to another level.
The recipe is adapted from Plenty, a gorgeous cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi. It is a vegetarian cookbook with many of the recipes coming from his New Vegetarian column in the UK’s Guardian. And although I am a devoted carnivore, I want to make/eat/try every.single.recipe in the fantastically photographed, styled and written cookbook.
And this was a great place to start. Next time you are thinking about going out to breakfast with friends, invite them over and make this. It is easily adaptable to increase (or decrease) depending on your group size. My only recommendation is to make sure you have lots of good crusty bread on hand to sop up every last bit of this dish. It wouldn’t be bad with fruit salad and mimosas either, but the bread is a must.
This will definitely be repeated. And soon I gather.
And yes – the food from the party is still coming, I just couldn’t wait to share this with you!!
Baked Eggs with Yogurt and Chili
Right now I am heading to California for a few days for work (and then play) and I decided to actually do something I think about doing whenever I travel.
I made B dinner for a few of the nights I will be gone. This is something I have wanted to do before, but as we all know, there is usually more on your list before a trip than can get done, and this one usually ends up getting cut.
Backing up, it not like B can’t feed himself and so I must provide dinner, I just always thought it would be a nice fun little gesture. Plus, to be honest, this way I know that at least a few meals weren’t delivered or poured from a cereal box.
I decided on lasagna, figuring it is something he can easily heat up and tastes good after more than one day. And thankfully (and unlike me), B doesn’t bore of the same flavors after a day or two, although I’m really hoping he doesn’t finish the pan. Maybe I should have rethought this idea.
Growing up, I was never much of a fan of breakfast for dinner. I didn’t really like eggs or pancakes enough to have them again at night. So we never really did that much at home, but at friends’ houses, I thought it was the strangest thing. Why anyone would want silly waffles instead of a pork chop baffled me. Hey, I was a “unique” kid.
And while I still haven’t totally lost that feeling, I finally get it. Well, not the sweet breakfast treats (I’m still not much for waffles – unless they are ordered for the table as a side to my huevos rancheros), but a savory hash is welcome for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
This roasted hash is a bit of a conglomeration of different recipes, techniques and restaurant orders. The basis of the hash comes from this recipe that I made for Thanksgiving. It was beautiful – the bright, vivid colors were quite refreshing on what can often be a beige table, but it had a bit more steps and ingredients than I needed outside a day of feasting. Add bonus however, was the leftovers were great for lunch with a quick egg, so I knew we were headed in the right direction.
Like this:
This one is for my friend A. She is going to Christmas Eve at her brother’s house and is bringing a side to help out. We chatted about options – anything warm was out, because she didn’t want to take up any oven time (a nice thought when you are not quite sure what all the host may have on the menu).
So it seemed like salad would be in order. Fennel/orange is always a great combination, as is beet/orange. I love citrus in salads – particularly in the winter, as a nice bright contrast to the primarily heavier meals.
And then I remembered this super simple (no cooking of any parts required) salad – and it is a great use of seasonal ingredients. I love persimmons and wish they showed up more in savory things.
Soufflés are often under-looked and seem overwhelming for all the wrong reasons. If you are using a good recipe and can actually not open the oven door while it cooks, they are pretty fool proof (even without the proper equipment).
The make weekday dinners seem special, a welcome change on the frittata brunch and are great for any kind of entertaining.
Can you think of any other meal that can get such “wows” for so little $$?
I rarely have salads for dinner. With dinner, yes, but for dinner, not so much.
It’s not necessarily that I want something heartier (although, that is the case sometimes) or more (true other times too), but I guess I just like variety or not having the whole meal in one plate/bowl. I know it doesn’t make sense…
But sometimes, not often enough, I want salad for dinner. And strangely enough it happens in the winter. When I am usually wanting warm, cheesy things. I want something light and bright that reminds me of summer.
And then that happens, this salad is perfect.
