Salad

Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch dice
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
Table salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¹⁄₂ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (Optional.)
¹⁄₂ small red onion, minced
¹⁄₂ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 romaine heart, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Combine cucumber, tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon salt in colander set over bowl and let stand 15 minutes.

2. Whisk oil, vinegar, and garlic together in large bowl. Add drained cucumber and tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, onion, and parsley; toss and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors, 5 minutes.

3. Add romaine and feta; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve. 

Comments
I like chopped salads but rarely make them myself.  I figured that this salad, which is from the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual, would be a nice accompaniment and contrast for Batter-Fried Chicken.  I did forget to dice the cucumber, so the pieces were larger than they should have been.  I also omitted the olives since none of us are olive-lovers.  It was really fantastic and the dressing was nice and light.  I think that, next time, I’d include some homemade croutons.  This is definitely a keeper.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
8 ounces baby spinach
2 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped
8 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
¹⁄₂ small red onion, very thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Fry the bacon until crispy and remove to a paper towel or sieve to drain, reserving 6 tablespoons of the rendered fat.

2. Transfer the fat to a small saucepan set over low heat and whisk in the red wine vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with a small pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper.

3. Add the mushrooms, onion, and egg to the spinach and toss. Add the dressing and bacon and toss to combine. Season with pepper, as desired. Serve immediately.

Note: If you don’t have a large enough bowl, mix together dressing and everything except the spinach.  Then serve the spinach topped with the “stuff.“  I do this when I make a double batch.

Comments
I’ve had a few spinach salads in restaurants and always found them delicious.  I figured I could do the same thing at home so I searched for recipes and found this one of Alton Brown’s.  It’s fantastic.  The dressing is nice, bacony, and a bit sweet thanks to the sugar.  I make this as a main dish and serve it with nice, crusty bread.

Edit: This picture is shown with slab bacon that I cut into cubes for frying.  I simmered it in a bit of water for a few minutes first before cooking.  Amazing.

Internet - Alton Brown

Ingredients
12 ounces center cut bacon, cut into small pieces
4 cups French bread, in 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups baby arugula
4 cups baby romaine lettuce
4-6 cups tomatoes, cubed
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
¹⁄₂ cup ranch dressing

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.

3. Toss bread cubes with bacon fat, thyme, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden, 12-15 minutes, shaking the pan once.

4. Place bacon, croutons, and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well and serve.  

[No photo!]

Comments
I found this recipe on Epicurious.com when I was looking for ways to use up the arugula I got this week in my CSA box.  It’s not that different from the BLT salad I posted previously and it’s still delicious.  The croutons tossed in the bacon fat were a great component.  

Sadly, I have no photo because I managed to cut my finger while cutting the bread.  Wound care trumped photography!

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
1 pound loaf bread, something crusty that won’t get mushy (I used “Como” bread from my local Safeway)
3 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
14 ¹⁄₂ ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
6 ounces olive oil
3 ounces red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  While it’s heating cut bread into 1-inch cubes.  Spread cubes out on rimmed baking sheet and place in oven.  Toast for 10-20 minutes until slightly crispy but not hard.  Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet.  

2. Meanwhile, prepare remaining ingredients.  Place tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and chickpeas in a large bowl and toss.  Add basil and oregano and stir to combine.  

3. Using a whisk or an immersion blender combine oil and vinegar.  If using an immersion blender blend the garlic as well.  Otherwise, mince the garlic and whisk it into the dressing.  

4. Add bread to bowl and toss to combine.  Add the dressing and stir well to coat the bread and vegetables.  Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!  

Comments
Panzanella is one of those things that I’ve always been interested in trying but haven’t ever gotten around to.  I’ve been seeing quite a few recipes cropping up in various places online, so I figured that I’d give it a go.  I’m not entirely sure that red wine vinegar was the correct choice, I might use balsamic next time or a mixture of the two. Red wine vinegar is definitely the right choice.

This was amazing.  The bread held up really well and it was even better after sitting in the fridge for 3-4 hours.  The bread held up even after 8 hours in the fridge, which is when I took this picture.  Yum!

Unknown

Ingredients
12 ounces center-cut bacon, more or less to taste
2 heads romaine or other leaf lettuce, sliced ¹⁄₄-inch thick
1 pound small tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
2 heaping spoonfuls mayonnaise (ranch dressing or other dressing also works)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Bread, toasted

Instructions
1. Slice bacon into ¹⁄₄-inch thick slices.  Fry in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Drain on paper towels or in a sieve over a bowl.  

2. Place lettuce, tomatoes and bacon in a large bowl and toss gently to combine.  Add mayonnaise and toss until well distributed.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with toasted bread.  

Comments
I’m sure I’ve mentioned a time or two that I love tomatoes.  Last summer I ran into the “problem” that I kept buying more and more tomatoes and then needed to figure out new things to do with them so we didn’t get tired of Caprese.  

BLTs are, of course, great.  I was looking for a way to use tomatoes that would give us a higher veggie to bacon ratio and this was what I came up with.  If I haven’t got homemade bread around, we tend to use Panera’s Sesame Semolina for these – it’s delicious and HFCS free as are all of the other baked goods Panera sells.  

If you wanted more meat, it would be easy enough to toss in a grilled, sliced chicken breast or two as well.  Avocados would be a great addition too!

Person - Gwen

Ingredients
1 large tomato, sliced ¹⁄₄-inch thick
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced ¹⁄₄-inch thick
8 basil leaves, thinly sliced
Balsamic vinegar, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a plate in an alternating pattern.  

2. Sprinkle basil on top of tomatoes and cheese.  

3. Top with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper as desired.  

Comments
This is one of those recipes I feel silly posting since it feels like it’s not really a recipe at all!  I find that one tomato and one ball of mozzarella is a nice side dish portion for two people.  You can easily increase all of the ingredients depending on how many people you’re serving.  

In the winter, when delicious large tomatoes aren’t available, I made this with grape tomatoes and chopped mozzarella instead.

Person - Gwen