Salads R Us

[livius drusus]

It's salad recipe swapping time! I'll get the ball rolling with a recipe so delicious you can't even stand it that I scored from Cook's Illustrated magazine (fantastic, out of this world magazine, btw, both for newbie cooks and experts).

It takes a while to make, but believe me, it is out of this world. Highly showing off for your guests-worthy. If you don't feel like making the whole the thing, at least try the olive dressing. It's just dreamy.


Arugula and Radicchio Salad with Warm Goat Cheese and Olive Dressing

Serves 6

Goat cheese can be difficult to slice neatly. If you have trouble, try wiping the knife blade with a cold, damp kitchen towel before each slice.

3 tablespoons fine, unflavored dried bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 small log (4 ounces) goat cheese, cut into 6 equal rounds
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/3 cup
1 medium garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 large bunches arugula, washed, dried, stems trimmed and leaves torn into bite-size pieces (about 6 1/2 cups, loosely packed)
1 medium head radicchio, washed, dried, and
leaves torn into bite-size pieces (about 2 1/2 cups, loosely packed)

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir bread crumbs and 1 teaspoon each of the thyme and rosemary to combine in a shallow pie pan. Brush goat cheese rounds lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and gently press both sides and edges in bread crumb mixture to coat thoroughly with bread crumb mixture (can be done up to 1 hour before serving time and refrigerated on baking sheet until ready to bake).

2. Whisk garlic, vinegar, olives, remaining thyme and rosemary, salt, and pepper in small bowl; gradually whisk in remaining 1/3 cup olive oil; set aside.

3. Just before serving, bake breaded goat cheese rounds until warm throughout but not at all browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk dressing to re-blend and toss greens and dressing to coat in large mixing bowl. Divide dressed greens among 6 serving plates. Remove cheese rounds from oven; top each salad with one round and serve immediately.

[RevDahlia]

liv, I made your heroic salad tonight. My roommate came back from a month in Argentina claiming that salad does not exist down there. He had a major salad jones going. It wasn't pretty.

I substituted dried thyme and rosemary, because it was what I had, and Greek olives. I am sure that if I made everything according to spec it would have been even more delicious, but it was DAMN. TASTY. nonetheless.

We had the salad with grilled tri-tip and some artisan levain from the crazy hippie bakery around the corner, and the whole shebang cost under $30. For four people, that's no joke.

In a word... thanks.

[livius drusus]

Holy shit, Rev, that's some serious turn-over! I'm so glad it worked so smoothly into your plans. I'm sure the greek olives were delicious. I've used nicoise and these itty bitty Ligurian wonders that were a pain to chop but ambrosial to eat.

Congratulations on putting together such a fine meal. Here's to cheap dinners that taste like gold.

[dave_a]

why is it that "good" recipes inevitably call for ingredients that don't exist in my kitchen?

I mean, livius your delicious sounding recipe calls for goat cheese and arugula.

I have arugula in my garden right now because it's the season for it, but no store around here carries it that I know of and none of my neighbors even have gardens so I don't know where they would aquire it and goat cheese I have never seen and I live in Wisconsin where cheese is nearly a religion. Mmmmm cheese.... mmmmm. It would be easier for me to fly to your house and eat over than gather these ingredients myself.

So I am probably derailing this delightful thread, but seriously, what's up with this recipe snobbery that requires everyone to not only be ultra sophisticated in their grocery shopping habits, but also assumes everyone knows what all these ingredients are and has easy access to them?

Next thing you know the arugula won't simply be arugula, but one of the varieties with "rocket" in their name.
Why not just say 'salad green' ???

Yes, I am being anal, but still...

How sophisticated does a freaking salad need to be? Mix some salad, some cheese, some meat and some dressing and eat it up. Darn hard to go wrong if you ask me, not that anyone did.

[livius drusus]

He he... Well, my favorite salad is a plain romaine with dijon garlic parmesan dressing. Oh, and croutons, but you can make those from stale bread, so I don't think they qualify as snobbery.

I get what you're saying about the arugula (crazy cool that you have some growing in your backyard, btw) and radicchio, but I'd counter that this isn't necessarily the kind of recipe you make from stuff you have lying around. It's all normal to me because I was raised with it and I live in a big city with access to rare foods.

I gotta say, though, goat cheese is common throughout the country, afaik. Some supermarket somewhere is bound to have feta or chevre or something.

[viscousmemories]

Yeah, I hear ya dantonac but I'm with liv. I can get goat cheese at Albertson's or Ralph's here in Orange County, California, and there isn't a whiff of anything resembling culture snobbery (or culture, for that matter) within miles of here.

[dave_a]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I gotta say, though, goat cheese is common throughout the country, afaik. Some supermarket somewhere is bound to have feta or chevre or something.

Wait a freakin moment here. Seriously stop the earth's spinning while I get off for a minute and gather my thoughts. Are you saying that feta cheese is made from goat rather than cow milk?

I readily concede that I don't know, but as a cheesehead I do feel some moral obligation to know this and I don't know this.

Are you saying that if I come across a recipe that calls for goat chesse I can use feta cheese, that yummy stuff that grows mold way too fast and it's all good?

[viscousmemories]

I wasn't aware that feta could be used in place of goat's milk cheese in recipes, but I did know that it's traditionally made with sheep or goat's milk. However it's also made from cow's milk, and particularly so if you buy an American brand.

[RevDahlia]

Feta is made from sheep's or cow's milk.

I have traveled far and wide and am hard-pressed to think of a place where goat cheese, aka chevre, is not available. If you can't find it at the Piggly Wiggly, why, this is why we have the Internet.

Goat cheese is richer and creamier, chalkier and runnier than any other cheese, and it also has a winsome, not overpowering, goaty flavor. There is no substitute.

(dantonac, if you can't find goat cheese in your neighborhood surely you can find someone who raises goats. If you can, your version of liv's heroic salad will trump all of ours.)

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by dantonac

Wait a freakin moment here. Seriously stop the earth's spinning while I get off for a minute and gather my thoughts. Are you saying that feta cheese is made from goat rather than cow milk?

I am, sir. More specifically, traditional feta is made from a combination of ewe's and goat's milk. Feta can also be made out of all sheep's milk, but anything squeezed out of a cow ain't feta.

I readily concede that I don't know, but as a cheesehead I do feel some moral obligation to know this and I don't know this.

I understand. It's weird because here in the States thing get labelled funny. Greece has official feta standards so you can't go around calling any old thing feta. If it helps at all, keep in mind that Greece is small, hilly and beachy: not really primo cow territory.

Are you saying that if I come across a recipe that calls for goat chesse I can use feta cheese, that yummy stuff that grows mold way too fast and it's all good?

He he... Sure. Just check the label to be sure it's not one of the cow abominations and look for the creamy rather than crumbly kind. Like this one.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by RevDahlia

Feta is made from sheep's or cow's milk. (emph mine)

Abomination, I tell you!

I have traveled far and wide and am hard-pressed to think of a place where goat cheese, aka chevre, is not available. If you can't find it at the Piggly Wiggly, why, this is why we have the Internet.

Good point. I've never bought cheese online, but just did a search for chevre and there's mountains of it available at gourmet stores. Delicious looking, too.

Goat cheese is richer and creamier, chalkier and runnier than any other cheese, and it also has a winsome, not overpowering, goaty flavor.

That's what recipes are looking for when they call for goat cheese, but there are all lots of different textures and flavors out there. Bethmale is semi-hard and rinded, for instance

(dantonac, if you can't find goat cheese in your neighborhood surely you can find someone who raises goats. If you can, your version of liv's heroic salad will trump all of ours.)

That would be so, so cool. So cool.

[Dingfod]

The first time I ever heard of feta cheese, I thought they said fetid cheese, so I asked "What kind of cheese?" They said "You know, goat cheese." Oh, great, fetid goat cheese. Yum.


Warren

[livius drusus]

I say Warren should get goats to mow his lawn, conserve energy, and hook dantonac (and the rest of us) up with the good stuff.

[Dingfod]

Sounds like a plan.


W

[RevDahlia]

Here's a salad I'm making for my husband's birthday BBQ tomorrow. I have made it many times and it's always a hit.

It doesn't have a name, to my knowledge, and I'm a little dicey on the quantities. They depends greatly on the quality of your ingredients; what you are going for is a balance of suave and buttery, sweet and acidic, and salty and crunchy. It can be tinkered with.

You need:
Rocket (arugula, but I think rocket sounds so much cooler)
Radicchio
Avocado
Oranges -- preferably organic
Hearts of palm (available in the weird-food ghetto of the canned goods aisle, usually next to the bamboo shoots)
Red onion, cut into thin slices. Place the slices in a bowl of ice water in the fridge for an hour or so before using, then drain.
Cilantro

Balsamic vinaigrette with the merest whiff of garlic in it -- smash garlic under a knife blade, mix up the dressing on top of it, let it sit for a few minutes, than dress the salad without allowing the garlic to fall in there

Tear the greens (or reds, in the case of the radicchio) into bite-size pieces. Cut everything else up into uniform small chunks. Mix together, add cilantro and dress. Ideally, when you're eating this you should get some of everything on your fork. The greens are not meant to be the base for this salad, they're more of an accent.

This is very delicious but it does not keep well. Fortunately it usually doesn't hang around all that long.

[huntress]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I say Warren should get goats to mow his lawn, conserve energy, and hook dantonac (and the rest of us) up with the good stuff.

Hey! That's bad joke copyright infringement.

Wouldn't a :goatrope icon have been more appropriate?

d

[Goliath]

I just had a big salad with baby carrots and dried apples in it. It wasn't too bad.

(and yes, I know that my simple cretin salad isn't all fancy-schmancy with goat cheese freshly squeezed from the goat or anything...so sue me! =P )

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by huntress

Hey! That's bad joke copyright infringement.

I claim unrelated discovery and you can't prove a damn thing.

Wouldn't a :goatrope icon have been more appropriate?

There's no need to be cruel.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by Goliath

I just had a big salad with baby carrots and dried apples in it. It wasn't too bad.

(and yes, I know that my simple cretin salad isn't all fancy-schmancy with goat cheese freshly squeezed from the goat or anything...so sue me! =P )

I've milked goats.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by Goliath

I just had a big salad with baby carrots and dried apples in it. It wasn't too bad.

That's a rather intriguing combo, Goliath. What kind of dressing did you use?

(and yes, I know that my simple cretin salad isn't all fancy-schmancy with goat cheese freshly squeezed from the goat or anything...so sue me! =P )

I'm going to go ahead and Sylvia Browne you here. I predict here, in public, in a dated post, that 6 months from now, you will make that goat cheese salad and it will kick ass.

Mark your calendars, ladies and gentlemen. Hell, I'll mark the FF calendar right now.

[Goliath]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

That's a rather intriguing combo, Goliath. What kind of dressing did you use?

Ranch. I bought the dried apples more or less impulsively, and the back of the packaging said that one use was in a salad, so I tried it.

I'm going to go ahead and Sylvia Browne you here.

Oooh, sounds kinky! <grin>

Oh wait...nevermind...

I predict here, in public, in a dated post, that 6 months from now, you will make that goat cheese salad and it will kick ass.

That's entirely possible. Before then, however, I'm going to put together a Tandoori marinade and marinate some chicken.

Let's hope I don't kill myself.

[RevDahlia]

That's entirely possible. Before then, however, I'm going to put together a Tandoori marinade and marinate some chicken.

Oooh oooh ooh, waitaminnit. There exists a product called "The Spice Hunter Tandoori Blend", available in the spice aisle at any supermarket; it makes tandoori anything a snap. You definitely want to add some garlic and fresh ginger and something for color, though.

[Goliath]

Hot diggety damn! I was just about to go shop for ingredients for the marinade. Thanks for the tip, RevDahlia!

[Goliath]

Well, didn't find the Spice Hunter product, so I got the ingredients...I'll make it later on, and if I'm not dead, I'll tell how it went.

[RevDahlia]

I may have, in my posts here, given the impression that I'm an effete food snot. Allow me to shoot a large, cake-shaped hole in that impression.

Not what we had for dinner -- that was andouille sausage on the grill, potato salad and the salad I described in the Salads thread -- but what we had for dessert.

Milky Way Swirl Cake

5 2.1 oz Milky Way bars, sliced
One box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, the kind with the pudding
1/3c melted butter
1 c water
3 eggs
2 additional tbsps butter
2 tbsps flour

Put 2.5 of the Milky Way bars into a saucepan with a little water and melt them over medium heat. Meanwhile, stir the cake mix up as directed (subbing melted butter for vegetable oil.) Slowly mix about a third of the cake mix with the melted Milky Ways. Put the other two-thirds in an oiled bundt pan, and swirl the Milky Way third in. Bake as directed on the box.

Melt remaining 2.5 Milky Ways with a couple tablespoons of butter and 2 tsps water until it forms a glaze. Allow to cool. Dribble glaze over cake.

Mmmmmm. Trashalicious.

(I did get this recipe from a book by Jeffrey Steingarten, though -- and HE'S the food columnist for Vogue and writes about eating canocchie in Venice with the Hazans and stuff. So there.)