Kale, Apple and Beet Salad with Pistachio Brittle

Sometimes it takes a candied nut to help kale go down. Since creating this salad, I find it disappointing to have a kale salad with out some kind of candied nut. Don’t be turned off by the length of this recipe. You can make the dressing and pistachio brittle a day ahead. I’d even suggest making a couple of batches of pistachios so you can throw them into any salad. You can substitute the dressing below for a simple vinaigrette of your own, or use your favorite creamy dressing that has some acidity to it.
 

Asparagus, Kalamata and Bread Salad

This salad makes me sad that most people I know don't like olives. I made it the other night as an eat-whatever's-in-the-fridge dinner and loved it. It was unexpected and the ingredient amounts were undocumented. That's ok, because salads are quite easy to put together. Here's my "non-recipe" for Asparagus, Kalamata and Bread Salad.

Avocado Fries

The avocado fries at Brooklyn restaurant, El Almacen, were the inspiration for this recipe. I had never had fried avocado before and was under the impression that avocado shouldn't be cooked. But apparently, it should definitely be breaded and fried. I hope my readers don't think that I bread and fry everything. I really don't. I do it just for you guys. Anyway, it's finally spring time and our porch is decorated with big, white, flower-filled planters, a white bench, white Adirondack-style chairs and maybe soon a white umbrella. Our porch might get invited to a P.Diddy party.

Crispy Pan Fried Fennel

I'm not sure why I've never breaded and pan fried fennel before now. Fennel is one of my favorite vegetables, and anything tastes ten times better when covered in bread and fried in oil. Since I'm going on a beach vacation in about nine weeks, I have to hold off on covering foods in bread and frying them in oil. But if your beach vacation has already passed, you should immediately buy a head of fennel and try this recipe, even if you don't like fennel.

 

Tamagoyaki

I’m baaaaack. I really dropped the ball on this whole blog thing didn’t I? I’ve been eating boatloads of delivery pizza and salads from Chop’t lately and haven’t been cooking enough. I did make another round of salmon fritters but I certainly couldn’t post those again. But a recipe for Tamagoyaki has been staring me in the face for weeks and on a rainy Saturday I decided I was finally going to make it happen. Tamagoyaki is a Japanese egg log that is slightly sweet and totally fun to make and eat.
 

Salmon Fritters

I've always had a fear of leftover cooked fish and all its cold clamminess. That is, until, when recently faced with some leftover salmon, I searched the internet for “what to do with leftover fish” and changed my world forever. Leftover cooked fish can be used in fish tacos, stews, salads, sandwiches and fish cakes. Who knew? The key is to either gently bring the fish up to room temperature or reheat it for a very short amount of time.  Salmon cakes sounded the most appealing to me so I faced my fear. 

Late Summer Bruschetta

Working at a food company means that I often get to eat really delectable lunches. A few weeks ago, one of my bosses put together some crusty bread with homemade mayonnaise, heirloom tomatoes and basil while my other boss took pictures of us eating it. Let's hope a picture of me stuffing lunch in my face does not surface. I decided to borrow that combination of flavors for a late summer bruschetta using some heirloom tomatoes from my trip to Long Island this past weekend. 

 

Creamy Summer Farro Salad

I recently tried this farro salad from Bklyn Larder, a cheese and provisions shop in Brooklyn, and I’ve been itching to recreate it at home for many weeks.  As I ate it, I tried to note all the flavors to make sure I got as close to the real thing as possible.  I typed up what I like to call a guess-cipe, a guessed recipe that I can test and tweak in the kitchen.  I’m happy to report that I did a pretty good job matching the flavors.  The creaminess of the mayo adds a nice fat factor, the lemon juice brightens it up, the farro’s nutty texture is super fun and the vegetables bring some crunch to the party.  There are two months of picnic weather left and this is a crowd-pleasing salad to have on your gingham blanket.

Pickled Grapes

I'm always looking for an unusual, yet simple recipe.  One food blogger that I follow writes a beautiful blog called Not Without Salt.  I like her pro-salt blog title as well as the feeling I get when I read her words and look at her photographs.  I picture her life being one big lush, misty Washington morning with a cup of coffee in a mason jar.  When she posted a recipe for pickled grapes, I flagged it and took the next opportunity to make them, which was a summer dinner party at home.

Hotel Chopped Salad

I stopped liking blue cheese about ten years ago.  I've always been slightly grossed out by eggs in salads and I typically don't go for salads with corn in them even though I like corn.  And I can take or leave walnuts.  When Alan and I went on vacation to St. Martin last week, our first meal was at the beachfront C Le Restaurant at the Radisson Blu where we stayed for four sun-filled days.

Flaky Bread or “Pancake Nachos”

When I saw a recipe for Flaky Bread in this month’s Bon Appetit, I added “must make flaky bread” to my calendar last weekend.  I brought said flaky breads to a friend’s birthday party where they were enjoyed by many and dubbed “pancake nachos” by one party goer.  They did go quite well with the salsa verde.
 

Peanut Miso Kale and Kelp Noodles

I am not a health nut.  I like my bacon cheeseburgers as much as I like my vegetables.  And a chia seed or a goji berry has never passed my lips.  But recently I started a home fitness routine using Blogilates.com and I came across instructor Cassie Ho's version of a salad she gets at Cafe Gratitude in LA.  Kale, kelp and avocado in a peanut dressing just sounded so appealing.  I think anything you put peanut butter on tastes good.  So as soon as I finished my bodega salad ingredients, I quickly moved on to this.
 

Bodega Salad

Last week's candied cranberries didn't go over as well as I'd hoped.  My brother seemed to like them, but he's a fan of insanely tart flavors just like me.  When we were little, we used to soak pieces of sliced white bread in red wine vinegar and eat them in from the TV, our lips turning white from the acidic burn.  Other people might not have the same tolerance for zing as we do.  

Green Tomato Salad

This tomato salad is so good.  I’m currently on the hunt for some green tomatoes so I can make more of it.  I never knew that anything else could be done with green tomatoes besides frying them, but this is a crisp, refreshing way to use these underripe tomatoes in the fall, right after the warmth of summer has died off and the chill of winter is approaching, but it’s not quite cold enough for soups and stews. 

Mexican Caesar Salad

This salad was inspired by Chop’t Creative Salad Company’s Mexican Caesar salad.  It’s very similar to the original, except I wasn’t sure how to make their dressing so I invented my own.  For some reason, whenever I buy a jalapeno, I lose it.  I bought a nice glossy jalapeno for this recipe, made the salad and ate it all before realizing that the jalapeno wasn’t in it.  It wasn’t in the fridge either, or on the floor, or behind the chopping block or in the fruit bowl.  

Kale Salad with Apples and Almonds

Sometimes you need some roughage.  You all know that a salad shouldn’t be dressed until right before serving, but kale is a hearty, thick green that can be dressed in advance, tossed into a large airtight container or ziplock bag, tucked into a tote bag and brought to a picnic or potluck.  The apples in this salad add a nice sweetness and the almonds bring the crunch.  

Two Roasted Vegetable Recipes

My goals for October are to go apple picking, bake a pie, take a hike and carve a pumpkin.  I also have to figure out what I’m going to be for Halloween.  Some thoughts are Paula Deen, bacon or Carrie from Homeland.  I’m excited for squash, trench coats and leather boots, but very sad that I have no sunlight when I get home.  Now if I want to photograph my dinner after work, I need to pull the photo lights out of the closet to fake the sun.  I’ll miss trimming the basil on the porch while drinking club soda and Campari.  

Chilled Cucumber Soup

I never used to like the idea of cold soups until I actually gave them a try.  The complimentary cucumber soup shooter I had at Colicchio and Sons back in May was in a petite white porcelain cup and was perfectly creamy and balanced.  Weeks later I had a spicy cucumber soup shooter at The Stanton Social.  When I got a pile of cucumbers from work last week, chilled cucumber soup came to mind immediately.  

Swiss Chard and Chanterelle Quesadillas

I can’t believe summer is over.  I know it’s not technically over, but for me, it ends on Labor Day.  When I was in grade school, the bittersweet St. Catherine’s carnival marked the end of summer.  I remember the big creepy clown on the sign who looked as if he was saying “Here, have some fun before I kill summer.”  I always looked forward to a few rides on the Scrambler, a woosh down the large yellow slide and a sticky red candy apple, but I knew that composition books and pencil cases were only days away.  No amount of orange tickets could postpone the inevitable.  Of course, I was always excited to wear my first-day-of-school ensemble; an embroidered flower vest and some corduroy pants, or those coordinated puffy-painted sweatsuits I seemed to have an endless supply of (what’s up with that Mom?).

Corn with Butter and Tajin

Alan’s brother and sister-in-law always visit bearing gifts like a jumbo bottle of Cholula hot sauce or some delectable pastries.  A while back, they brought us some Tajin Classico Seasoning which they promised would be great on anything.  It really is.