Amy's Sautéed Zucchini
Avocado and Citrus Salad Vinaigrette
Baked Acorn Squash
California Delta Salad
Endive, Pear, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad
Fennel Salad
Fresh Corn Custard with Summer Salsa
Funghi alla Panna (Mushrooms with Cream)
Green Beans with Chili Sherry Drizzle
Jicama Compote
Shredded Carrot Salad with Fresh Dill
Sicilian Blood Orange Salad
Waldorf Salad
From Mary Amabile Palmer's winning cookbook, Cucina di Calabria -
Green Beans with Tomatoes
Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella with Basil
Tomato, Red Onion and Basil Salad
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut acorn squash in half. Remove the seeds and strings (an ice cream scoop works well). Brush cut surface with melted butter. Place on a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake until slightly tender when tested with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove foil. Brush again with butter. Salt lightly and sprinkle with nutmeg. Continue baking until very tender and lightly browned (20-30 minutes).
Green Beans with Chili Sherry Drizzle
Slivered slmonds or thin strips of roast peppers would make a lovely adornment to this simple recipe. Courtesy of Sandy Santistevan.
Steam green beans until just tender (do not overcook - maintain the bright green color).
Sauté garlic in olive oil until garlic just begins to color. Add all ingredients except sherry and stir until hot. Add sherry before removing from stove. Drizzle over green beans and serve.
Serves 4.
Waldorf Salad
Serve on a bed of undressed greens or as a side dish.
Combine all ingredients in the order listed and serve slightly chilled. Serves 6
*Lowfat or whole milk plain yogurt, or a yogurt and mayo mix, will work in this recipe. As yogurt is tart, match it with a sweet variety of apple, such as Macintosh.
Curried Waldorf Salad
Add 1 teaspoon of yellow curry and a shake of turmeric to the basic Waldorf Salad recipe.
Endive, Pear, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad
Everyone LOVES this salad! I based it on a recipe from California endive grower Richard Collins of California Vegetables, Inc. The vinaigrette is my new salad dressing stand-by. Happily, the ingredients are available most of the year. - Joy
Vinaigrette:
Salad:
Make the vinaigrette in a shaker bottle or whisk in a bowl. Set aside or chill.
Preaheat the oven to 275º. Spread walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Chop walnuts.
Angle-cut endive in half inch pieces.
In a large salad bowl, place the walnuts, sliced endive, spinach, parsley, diced pears, and crumbled blue cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve with freshly ground pepper.
Serves 4, generously.
California Delta Salad
Recipe courtesy of Richard Collins, California Vegetables, Inc. Made with ingredients from her own great state, this recipe was created by party chef Sandie Martin for vacationers on the beautiful California Delta.
Dressing:
In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, wine, mustard seed, orange juice, lemon zest and ginger. Add grapeseed oil slowly, whisking until emulsified.
Salad:
Angle cut in half inch wide pieces the four white endives and two of the red endives.
Quarter the artichoke hearts.
Remove the flesh from 1 1/2 of the avocados and chop into small cubes.
Reserve the other half, cut into thin slices, and set aside for garnish.
Toss the salad ingredients and the dressing together and serve on a bed of the remaining red endive leaves. Garnish with the reserved avocado slices.
Serves 4 - 6.
Funghi alla Panna (Mushrooms with Cream)
Based on a recipe by Marcella Hazan, this stand-by is a perfect complement to roast turkey, pork, veal, or chicken. It's also delicious tossed with pasta or on toast for a light supper. Tarragon lovers may add a pinch with the mushrooms.
In a large, thick-bottomed skillet and over medium heat, melt butter. Add oil. Using a wooden spoon, sauté shallots in oil and butter until just golden.
Raise heat to high and add quartered mushrooms. Stir. When mushrooms have absorbed much of the fat, turn heat to low. Add salt and papper and stir until the mushrooms begin to give up their juice.
Raise heat to high again and cook 3 - 4 minutes, shaking the pan and stirring frequently. Add the heavy cream and cook for just a few minutes or until some of the cream has been absorbed by the mushrooms and the sauce has slightly thickened.
Serves 6 as a small side dish.
Amy's Sautéed Zucchini
If you choose olive oil, this is delicious cold with a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. However, the butter adds a sweetness and creaminess to the hot version.
Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in a fry pan. Add zucchini slices and chopped onion and sauté until soft. Add tomato and stir until tomato is cooked down to create a sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.
Avocado and Citrus Salad Vinaigrette*
Beautiful to look at, refreshing and delicious to eat!
Artfully arrange romaine, sliced onion, citrus and avocado in layers on a platter. Dribble with the vinaigrette and serve at once.
*Joy's Note on Vinaigrette: Vinaigrette is an emulsion (a mixture in which the ingredients do not separate) of oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Traditionally, vinaigrette also contains chopped fresh herbs and dry or prepared mustard. However, the combinations are endless. Some prefer a tangy dressing with a higher proportion of the sour liquid; some prefer a milder, slicker coating for their fruits and vegetables and use a larger proportion of oil. Experiment. Many cooks toss all the ingredients into a jar and shake or into a blender and blend. I prefer to whisk the vinaigrette from scratch in the bottom of the empty salad bowl. This requires a good sense of timing as it should be done just before serving the salad course. First put the oil and salt in the bowl and beat with the whisk. Don't skimp on the salt - that's a common mistake. Incorporate the mustard. Then slowly whisk in the vinegar or juice. Finally, add herbs and freshly ground pepper or seasonings of your choice. When the dressing is ready and before it has a chance to separate, place the salad ingredients in the bowl and toss. Serve at once.
Fennel Salad
An unusual and exquisitely simple salad with an Italian heritage. Fennel might be called anise or finocchio in your produce section.
Cut away the fennel bulb's tough base, leaves and the stringy part of the stalk. Leave the tender part of the bulb and lower, whiter part of the stalks. With a long, thin, serrated knife, slice the remaining fennel as thinly as possible to form rounds and half moons. Set aside.
In a bowl, use a wire whisk to beat the olive oil followed by each of the remaining ingredients. Toss in the sliced fennel. Taste carefully for seasonings and serve at once.
Fresh Corn Custard with Summer Salsa
Elegant comfort food from Chef Waldy Malouf.
Corn custard:
Salsa:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the corn from the cobs, then run the dull side of the knife blade down the cobs to scrape out all the milky corn left behind. Butter a shallow 2-quart glass or ovenproof pottery casserole with soft, unsalted butter.
In a bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the corn, the cream and the shallot. Season with salt and a little pepper and pour the mixture into the casserole.
Set the casserole in a roasting pan, add hot water to come halfway up the sides of the casserole and bake about 40 minutes, until the edges of the custard are set and the center barely quivers when the casserole is shaken. Remove the custard from the oven; it is to be served warm, not hot.
Make the salsa: Peel and seed the tomatoes, chop them and put them in a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients, adjusting the amounts of hot pepper, coriander and lime juice to taste.
To serve, spoon a pool of salsa onto a medium plate. Using a large spoon, cut out a circle of custard and set it on top of the salsa. Pass the remaining salsa in a bowl.
Serves six to eight.
*Editor's Note: this fabulous recipe can be made successfully with good quality frozen corn (defrost it under hot running water, then shake and pat dry) and bottled chunky salsa.
Jicama Compote
Jicama is a root vegetable common to Mexico. When sliced, jicama has the crunch of an apple and the translucent look of Asian pear. The flavor is delicate and oh so slightly sweet. For more info on jicama - now more commonly found in American produce sections - see the superb cookbook Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Rick Bayless with Deanne Groen Bayless.
In an amply sized bowl, toss together all the ingredients, including the orange juice. Serve in small, deep bowls. Or, arrange red leaf lettuce on salad plates, top with a scoop of cottage cheese, and spoon the compote over the top.
Shredded Carrot Salad with Fresh Dill
An old stand-by from Joy's mental recipe files. Simple and satisfying, it adds color and tang to any plate.
In the bottom of a chilled bowl, beat honey, olive oil and mustard with a wire whisk. Shred the peeled carrots using the large grating disk of a food processor or, simply, on the large teeth of an old fashioned grater. Toss carrots and dill in the honey mixture. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
Make only enough for the meal at hand. This dish does not keep well overnight.
Sicilian Blood Orange Salad
Don't be put off by the name - the blood orange is an achingly delicious, garnet-colored fruit now more common in American markets. The contrasting colors and flavors of this simple salad are show stoppers!
In a shallow, round platter, arrange the sliced oranges like overlapping petals radiating from the center of the dish (start with a ring around the edge). Scatter the chopped olives over the oranges. Dribble with the olive oil. Sparingly, scatter a few crystals of salt and a few drops of balsamic vinegar over the salad. Place some whole olives in the center of the flower pattern of oranges. Serve with a large, shallow spoon to catch some of the juices.
*Look for oil-cured olives in the Italian specialty section of the supermarket next to the marinated mushrooms and jarred antipasti. There is no brine in the jar and the olives are wrinkled and jet black, so they are easy to spot.
Green Beans with Tomatoes
Fagiolini con Pomodori, from Mary Amabile Palmer's passionate cookbook, Cucina di Calabria.
...This easy dish in a skillet is a fine contrast in taste and color.
Wash and trim green beans. Set aside. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds. Remove peel and chop coarsely, then set aside.
In a large, heavy skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onions for 3 to 4 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minues or until light golden brown.
Add green beans, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Lower heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until beans are just tender. The exact cooking time will depend on the size and age of the beans.
Just before serving, add the basil and stir. Serve in small individual bowls, hot or at room temperature.
Serves four.
Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella with Basil
Pomodori e Mozzarella con Basilico, from Mary Amabile Palmer's cookbook, Cucina di Calabria .
...If you have never had this salad with fresh ingredients, you have never had this salad! Prepare close to serving time. Have all ingredients at room temperature and just slice, arrange, and serve. Do not refrigerate - it will dull the taste of the tomatoes and cheese...
Wash and slice tomatoes. Slice mozzarella. Rinse and dry basil. Line a large round platter with alternating layers of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil until all tomato and mozzarella slices are used. Drizzle olive oil evenly throughout and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If desired, sprinkle with capers or vinegar.
Let stand for at least 5 minutes to allow the flavor of the basil to penetrate the tomatoes. Serve with crusty Italian bread or flatbread.
Serves 10 to 12 as an antipasto, or 6 to 8 as a side dish or salad.
Tomato, Red Onion and Basil Salad
Insalata di Pomodori, Cipole Rosse, e Basilico, from Mary Amabile Palmer's passionate cookbook, Cucina di Calabria.
Tomatoes, glorious tomatoes. Attempt this simple but savory jiffy salad only when tomatoes are in season. You need their juice to mingle with the dressing to create a heavenly dip for crusty Italian bread! For crunch and flavor, add one celery stalk, finely sliced: or one-half green pepper, thinly sliced. Have all ingredients cleaned and at room temperature but do not prepare until close to serving time - it takes only minutes.
Wash tomatoes and cut each into 6 or 8 wedges. Put into a large salad bowl and add onion. Drizzle with olive oil and toss gently. Sprinkle vinegar; add basil, capers, Gorgonzola cheese if using, salt, and pepper; and mix throughly. Serve at room temperature.
Serves 4 to 8.
Back to New Recipes