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"I just want to focus on my salad."


Jaymes

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I think you can post the recipe as long as you acknowledge your source and make explicit reference to it (i.e., cite author, title, publisher, year of publication, and page numbers if applicable). I frequently do and haven't gotten whipped for it yet...[heh].

Fat Bloke and/or Jason might be able to better answer your question.

As for me, my default is either Boston or Bibb lettuce, watercress or arugula, and either mint, cilantro, basil, or parsley, tossed together. Add a simple viniagrette of OO, white wine or Champagne vinegar, sometimes a garlic clove that's been minced, sometimes a small amount of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and that's it.

Sometimes, its a bit more complicated -- shredded duck meat and skin (or shredded white-cooked chicken), julienned red, yellow and orange peppers, mache, chopped cilantro and mint, a little stir-fried glass noodles (for heft), and a tiny amount of chipotle en adobo (for bite); dressing of peanut oil, Chinese black vinegar, light shoyu, ground Sichuan peppercorns, and finely minced candied orange zest.

SA

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I'm in love with a salad from "Fusion Food Cookbook" by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison.  It's called something like salad with candied walnuts and goat cheese.  It's a major hit whenever I make it. 

I can't post it, right?

It does seem that lots of people post a recipe or two after crediting the author/book etc. I think that's different from reproducing entire pages of copyrighted material.

But again, maybe FG or J will let us know. I sure hope it works out.....because that recipe sounds wonderful! I'd love to try it for guests this weekend.

Thanks for the info, everyone. This has turned into a very instructive, useful and appetizing thread!!

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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The most important thing is a good vinaigrette, added in just the right quantity and tossed so that it forms a thin film over every leaf without any additional residue. Once you have that, you'll naturally gravitate away from adding very much to the base of greens.

The other most important thing is the greens. Mixing several kinds works well. I'd rule out iceberg, and I'd rule out pre-mixed mesclun unless it is from a superb source. A mixture of Boston, red leaf, and some sort of bitter green like arugula provides nice counterpoint. Fresh herbs are a plus, in small quantities.

When pouring on the ingredients, the thing to remember is counterpoint of flavor and texture. As mentioned above, crumbled blue cheese is nice when paired with something crunchy (I like pistachios) and something sweet (dried cranberries are a favorite). I don't like too much sweet in my salad, though.

The most important parts of a salad are good dressing and good greens. Excellent advice from an expert. We're lucky to have you.

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Green salad usually consists of any or all of the following:

Green Leaf Lettuce

Red Leaf Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

Flat Leaf Spinach

Home made vinaigrette with (any of all of)

Roasted Garlic

(or) Chopped fresh garlic

Minced shallots

Minced herbs

S&P

Tomatoes

Avocados

Carrots

Red Onion

Sliced raw Zucchini

blanched String Beans

Slivers of any kind of raw pepper

Cooked Chicken

Cooked fresh Tuna

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RE: Tomatoes....

Usually use cherry tomatoes, but when I do cut up a nice fat big one, like an Heirloom, I always "shake hands with the tomato" first, so the water in it doesn't dilute my dressing.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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I've come to prefer a simple green salad, just mixed lettuces and greens, most nights. I dress it with one part vinegar (red or white wine, or sherry) with four parts olive oil, measured roughly with my salad tongs and mixed with the greens. I like to add the salt at the table.

And I'll have to disagree with Nina about extra virgin...but in a long-winded way, so I started a new topic.

Jim

olive oil + salt

Real Good Food

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Jim, you toss the oil and vinegar with the salad to mix them, rather than attempting to emulsify them? Does that mean you prefer oil and vinegar to vinaigrette?

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pine nuts, apples, blueberies, stawberries, raspberries, orange slices, mandarin slices, mint, cilantro, red onions, chili peppers, italian peppers, scallions, feta cheese, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, chicken, steak, duck, bacon, snow peas, brocolli rabe, corn, green beans, brussel sprouts, bean sprouts, boiled potato, spinach, cucumber (ONLY very thinly sliced), mustard seed, chives, etc. etc. etc.

Forget it, I could keep listing all day. What a useless list. It's virtually everything people have listed except olives, tomatoes, avacados and mushrooms.

Not all of these in the same salad, usually.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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I make virtually the same salad every time, and have been making this salad for twenty years. In the summer, I make it every day:

Arugula, only. I grow a lot of it, and in off seasons, will drive 20 miles each way for the best. I certainly like all other greens, but use them for other purposes.

Tomatoes. Lots of fresh, sliced heirlooms from my garden August through October, and Pommodorocio in the winter and spring, or good cherry tomatoes when I can find them.

Roquefort

sometimes anchovies rolled with capers

sometimes sauteed mushrooms, never raw

Vinaigrette is dijon, black pepper, vinegar (red wine, sometimes a splash of lemon juice, nowadays sometimes moscatel vinegar, which is my new fave) all emulsified with EVOO. This takes me 30 seconds to whip up in a bowl with a fork. I don't add salt, as the cheese and anchovies provide plenty.

I like strong, clean flavors, and somehow this simple salad of mine always pleases. This is my "comfort" food.

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I make virtually the same salad every time, and have been making this salad for twenty years.  In the summer, I make it every day:

sometimes anchovies rolled with capers

I hate to be so stupid, but this salad sounds so good.... I'd love to try it. And I am having a hard time picturing "anchovies rolled with capers."

What does that mean? How do you do it? Couldn't I just put in some chopped anchovies and some capers? Are you talking about the salted canned anchovies we get in the US or the fresh marinated ones from the Mediterreanean?

Thank you.

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Maggie, these are available in small tins, packed in oil, and are simply as said -- anchovies wrapped around a caper, and they are available in any grocery store in the US. You can throw in chopped anchovies and capers separately. I simply like that they are a full biteful as prepared, and easy to find in the grocery store.

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Maggie, these are available in small tins, packed in oil, and are simply as said -- anchovies wrapped around a caper, and they are available in any grocery store in the US.  You can throw in chopped anchovies and capers separately.  I simply like that they are a full biteful as prepared, and easy to find in the grocery store.

Oh....! I'll bet you mean those BIG capers that I've seen in jars but never bought.

I'm so stooopid. I was thinking, "how can you wrap anchovies around those little bitty caper dealies?"

:wacko::blink::shock:

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Anyone besides me put in cantaloupe balls?

Yes... and blueberies, apples, strawberries and so on. Salads are a good place for an unexpected ingredient.

I would be very circumspect about the use of fruit in anything other than a dessert course. They have their place on occassion, pear with blue cheese for instance, a salsa etc but otherwise IMHO their use should be minimised.

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Anyone besides me put in cantaloupe balls?

Yes... and blueberies, apples, strawberries and so on. Salads are a good place for an unexpected ingredient.

I would be very circumspect about the use of fruit in anything other than a dessert course. They have their place on occassion, pear with blue cheese for instance, a salsa etc but otherwise IMHO their use should be minimised.

I love cantaloupe balls in a tossed salad.

I know it sounds improbable, but something about that flavor tastes great with a crunchy bite of lettuce, green peppers, sweet salad onion, all coated with vinaigrette and salt and pepper.

The only thing is, if I am using the cantaloupe, I don't use tomatoes. I tried once, but it didn't work at all. The cantaloupe seems to take the place of tomato.

And it's really good. Would suggest that if you've never tried it, you give it a go. You might be surprised.... I know I was.

:rolleyes:

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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Steven,

Yes, I just toss the greens with the oil and vinegar and prefer that to an emulsified vinaigrette (altho' I'll make one sometimes with the stick blender...microwave a cube of frozen Meyer lemon juice, add 3-4 times as much olive oil, several anchovies, and frappe it).

I have an ongoing debate with several cook friends as to the order of vinegar and oil. Some say add the vinegar first, some say oil...lately I'm doing vinegar first, but it doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. I hold the spoonish half of the salad tongs over the bowl of greens, eyeball a small amount of vinegar, toss quickly, then eyeball roughly four times as much oil and toss again. I use this old saying as my guide:

You need three people to make a salad: a miser for the vinegar, a millionaire for the oil, and a genius for the salt.

I let each diner be the genius and add salt (fluer de sel in a cellar or Sicilian sea salt in the grinder).

I've come to prefer this simple salad, especially when the lettuce is local and sweet, because it tastes so clean. You have to use a really good olive oil (and it can be either soft and buttery or intense and sharp) as well as good wine or sherry vinegar.

Jim

olive oil + salt

Real Good Food

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I read once that in Spain it is common to coat the greens with oil first, then add salt (the oil helps the salt to spread more evenly) and then sprinkle with vinegar to taste. I have experienced doing vinegar first and sometimes it can wilt the leaves a bit

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So many delish ideas have been posted for salad season!

Chopped salad is good: cold cooked asparagus and/or green beans, tomato, yellow bell peppers, red onion, fresh mozarella, all diced, and tossed with some finely torn red leaf and arugula, dressed with simple vinaigrette. Very LA.

Blood oranges over arugula/spinach with fine sliced red onions, dressed with a vinaigrette made with pureed garlic (a touch) and sherry vineger, pine nuts are optional.

Raw artichoke sliced thin, mixed with sliced white mushrooms, or with finely sliced radicchio, or arugula. Dress with a lemon vinaigrette.

For a main course , I love to do a grilled steak salad, served on a nice big platter: salad greens in the center, cold potato salad (vinaigrette base with chopped onions or shallots), sliced tomato, sliced cuke, and the sliced steak arranged around the greens, topped with chopped herbs. (Toss everything separately in the dressing before arranging.)

Campanile does a lovely butter lettuce salad with handfuls of fresh herbs--I use chervil, dill, chives, parsley, a bit of tarragon, and a shallot vinaigrette for my at-home knock off. A great first course salad.

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Had a great salad last nite at the home of a friend.

It was slices of avocado, pink grapefruit and sweet red onions, dressed with a red wine vinaigrette and served on a lettuce leaf, sprinkled with feta cheese.

Wonderful.

:rolleyes:

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I would be very circumspect about the use of fruit in anything other than a dessert course. They have their place on occassion, pear with blue cheese for instance, a salsa etc but otherwise IMHO their use should be minimised.

Not sure I agree Andy. I'm not on that train that loves fruit in the entree, but the salad course is something different entirely. Someone mentioned blood oranges... and Granny Smith apples have to come really close.

Obviously you have to take steps to make sure that the entire salad doesn't wind up tasting like the fruit.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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can't add a thing to this thread, and hope i won't be infringing upon anyone's rights when i print the whole thing out and cram it into my recipe binder

:smile:

lots of you mention "chopped/minced herbs"--be more specific--which ones, in which combos? just curious. at this time of year i always have thyme, oregano, basil and rosemary on hand but i never use them all together. should i? what else might be added? vinaigrettes are my favorite but they are far more complicated and tricky than one might think....

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