Salads & Sides

I have a horrible habit of not deleting photos after downloading them. I need to be sure and double, triple check before I delete. Drives Hunky Hubby crazy.  Well, this time my paranoia has served us well. Me, and you.  As the cold October winds are beginning to blow,  I was swept away to warmer days as I clicked through the photos on my camera. That’s when I saw it: this scrumptious bowl of bacon and blue cheese potato salad and was reminded that I was remiss in sharing it with you.

We skipped a true family vacation this summer what with my starting a new job late last fall and skimping on vacation time. So I stayed behind while eldest Beauty took in the sights, sounds, and tastes of Paris and Barcelona and Hubby and baby Beauty heeded the call from the Rocky mountains.  Sometimes a mom stay-cation isn’t such a bad thing…especially when one scores  a 5 lb bag of Maytag blue cheese directly from the Maytag Dairy Farms in Newton, Iowa. This hand made, cave-aged cheese is well-deserving of its world famous, prize-winning notoriety and is the star ingredient of this completely addicting bacon and blue cheese potato salad. At first bite any notion of low carb eating will be out the window.

Bacon and blue cheese are two flavors that are meant to be married and deliciously compliment each other. The crispy, salty bacon paired with creamy, pungent Maytag blue cheese. My mouth is watering as I type.

I intended to make a small, dinner-sized bowl of bacon and blue cheese potato salad to pair with grilled beef kabobs. I must have been really hungry as we had ample servings of leftovers for the next two days. No complaints from me but that is my disclaimer for the recipe that follows. It really does yield upwards of 10 servings. Not a fan of blue cheese? Substitute goat cheese or feta cheese for a milder flavor.

I’m off to go delete photos from my camera. Enjoy!

“Tuna” and “elegant” aren’t often used in the same sentence, but this white bean tuna salad with Dijon vinaigrette is an exception! WOW! It’s a tuna salad that is elegant enough to stand front and center on a luncheon buffet table and humble enough to make a typically humdrum work lunch feel a little special.

Forget the mayo and leave the condensed soup on the grocery store shelf here, folks. You have a whole new way to enjoy tuna salad! It’s light, it’s crunchy, it’s colorful. Not a tuna salad lover, you say? Before you turn up your nose, try it.  Try it. You’ll like it. (name that commercial 😉 )

Back to business. I was in the mood for tuna but not in the mood for a mayonnaise-based salad. Being the mustard lover that I am, and trying to incorporate more veggies in my diet, I created this white bean tuna salad with Dijon vinaigrette recipe. And gave my recipe a very descriptive title.

Gently mix diced celery, sweet red bell pepper, and  green onions with Great Northern Beans and tuna fish. Toss it in a light Dijon vinaigrette dressing, add a dash of dill and black pepper, and lunch is served. Whether you mound a scoop onto a toasted bun or enjoy a healthy dollop on a pita toast triangle, you will gain a whole new appreciation for tuna salad. The white beans add an extra punch of protein and the Dijon vinaigrette is made with extra virgin olive oil, a good fat.

My mother is a tuna fish snubber.  Actually, she is an overall seafood snubber who turns 100 shades of green at the slightest whiff of even the freshest catch. Never mind a can of tuna. My firstborn inherited that recessive gene, although she enjoys an occasional tuna salad and gave my recipe a two forks up rating. I hope you do, too!

Tender, bright green asparagus is one of the sure signs that spring has sprung…and a reminder to get eating light to begin feeling light after one very heavy winter.  Hubby bought the first young bunch of the season’s delicate, thin-stemmed stalks and it didn’t take me long to figure out what to do with such a treasure. Prepare what has to be the easiest and snazziest veggie side dish there is to make: sauteed asparagus with balsamic glaze. It’s a snap to prepare, even for novice cooks (me, 25 years ago).

Speaking of snap, one quick snap is all it takes to remove the woody stems.  Simply bend each asparagus stalk until it snaps, collect the tough ends and proceed to find the pair of rabbits that moved into the neighborhood over winter. They’re now rather chubby bunnies  who could probably use the extra roughage.

After steaming the asparagus in a covered skillet, sautee one cup of grape tomatoes (if they’re too large cut them in half) and half of a thinly sliced red onion in one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Add two generous tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan. Savor the waff of aroma swirling in the air before covering and simmering for two minutes. Pour mixture over the steamed asparagus and for a little extra pizzazz top the sauteed asparagus with balsamic glaze with a dusting of shredded Parmesan, or serve it as is for an equally delish vegan version.

Authentic balsamic vinegar is a pricey condiment but if you can swing it, it’s well worth it. Originating from the Modena region of Italy, true balsamic vinegar is made by boiling and reducing Trebbiano grape pressings to a deep, dark syrup. After a fermentation and aging process, the end result is a thick, robust, concentrated flavor that is out of this world.

Mmm mm. Sauteed asparagus with balsamic glaze is an effortless preparation that delivers whopping flavor that still tastes light. And I’m all about feeling light these days. 🙂

Enjoy!

It’s December 24th and I’m posting a recipe for traditional Colombian Christmas cheese fritters, called buñuelos. Untimely? A little behind the eight ball? Scrooge-like? Nope, nope and nope. Folks will be ’tis-ing the season for the next week and these yummy puff balls will make an especially nummy nosh for New Year’s. These cheese fritters are a delightful aperitif and believe me when I say they pair deliciously with my new-found favorite blended wine, called “Mixed Up.”  And besides, my fellow Orthodox Christians and I have another 13 days until Christmas so in that regard this post is actually early.

The month of December is busy, busy, busy — primarily in a good way.  However, the timing of my family discovering these delicious cheese fritters was just plain awful. Hunky Hubby and I played role reversal last week and while I was off to work he used some extra vacation days to stay home and do the final preparations before our slava. Trying new recipes and making old favorites, cleaning and tidying and erranding and…making Colombian cheese fritters. That last to-do was sprung on him when eldest Beauty announced that she needed to bring in a traditional Colombian Christmas food to AP Spanish the day after slava.  Gotta love it. There should be a ban on such teacher directives as parents almost always get sucked in.

Though the timing was terrible, our family is happy to add Colombian cheese fritters to our foodie experiences. These cheese fritters are actually easy to make (according to my Love), are not greasy, and can be made in advanced and heated for a few seconds in the microwave. We prefer them as a savoy treat sans the traditional Nutella topping or dipping into hot chocolate.

As I’m nestled on the sofa while writing this post I am thankful for this quiet night and hope all of you who are celebrating are doing so with reverent and joyful hearts!

This past week was Bright Week for Eastern Orthodox Christians and the sunny skies, warmer temperatures and blooming foliage added to our joyous celebration of the Resurrection. Yes, we rejoiced celebrating Easter (Pascha) this past Sunday.  If you’re perplexed I recommend reading this wonderful explanation why Orthodox Easter was a month after most other Christians celebrated Easter on March 31st.

So where am I going with this? I had a bowl full of colored Easter eggs in the fridge and a taste for creamy deviled eggs. And I’m not ashamed to admit that my motive for creating my own version of avocado deviled eggs was due in part to my desire to reduce the cholesterol in these little delights and equally in part to selfishly wanting to save some calories –so I could indulge in a handful of peanut M&M’s for dessert.  Hey, ya gotta live a little!

A tiny dollop of Greek yogurt  adds to the velvety texture of the avocado and lends a subtle tang. A pinch of smoky Spanish paprika with a smidgen of granulated garlic provides the “Hmm factor.” You know, that brief moment after taking a bite when you can’t quite put your finger on the ingredient(s) behind that unique taste.

I can see these smoky avocado deviled eggs making an appearance on a few of the buffets I serve throughout the year, casual get-togethers with family and friends noshing on finger foods with a fine red wine in hand. And by fine I mean tasty, price is irrelevant to this budget wine connoisseur.

Of course, my resident food critics include a 17 year old avocado snubber who politely passed on taking even the tiniest of tiny bites. My other two critics gave these smoky avocado deviled eggs  two forks up, with Hubby noting that he’d prefer a bit more Spanish paprika and garlic. It’s all a matter of taste so go ahead and twist and turn the filling to make it your own. The dab of Greek yogurt can easily be eliminated if you don’t have any on hand or substituted with sour cream.

In keeping with tradition I greet you with Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!