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Summer of Salads: Wedge Salad

YumSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:50:48 -0700

In an age of arugula and frisée, the 1960s Americana icon known as iceberg lettuce might seem behind the times. It's true that iceberg is virtually devoid of nutrients, and lacks the flavor and roughage of contemporary chicories. But coming to terms with the fact that iceberg isn't exactly an antioxidant is what's helped me to embrace it. I now love the leaves for their sheer juiciness and ice-cold crunch.

My favorite way to enjoy the 'berg? As a huge wedge, pulled straight from the crisper and topped with salty bacon bits, soft, powdery egg, and a generous drizzle of creamy, slightly tangy blue cheese dressing. Sure, it's a throwback to yesteryear, but the flavors still feel entirely new. Get the recipe after the break

Fast & Easy Dinner: Loaded Spinach Salad

partysugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:50:41 -0700

Sometimes it's nice to have a satisfying salad for dinner.

This spinach variation is full of colorful beets, sweet carrots, crunchy pecans, and hard boiled eggs. To cut back the calories, the recipe discards the majority of the egg yolks.

Although a store-bought dressing is delicious, if you have time, make the creamy blue cheese dressing that accompanies the salad recipe. For this quick vegetarian meal, read more.

Loaded Spinach Salad
From Eating Well

Ingredients

8 large eggs
6 cups baby spinach
4 tablespoons Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe follows), divided
1 8-ounce can beets, rinsed and sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Directions

Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at the lowest simmer for 10 minutes. Pour off the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until they are completely cooled. Peel the eggs, discard 6 of the yolks, chop the remaining yolks and whites.
Toss spinach and 2 tablespoons dressing in a large bowl. Divide between 2 plates.
Top with chopped eggs, beets, carrots and pecans. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons dressing.

Serves 2.

Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing

1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk or nonfat milk
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar or white vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (1 ounce)

Whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk (or milk), yogurt, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Add cheese and stir, mashing with a spoon until the cheese is incorporated.

Makes 1 1/4 cups.

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A Condiment Worth Making: Blue Cheese Dressing

partysugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:15:05 -0700

It may be old-fashioned, but I love a good wedge salad. With its crisp, cool lettuce and tangy, creamy dressing, the iceberg and blue cheese combination is incredibly comforting. While good bottled blue cheese dressings exist, there's nothing like the thick, rich homemade variation.

It's not only delicious in the wedge salad, but it's great on spinach salads, tasty as a dip with carrots or buffalo wings, and scrumptious slathered as a spread on steak sandwiches. To learn how to make this simple yet rewarding dressing, read more.

Blue Cheese Dressing
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot (about 1 shallot)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 cup crumbled domestic blue cheese

Directions

Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, shallot, chives, lemon juice, coarse salt, pepper, and celery salt in a small bowl.
Fold in blue cheese. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing.

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Camping Gone Gourmet Side: Grilled Lettuce

partysugar — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:31:58 -0700

The next time you're camping, serve grilled lettuce instead of a predictable side salad. Grilled lettuce makes for an excellent twist on a salad and it's deliciously crisp. Make the blue cheese dressing and bacon crumbles before you leave for the campground and pack both in your cooler with the lettuce. Grill the lettuce like you would any other veggie and pair with sliced tri-tip or barbecued chicken. It's the perfect camping gone gourmet side, so check out the recipe read more

Grilled Lettuce With Blue Cheese Dressing
From Fine Cooking magazine
Image Source

For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whole milk; more as needed
6 oz. crumbled blue cheese, such as Roquefort or Danish Blue; more to taste
1-1/2 Tbs. finely grated shallot
1 clove finely grated garlic
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more to taste
For the salad:
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, bases trimmed but left intact, halved lengthwise
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled (preferably applewood)

Make the dressing: in a medium bowl, stir the mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, blue cheese, shallot, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to let the flavors develop. Before using, taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. The dressing will thicken as it sits and may need to be thinned with more milk.
Prepare the salad: once the dressing is chilled, heat a gas grill to medium low or prepare a medium-low charcoal fire. Be sure the grate is hot, too.
Lightly brush olive oil all over the romaine hearts, taking care not to break the leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Put the lettuce cut side down on the grate, directly over the heat. Grill until the outer leaves are charred and wilted and the lettuce is warm and just barely tender all the way through to the core, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill.
Transfer the lettuce to a clean platter and let rest for 5 minutes.
To serve: place half a heart of romaine, cut side up, on each plate, top with about 2 tablespoons of the blue cheese dressing, or more to taste, and sprinkle with the crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Photos of Wedge Salad

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:46:25 -0700

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

partysugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:30:55 -0700

One of our favorite places to search for wonderful recipes is MyRecipes.com - the site that houses all of the recipes from several great food magazines like Cooking Light, Sunset, and Southern Living. We love the website so much that we've become fabulous friends and they're graciously providing this month’s Fast & Easy dinner recipes!

To get things started, I've found this delicious and filling salad recipe. Here, the classic Cobb is jazzed up with a green goddess dressing packed with fresh herbs. It's a wonderfully scrumptious dinner -especially after yesterday's Mexican food overload - so get the recipe now and read more.

Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
From Cooking Light

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
Salad:
8 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 cup trimmed watercress
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
2 tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges (about 1 pound)
2 hard-cooked large eggs, each cut into 4 wedges
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Get more recipes at MyRecipes.com

Directions

To prepare dressing, place first 11 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Chill.
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and watercress in a large bowl.
Place 2 cups lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates.
Arrange 6 tablespoons chicken, 4 tomato wedges, 2 egg wedges, 2 tablespoons avocado, and 1 tablespoon cheese over each serving. Serve each salad with 1/4 cup dressing.

Serves 4.

Nutritional Information: CALORIES 273(39% from fat); FAT 11.8g (sat 3.6g,mono 4.3g,poly 2.5g); PROTEIN 25.7g; CHOLESTEROL 158mg; CALCIUM 196mg; SODIUM 637mg; FIBER 3.8g; IRON 3.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.3g

Like the recipe above? Try out some of these other ones:

- 7 Cool Salads Under 300 Calories
- Dinner Tonight Recipes in 45-Minutes or Less
- Eat Smart at CookingLight.com
- Get More Salad Recipes

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Blue Cheese Dressing

partysugar — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:15:41 -0700

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Must-Read: BBQ Bash

partysugar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:00:59 -0700

Last year I received a copy of BBQ Bash: The Be-All, End-All Party Guide, from Barefoot to Black Tie ($16.95) by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig. I quickly flipped through the pages, but since it was October, I stored it on the book shelf.

Then two weeks ago I was sitting on my couch, looked up, and swore BBQ Bash jumped out at me. I scooped it up and started reading. To find out why I couldn't put this book down - even on the bus - read more.

Pros:

It's written by two females, the BBQ Queens, so instead of taking a stereotypical manly point of view, the tone offers a refreshing anyone-can-do-it attitude.
Filled with hundreds of mouthwatering recipes, helpful tips, party plans, interesting lists (example: 15 different flavored butters), general information on grilling, smoking, and barbecuing.
To the authors, barbecue is a 24/seven, 365-day-a-year thing - meaning there is something for everyone.
The party plans are festive and fun. They include such themes as A Black-Tie Barbecue, Home For the Holidays Barbecue, and A Cozy Dinner a Deux.
There're plenty of cocktail recipes, too.

Cons:

Lack of photos. There's a small color photo spread in the center of the book that features 14 images. Other than that, the book is photo-free.
Some of the recipes call for specialty ingredients like artisanal prosciutto, peppadews, and tarragon vinegar.
Other recipes are uncreative and rely on store-made products. A salmon recipe is little more than salmon fillets marinated in Italian dressing and Seafood Magic rub.
There's no index or list of the drink recipes making them hard to find.

Recipes: Each recipe is followed up with helpful pointers: to "deck it out" (make the dish seem more formal), to "take it easy" (simplify the recipe), to "change it up" (meat, herb, and cheese substitutions), and to "raise a glass" (alcoholic beverage pairing suggestions). Here are some that caught my eye:

Rioja-style grilled pork tenderloin tapas
Limoncello spritzers
Big Easy grilled beef tenderloin, Zinfandel-glazed baby back ribs with a kiss of smoke
Blue cheese coleslaw
Grilled Winter-greens with warm cranberry port-vinaigrette
Grilled chocolate crostini
Dulce de leche sauce

Imagery: As mentioned above, there are only 14 color photos. The rest of the book is filled with curvy illustrations.

Overall: If you do a lot of outdoor entertaining and don't mind a cookbook without images, this book is perfect for you!

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Come Party With Me: Outdoor Concert - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:00:03 -0700

During the Summer, most cities host some sort of outdoor concert series. New York has Summer Stage in Central Park, in San Francisco's there's Stern Grove, and Chicago's home to Ravinia. While these events are about enjoying music in the open air, the food cannot be overlooked: a scrumptious picnic makes an outdoor concert! So this week pack a basket and head to your local amphitheater.

Steak sandwiches are a portable favorite, and Ina Garten's recipe with sautéed onions, arugula, and mustard mayonnaise will impress your friends. Make use of Summer's ripe tomatoes with a fresh tomato salad. When placed on a bed of watercress and drizzled with a blue cheese dressing, potato salad goes glam. Be sure to keep the salad's three components separate until serving. No picnic is complete without fruit, and watermelon cubes are a refreshing treat. To look at these recipes, read more.

Steak Sandwich
From Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) 1-inch thick New York strip boneless beef top loin steak
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions, sliced in rings
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 recipe Mustard Mayo, recipe follows
2 mini focaccia buns, sliced in 1/2
1/2 cup baby arugula

Directions

Season the steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steak on each side for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and cook the steak for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Slice the steak into strips.
Using the same saute pan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme and saute for 10 minutes, until the onions are brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally.
To assemble the sandwiches, spread a tablespoon of Mustard Mayo on the bottom half of each bun. Place a layer of the steak strips on top of the mayo, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with the caramelized onion rings. Place the baby arugula on top of the onion rings, and cover the sandwiches with the top half of the buns.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Mustard Mayo:

3/4 cup good mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve at room temperature.

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Tomato Salad
From Everyday With Rachael Ray

Ingredients

8 plum tomatoes-seeded, quartered and thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
In a medium bowl, toss together the tomatoes, onion, basil and parsley and dress with the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 8.

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Grilled Potato Salad With Watercress, Green Onions, and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
1 large shallot, chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
12 medium red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled (about 2 3/4 pounds)
Additional olive oil
2 bunches watercress, stems trimmed
3 green onions, chopped

Directions

Combine vinegar, shallot, and mustard in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Mix in cheese. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 16 minutes. Drain; cool completely. Cut potatoes into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Brush rounds on both sides with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Arrange watercress on platter. Grill potatoes until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
Mound warm potatoes atop watercress; sprinkle with green onions. Spoon vinaigrette over potatoes.

Serves 4-6.

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Watermelon Squares in Campari
From Whole Living

Ingredients

One 5- to 6-pound watermelon, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup Campari (optional)

Directions

Using a very sharp knife, slice the rind from the bottom of each watermelon half. The halves will now lay flat on a cutting board.
Working from top to bottom, trim the rind from the watermelon flesh in 4 cuts, creating 2 large squares. Cut each square in half to make 4 smaller squares. Cut the squares vertically into thirds. Rotate counterclockwise and repeat the cut. Rotate once more counterclockwise and cut into thirds again.
Place on dessert plates and serve each with 2 tablespoons of Campari, if desired.

Serves 4.

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What Would You Make?

partysugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:13:33 -0800

You know the drill, but just in case you are new around here: You are at home and hungry for food. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/ girlfriend/ spouse/ child/ friend, but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.

You have a bunch of cooked bacon leftover from yesterday's BLT dinner. You have fresh, ripe avocados, and a carton of eggs. Using these ingredients, along with whatever staples you currently have in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make? Tell me in the comments section below!

To see what I would make, read more

I would start by hard boiling a few eggs.
Next I would make a blue cheese dressing with blue cheese and heavy cream - two ingredients I happen to have sitting in my fridge right now - mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley.
I would cover a plate with washed and cleaned spinach and top with the chopped bacon and chunked avocado.
Once the eggs are cooked I would dice and add them to the salad.
I would top the salad with a drizzle of the blue cheese dressing and serve the dish with a nice glass of sparkling Shiraz.

Source