Strawberry, Feta, and Kale Salad

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Lattes and Leggings

“When you cook, you never stop learning. That’s the fascination of it.” – James Beard. This quote appeared in my Twitter feed yesterday and really resonated with me. When I prepared this salad, I discovered kale to be my new favorite salad green. What also surprised me was how strawberries can work well in a savory salad with roasted kale and salty feta and almonds tossed in a champagne vinaigrette.

Roasting the kale was a spur of the moment decision. I’m not fond of raw kale or chard, but I had plans to massage the raw kale and give it another whirl in hopes of changing my mind. The thought of roasted kale tossed in olive oil and coarse salt sounded more delicious.

Only the edges of the leaves get crispy so they don’t turn into kale chips. So keep an eye out so they don’t turn brown either because the leaves are so delicate. Roasting brings out a depth of flavor in the leafy greens compared to raw kale.

If you don’t have champagne vinegar, no worries! White wine vinegar is the perfect substitute. I used a bag of roasted, salted almonds and roughly chopped them for the salad. Because, you know, I love salt with just about everything.

Strawberry, Feta, and Kale Salad
inspired by Food & Wine

Careful not to over-roast. When roasting the kale, only the edges should be crisp while the inner leaves should be soft to keep them from turning into kale chips. Don’t have champagne vinegar? No worries. White wine vinegar will work perfectly. I also prefer using lacinato “dinosaur” “tuscan” kale because the leaves are flat versus the curly leafed kind, but either one will work.

serves 2

Ingredients
1 bunch lacinato kale, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
kosher salt
1 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup roasted salted almonds, roughly chopped

Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.

Arrange the kale on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss to coat. Roast for 6 to 8 minutes until kale is slightly crisp only around the edges. The inner leaves should still be soft. Remove from the oven to cool.

Meanwhile make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, add the champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil. Whisk together until well blended. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad: Arrange the kale on salad plates. Top with strawberries, feta, and almonds. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and serve.

Broccoli Crunch Salad with Avocado Dressing

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Lattes and Leggings

A year ago my husband said, “you should start a food blog.” I looked at him like he was crazy. I didn’t understand the blogging world nor did I want to be a part of it. Why would I want to put myself out there when I rarely update a Facebook status? But maybe he had a point. I was constantly tweeting pics of pastas and chicken dinners. My sister would ask me for a recipe every now and then too. Most importantly, I was constantly adapting recipes to suit our tastes and needs. So why not have a recipe journal that could be treasured forever.

After grueling hours of crunching numbers and staring at financial statements day after day, the stress, panic attacks, and lack of work-life balance started to take a toll on my health. I had to say goodbye to it. This was two years ago. Right after that Brock and I started an internet company, a fashion e-commerce site that would find ourselves investing way too much time and money that ultimately didn’t take off. At the time, I still wasn’t ready to step foot back into the corporate world. So here we are a few recipes and photos later, and I’ll admit Brock was right about this whole blog thing. It’s fulfilling and keeps me busy. It’s a passion that I never knew existed, especially after working in a restaurant for five plus years, but it does.

Guess that cooking gene did get passed down from my grandmother, a woman who would stand in the kitchen all day long brewing up something delicious and unexpected for dinner. Each dish she made told a story, especially a couscous dish she learned to make when my family lived in Morocco. That one sticks out in my mind the most. I never liked it. It had raisins in it. But it’s a picture and memory that will be forever in my mind, sitting around the dinner table sharing that meal.

I read Bon Appetit over Vogue and Instyle now. I’d rather go to a farmer’s market than to Bloomingdale’s. I’d rather cook a fresh wild-caught piece of fish and drink a good bottle of wine than go out to an overly priced fancy restaurant.

It’s crazy how your perspective changes in one year. Where your inspiration is drawn from now. What makes you tick. Most importantly, what makes you happy.

Thank you for following me on this cooking journey. It means more to me than you will ever know. Your comments are the bright lights on the downest days. So here’s to another year of sharing meals around the dinner table and of course, lots and lots of chocolate.

Broccoli Crunch Salad with Avocado Dressing

The amount of lettuce and toppings for the salad are just guidelines. Feel free to add more or less to your likings. Depending on the size of the tupperware, you may need to work in batches to toss the salad with the dressing.

serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups bibb or butter lettuce, torn leaves
2 cups baby arugula
1 cup sprouts (such as clover and radish)
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup crumbled feta

Dressing:
1 avocado, halved and pitted
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon honey
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bright green. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to an ice bath to cool completely. Drain the broccoli. Set aside.

Using a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and honey. Process until mixture is chunky. Add 4 tablespoons of water and process until smooth and creamy. The dressing will be slightly thick like mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a large tupperware with a tight-fitted lid, add the bibb lettuce, arugula, sprouts, broccoli, cucumber, sunflower seeds, almonds, and feta. Spoon the desired amount of dressing over the salad. Cover with a tight-fitted lid and shake the tupperware, tossing to coat. Transfer to salad bowls. Sprinkle with kosher salt if needed and serve.

Blood Orange and Golden Beet Salad with Crispy Quinoa

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Lattes and Leggings

I was inspired to make this salad when I came across a sale for blood oranges at the market. There were only a handful of them left so I picked up one along with a few small loose golden beets. The last time I bought a blood orange was years ago when I lived in Florida and was first learning how to cook. I’ve never been one to peel an orange and just eat it. Something about the texture shies me away from it, but the taste and tartness from the blood orange is so different from the average orange. Not to mention the color is striking.

There are plenty of blood orange salad recipes out there, but none have really sounded all that great to even try them. The other day, however, I was flipping through one of my cookbooks and came across a blood orange salad, but what stood out to me was using balsamic vinegar. I see a lot of salads that include the citrus, but also include the citrus in the dressing which to me is a bit too much acidity and sweetness.

You need a balance. I wanted to create a savory salad by adding golden beets with the blood orange segments being the only sweet factor. Also I wanted to create a salad with lots of texture by adding crispy quinoa and toasted hazelnuts. Obviously salt rounds out flavors in any dish, so I added feta. Feta is like bacon. It makes everything taste better.

The most time consuming part is roasting the beets. I’ve tried different methods of cooking beets, and I will say roasting whole beets is the easiest. All you do is trim, wash, drizzle with oil, and wrap in foil.

Crispy quinoa adds a crunchy texture to the salad. After you cook the quinoa, increase the heat to toast it until golden. Simple as that. Just make sure to drizzle in more olive oil if the quinoa sticks to the pan.

Now let’s talk about the dressing. This is the type of dressing you’ll want to make for your everyday salads. I used to buy store-bought dressings, then I came to the conclusion it’s not worth it because there’s all of these vinegars and oils sitting in the cabinet. Why not make your own? If you have balsamic, red wine, or white wine vinegar, it’s easy to create your own dressing. Just remember equal parts oil and vinegar or more vinegar if you like more of a tang and acidity.

A salad full of color in the hopes of spring to come soon.

Blood Orange and Golden Beet Salad with Crispy Quinoa
inspired by a salad in Everyday Italian

serves 2 to 3

Ingredients
3 small beets
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 cup quinoa
4 cups mixed baby greens
1 blood orange, peeled and segmented
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts, (see note below)

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Trim the tops and bottoms of the beets and rinse them to remove any dirt. Drizzle olive oil over the beets. Wrap the beets in foil and place them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes until they are fork tender. Allow the beets to cool. Peel the skin off the beets with a vegetable peeler and slice them 1/4-inch thick.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a boil over high heat. Add the quinoa, give it a quick stir, and cover with a tight fitted lid. Simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat. All of the water should have absorbed. Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium. Cook the quinoa for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and adding more olive oil if the quinoa sticks to the pan, until crispy and golden. Remove pan from heat. Set aside.

In a small bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, onion, dijon mustard, honey, and olive oil. Whisk together until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add the mixed greens and quinoa. Drizzle enough vinaigrette to coat the salad. Toss to combine. Arrange the beets and orange segments on top of the salad. Sprinkle with feta and hazelnuts. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the salad or serve on the side. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Note: To toast hazelnuts, spread them on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The hazelnuts will brown slightly, and the skins will become flaky making it easier to remove them.