Bittersweet Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

A colorful bowl of culinary contrast.

Night and day. Black and white. Crosby and Bowie. Life is all about opposites and so is this salad. The greens bring the bitter, the oranges bring the sweetness and our honey vinaigrette ties the whole thing together.

Equipment Needed: Colander, Large Bowl, Small Bowl, Chef’s Knife, Cutting Board, Cheese Grater, Vegetable Peeler, Whisk (or) Fork

Serving Suggestion: Family Style

Servings: 6

Suggested Wine Pairing: Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc

Suggested Beer Pairing: Hefeweizen, Pilsner, Lager, Belgian Whites

Ingredients:

• 1 large carrot ($0.99/lb)
• 1 head radicchio (about $2.99/each)
• 3 bulbs Belgian endive ($3.99/lb)
• 3 medium oranges ($2.99/lb)
• 1 1/2 TBSP spicy brown mustard ($1.99/12 oz)
• 1 TBSP honey ($4.39/12 oz)
• 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil ($9.99/32 oz)
• 3 TBSP balsamic vinegar (about $6/17 oz bottle)
• 1 small shallot (about $3.99/lb)
• Salt
• Pepper

Vinaigrette Preparation:

• Peel and dice the shallot and toss it in your small bowl. Add the mustard, honey, vinegar and olive oil and whisk everything together.

Try experimenting with lemon or orange-infused olive oils to add an extra dimension of flavor.

• Give it a taste and add a little salt and pepper to make it sing. Keep it in a separate bowl and let everyone dress their own salad.

Salad Preparation:

• This being a salad and all, the preparation will be pretty simple. Cut the radicchio head in half and remove the core. Cut the halves again and then into 1/2 inch slices and toss them into your colander.
• Cut the endive in half lengthwise and remove the core from those pieces as well. We kept these in halves but if you want smaller pieces go ahead and quarter these crosswise. Add to the colander, rinse and drain the greens. Once they’ve dried toss them in your bowl.

We like to cut the endive lengthwise to preserve its shape.

• Peel and wash the carrot then grate it into the bowl with your leafies.
• Peel the oranges and cut them in half crosswise (across the horizontal center of the fruit). Proceed to separate each of the sections and add them to the veggie bowl. Toss and serve with your dressing.

Italian Chicken Sub

 

Piccata to go.

 

Remember that Chicken Piccata you made that was so awesome? Wouldn’t it be great to make it portable? Stop your wishing right there and just add bread.

Equipment Needed: Cutting Board, Bread Knife or Chef’s Knife

Serving Suggestion: Individual

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• Leftover chicken picatta
• Leftover arugula
• Leftover artichoke hearts
• Parmagiano reggiano cheese
• Hot sauce, pesto or mayo
• Italian bread

Preparation:

• Cut yourself off a decent piece of Italian bread (4-6 inches) and slice it lengthwise.
• Layer some arugula on the bottom, put chicken on top, add some artichokes and grate cheese on the whole heap. Add your dressing of choice and enjoy.
• Bonus points for toasting it.

Market Basket Salad

Like a bowl of fresh sunshine.

Confession time: we had to Google “kohlrabi” to figure out what the hell it was, let alone what to do with it. Our besties at Wikipedia helped us out with this handy definition, but to give you the short version it’s a member of the cabbage family that tastes kinda like the stalks of broccoli. Our CSA gave us some fennel and yellow carrots this week too, and thus the market basket salad was created. This light and refreshing mix of unique flavors makes your mouth feel like it’s on summer vacation and serves as a nice counterpoint to the inevitable overload of grilled meats that you’ve no doubt indulged in by now (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Equipment Needed: Chef’s Knife, Cutting Board, Mixing Bowl, Vegetable Peeler, Spoon

Serving Suggestion: Family Style

Servings: 6

Suggested Wine Pairing: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Fume Blanc, Vinho Verde (crisp or fruity whites, you get the idea)

Suggested Beer Pairing: Hefeweizen, Belgian White, Pilsner, Saison

Ingredients:

• 2 kohlrabi bulbs (about $3/bulb)
• 1 fennel bulb (about $3/bulb)
• 1 large yellow carrot (you can use regular carrots if you can’t find yellow ones ($1/lb)
• 1 lemon ($0.50 each)
• 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil ($9.99/34 oz)
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation:

• Thoroughly wash and dry all of the veggies. Peel and grate your carrot and throw the results in your mixing bowl.

Grating makes it easier to get small, consistent pieces.

• Cut the stalks off of the kohlrabi and fennel bulbs. Peel and quarter the kohlrabi, then cut each quarter into slices as thinly as you can without winning a trip to the ER for stitches.

Check out the samurai knife skills. Santoku!

• Halve the fennel bulb and cut into thin slices as well. Toss all of your veggies into the mixing bowl, add the olive oil and squeeze the juice of one lemon into the mix. Throw in a couple pinches of salt and pepper and stir it all up and enjoy the freshness.

Tastes like licorice. You can sautee them a bit to lessen the bite if you want.

Gringo Guacamole

Dios mio. Una cuchara, por favor.

We would eat guacamole with a spoon if it were socially acceptible, but alas people tend to stare when you walk around mowing down a mixing bowl of mashed avocados. Luckily, this recipe is simple enough to whip up in about five minutes, making it easy for sudden jonesings for Mexican, munchies, or well-planned snacking. Keep it simple, and so help me if you use cilantro (sorry, that was Jake, he’s cilantro-averse).

Equipment Needed: Mixing Bowl or Storage Container, Large Fork, Chef’s Knife, Cutting Board

Serving Suggestion: Family Style

Servings: 4

Suggested Wine Pairing: Sangria, Bloody Maria (we know it’s not wine, just go with it)

Suggested Beer Pairing: Negra Modela, Corona, Michelada

Ingredients:

• 3 large avocados (usually about $2.50 each)
• 3 cloves of garlic ($2.99 lb)
• 1 lime ($.50)
• 1 TSP cayenne pepper ($3/bottle)
• Frank’s Red Hot to taste ($2.99/bottle)

Preparation

• Slice each avocado down the center lengthwise and twist the halves apart. To remove the pit, tap your knife edge into the center until it’s wedged in, then twist the knife away from you to dislodge the pit from the flesh. Scoop the avocado flesh into your bowl/container.

Hack out the pit, but please watch your fingers.

• Peel and mince the garlic cloves and add to the avocado.

• Toss in the juice of one lime, the cayenne pepper and a few dashes of Red Hot (we use a tablespoon or so). Mash the avocado with a large fork, or you can use a potato masher for larger batches, and make sure all of the ingredients mix together well. Serve out of a bowl appropriate to the occasion, or just use a spoon, we won’t tell.

Roll the lime on your cutting board to get the juices flowing before you cut it.

Mash and mix everything together well.