Black Eyed Pea Salsa

I always have a hard time with incorporating black eyed peas into our new year's day meals.   Not this year!  This salsa comes to me from my sister in law, and it's a real winner.  It could also serve as a side dish or salad at a party but really shines on tortilla chips (what doesn't?).  Anyway, I'm thrilled she shared the recipe with me.

Black Eyed Pea Salsa
Adapted from my Sister in Law, Keri

Ingredients
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 4 oz can green chiles
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 ear corn, boiled for 2-3 minutes and cut off the ear (or 1 cup frozen)
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
2-3 green onions, diced.

Mix all ingredients together.  Serve in day 2 if possible.

Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

In my house, you can never have too many salad dressing recipes.  We eat salad pretty much every night.   Tim McGraw would be so proud.

This dressing is just a hint of spice, without being overwhelming, although if you leave the seeds and ribs on, watch out!  It's equally good on salad as it is as a dip.  You could also drizzle it over black bean patties.

Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
Adapted from Confessions of a Foodie Bride


Ingredients
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayo
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 small bunch of chives (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
Small handful cilantro
1-2 jalapenos, seeds and stem removed
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk


Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and then blend for 10-20 seconds. Check consistency and blend in buttermilk to thin as needed. If it's dressing, more.  If it's dip, less.
Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge.

Chipotle Chicken Salad

This salad was so delicious!  It is a great light meal.  Even my father, who is not exactly adventuresome, pretended to enjoy it.  The dressing is not spicy, and I love the avocado in this salad.  It is absolutely awesome!  I ate it for lunch the second day, and it was still wonderful.

Chipotle Chicken Salad
adapted from Nutmeg Notebook


Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 whole chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, with 1 tsp of sauce added
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce (2 heads)

1 1/2 lbs chicken (I marinated in 3 tablespoons canola oil, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp salt for a minimum of 6 hours)

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

1 cup yellow tomatoes, sliced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 diced peeled avocadoes
1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
2 ears corn, boiled for 2 minutes and then cut off the cob.

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients in a food processor until well combined.

To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Black Bean, Corn, and Edamame Salad

When you have just been at the funeral mass for your mom, and you dig into a salad, and you think "Man, that's tasty.  I have to figure out how to copy that"....you know it's good.

Or that you have a serious cooking obsession.  Either one.

I also had to make this right away, so that it wouldn't build up in my head as "that salad the day we said goodbye to mom."  It had to be a tuesday salad, a nothing salad, a "boy, it's hot out" dinner.  I'm trying to reinvent my life into bundles of time that are less sad.  Wish me luck with that.

Let it be so for you, too- perhaps "that delicious salad I made for my mom."



Black Bean, Corn, and Edamame Salad with Cilantro and Lime Dressing
adapted from tastefully julie

Ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (or sugar)
2 cobs of corn, cooked, cooled, and corn cut from cob (about 2 cups)
1 cup edamame, cooked and cooled
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
Combine the lime juice, oil, and agave or sugar. Whisk together and set aside.
Add the corn, edamame, black beans, onion, and cilantro to a bowl.
Pour dressing over the mixture and stir together gently.
Refrigerate for at least one hour, up to overnight, to allow flavors to blend.

NOTE: updated on 8/18/12 to omit garlic.  Much better without!!

Romaine, Chicken, Avocado, and Balsamic Reduction Sauce Salad

Here's the nice, light salad I promised!

We have this great place by us.  It's total bar food.  There's lousy, not so fresh popcorn served as soon as you sit down.  It has great burgers, great hot dogs, and also-unexpectedly- some amazing salads. This is one of them.  Any way I can eat more avocado is always welcome.  The balsamic reduction sauce is really sweet- I want to try it with strawberries!

 Romaine, Chicken, Avocado, and Balsamic Reduction Sauce Salad
Balsamic reduction adapted from Jeff Mauro

Balsamic Reduction

4 cups balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
8 fresh basil leaves
5 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large shallot, roughly chopped

1 head romaine lettuce
Grilled chicken breast or thighs
Cherry tomatoes
1 avocado

Heat the balsamic vinegar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, basil, thyme, garlic and shallots into the saucepan and stir. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and let cook until the liquid is reduced to 1 1/3 cups, 45 to 60  minutes. To measure, you may have to strain at 45 minutes, see where you are, then poor back in pot.  It's ok not to re-add all the onions and such back at that point.  Otherwise, once the mixture is reduced, strain it through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl and let cool. Store the balsamic base in the fridge; it's great as salad dressing, marinade, drizzled over steaks, over strawberries.

Chipotle Ranch Dressing

I love homemade salad dressings.  I take great pleasure in making things from scratch, and keeping preservatives and god knows what else out of us.  Well, except for the adobo sauce bathing the chile peppers- that doesn't count!

This dressing has a good kick, and is great for dipping fries, salads, and sandwiches.   I think it's my new favorite!


Chipotle ranch dressing
Adapted from foodie bride 

3/4 cup mayo (low fat)
3/4 cup sour cream (low fat is fine; or you can replace half or all with fat-free Greek yogurt)
2-3 canned chipotle peppers with 1 Tbsp sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 small bunch of chives
Small handful of cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk (optional)


To make the dressing, place all dressing ingredients except the buttermilk in a blender.
Blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency and add buttermilk if desired (less buttermilk for dipping, more for dressing).
Store in an air-tight mason jar in the fridge for a week or more.

Curried Chicken Salad

I have been addicted to this salad at my work.  I've been looking for a replica, and this salad does my work one better!  I love that it has no rice, that the raisins get plump with the curry mayo-yogurt mix.  It's a nice sweetness, and it also makes sure my husband will stay away from my "raisin salad."

This is a great weekday lunch!

Curried Chicken Salad

Adapted from Cook Like  a Champion

Ingredients:

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

3-4 tablespoons plain or Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon curry powder

Large pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 cup red grapes, halved; or raisins, or chopped apple

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, curry powder, salt and pepper. Add the chicken, celery, fruit and scallions and toss to coat evenly with the yogurt mixture. Stir in the cilantro/parsley. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Banh Mi Salad with Chicken

We are always looking for vegetable full, low fat, low carb dinners.  I always love dinners with some spice to them, too, because it always has a natural way to slow your eating and make you eat less!  I love the rice vinegar on the salad.  It's got  such a nice sweetness.  The original recipe calls for this to be on a sandwich, but we enjoy the salad adaptation.  You could eliminate the spice by eliminating the sriracha mayo, but then- you'd be getting rid of the best part!

Banh Mi Salad
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan in Parade Magazine


Banh Mi–Style Chicken Sandwiches

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp sriracha (Thai hot sauce)
2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced
1/4 cup sweet red chili sauce
1 to 2 jalapeños, thinly sliced
2/3 English cucumber, peeled and thickly sliced
Mint (I didn't have) and cilantro leaves
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

Combine  mayonnaise and sriracha. Grill or poach chicken.  Add jalapeños, cucumber, and herbs, then to lettuce and carrots.  Toss with the vinegar.  Top with grilled chicken, then drizzle with sriracha mayonnaise and red chili sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

It's hot.  Cooking indoors is not an appealing option.  But somehow, spicy food is perfect in the heat.  This salad lets you eat buffalo wings without the horrible fried drug sticks, messy fingers, and blaring TV in the sports bar.  : )

It's fairly healthy, and you could make it more so by skipping the butter in the spicy marinade altogether, although there is quite a kick if unmitigated by the blue cheese.  We ate this as an entree salad.  I always find eating spicy things makes you satisfied with less food.


Buffalo Chicken Salad
adapted from Ellie Krieger

Chicken:
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I'm partial to Frank's or Tabasco)
1 Tablespoon of butter, melted
3 tablespoons olive  oil
1 -1 1/2 lbs chicken breast cut into 1 1/2 inch strips, or chicken breast tenders

Lettuce- romaine, or spring mix

Marinate chicken in 3 tablespoons olive oil for at least 3 hours, or several days.  Preheat the grill.  Grill chicken  for about 4-5 minutes per side, until cooked through.  In a large bowl, combine the hot sauce and the butter, add chicken and toss until the chicken is well coated.

Blue Cheese Dressing:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt, greek style (regular will be too thin)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

 In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk and thickened yogurt into the mayonnaise until smooth. Add the vinegar and sugar and whisk until all the ingredients are well combined. Stir in the blue cheese and season with salt and pepper to your preference.

Serve with lettuce (optionally adding grated carrots, celery, and scallions if desired) either tossed or topped with blue cheese dressing and chicken.

Crab, Lemon, and Avocado Salad

Back on the Wagon.

We just came back from 7 days on vacation, with no rules eating, nightly ice cream, and lots of sand.  But now we're back, and it's time to be disciplined again.  I came back itching to cook, and promptly made a huge vat of the "Staff Dressing," and liked it even more this time.  So for dinner, we actually had salad...and salad.  I may be jumping the gun a bit since it's in the 50's here, but after vacation I wanted a little taste of summer.  I also have my deck furniture out.  It snowed 2 days ago.  Your point?

 I loved the avocado with the crab, and found myself wanting more of it in the salad.  Somehow I know more avocado would make it less treasured (and less healthy) when you do get a bite with avocado.

Crab, Lemon, And Avocado Salad
adapted from Cooking Light: fresh food fast

Ingredients:
3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 lb lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
1/2 cup (about 3) finely chopped scallions
1 diced peeled avocado
Baby romaine lettuce

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, stirring well with a whisk.  Place crabmeat, avocado, and scallions in a bowl.  Pour wet ingredient over and toss gently to coat (so as not to crush the lumps of crabmeat),  Arrange baby romaine around the edges of a plate and mound salad in the center.

Staff Dressing

OK, so this dressing was so delicious!  We got the French Laundry Cookbook from the library recently, and I have to say, most of that book was just inaccessible to me.  So many of the components require so much time to prepare, like making 2 different stocks from veal then combining as a sauce for a dish, it's just not practical for the limited time we have.  But this- this I could manage.

Staff dressing
from Keller's French Laundry Cookbook


 1 tbsp chopped gartlic
1 ½ tsp chopped shallots
(2tbsp +1tsp)Dijon Mustard
 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
 1 large egg yolk*
 2 cups canola oil

*if you are immunosuppressed (kids under a year, elderly, transplant, etc etc) please substitute 1 tablespoon mayonnaise.  Salmonella is rare but no joke.

Place the garlic, shallots, vinegar and mustard in a blender and blend until well combined. Add the egg yolk and blend again. With the blender on slow drizzle the oil in until the dressing is thick and emulsified. It will thicken and the octave of the blender will change.  (you'll get it when you hear it)  Season with (1/2 tsp) salt and pepper. You can refrigerate in a covered container for a week.