You cannot tear me away from a good potato salad (or any good potato, for that matter). I love the mix of starchy potato with a great dressing. Over the years, I’ve shifted toward vinaigrette dressings for my potato salads because it feels lighter, especially on hot summer evenings. This recipe has been my summer go-to potato salad for several years now. It even catches the attention of those who, and I cannot understand this!, don’t like potato salad.[box type=”info” size=”large”]Make It A Meal!
Serve with grilled tri-trip, roasted corn, and grilled summer fruit with ice cream.[/box]
Cuisine: American
Broccoli Slaw with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
This is a quick and easy way to serve broccoli on a hot summer night (or any other time!). It’s a great salad for parties as well. The buttermilk dressing is creamy and refreshing. The nuts and berries add tastiness, and experimenting with flavors is a definite bonus in this salad.
The broccoli can be just the florets or a mix of florets and stem (the stems add a lot of body to this salad. If you aren’t into the stems, omit them.
You’ll probably end up with more dressing than you need. If it’s too thick for your taste, thin it with a bit more buttermilk. If you’re making the salad in advance, use some of the leftover dressing to freshen up the salad right before serving. Or, use the dressing on you favorite green salad.
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
It’s April in Southern California, and I’m staring at the grill every night saying, “Okay, tomorrow. Tomorrow, we grill.” But this being a weird April for weather, tomorrow comes, and it’s just not quite grilling weather. I mean, we had snow falling in the near mountains just two days ago. I can’t even find the energy to clean the grill.
So I’m thinking soup these days. Lots of soup. My trusty Lentil Soup is on deck (I always have the makings for lentil soup because when the craving hits, it hits hard), but a cruise through the refrigerator reminded me that I had leftover roasted cauliflower. I vaguely recall thinking “soup” at the time. Then the moment came and, voila!, I’d made this soup.
[box type=”note” style=”rounded” border=”full”]This recipe is cauliflower soup the long way, but, as you can see from the above, you can shortcut it by using leftover roasted cauliflower. Heck, ain’t nobody making you do the roasting either. It’s your soup, do it the way that works best for you![/box]
Caramelized Onion Dip
Over the holiday season, I find myself eating way more chips and dip than is healthy. The fault is mostly mine since I’m the one who makes this fantastic and addictive caramelized onion dip.
Caramelizing onions changes their flavor — they become mellow and sweet. The amount of heat you use informs the speed of this dish (and the attention required — higher heat requires much more stirring to prevent burning!). I like to cook my onions low and slow while I’m preparing other dishes.
The amount of onion in this recipe seems insane, but they will cook down considerably.
Spicy and Sweet Pecans
While I usually serve these during my annual holiday party, they’re great any time of year. They cook up quickly and require only a few ingredients, particularly corn syrup — something I seem to always have around the house.
Broccoli and Goat Cheese Frittata
Frittatas are one of the most flexible foods you can have in your cooking repertoire. They’re perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and even late night dining. And while this recipe features broccoli, the truth about frittatas is this: you can make them with a variety of ingredients — substitute asparagus or spinach or whatever you have on hand for the broccoli.
And don’t think you have to confine yourself to goat cheese. Freshly grated Parmesan is a great substitute.
Another trick — one that makes preparing this recipe even faster — is to used already cooked veggies. If you do, reduce the saute time in Step 2. You can also use fewer eggs if you have fewer people. Adjust the other ingredients accordingly.
Your Gluten-Free Pantry: Basic Chicken Stock
A few years ago, I realized I was wasting a lot of money buying chicken stock. I go through so much of it when cooking, and spending a couple of dollars per container (on the high, I’m going to go organic and all that, end) was insane, especially since making good stock is so easy. I throw everything into the stock pot and let it simmer while I’m doing my other Sunday chores.
It’s good, it’s rich, and not too salty. Plus, I always have stock on hand — no more coming home, starting a meal, and discovering I forgot to buy stock.
Depending on what I’m doing, I make fresh stock every three to four weeks.
What makes this easier for me is assiduous collecting of bones and vegetable scraps throughout the month. I’m a big consumer of rotisserie chicken (nothing makes for faster on-the-go meals), so I freeze the bones after I pull off all the meat. I also toss leftover onions, carrots, and celery into my freezer bag for added flavor.
Roasted chicken bones tend to produce a richer flavor, so I prefer this route over cooking a whole hen…mostly because the resulting meat is so bland, it’s hard to imagine using it in any recipe. Plus stock from a boiled chicken doesn’t have the right golden color. It is pale and insipid, especially when compared to a stock made from roasted bones.
It probably should go without saying, but this process also works incredibly well for making turkey stock.