Grilled Land & Sea Salad with Grilled Croutons and Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled
1 lb top round or flank steak
8 oz large crimini mushroom tops
4 cups 2 inch cube bread (slightly stale)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic

salad:
10 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 large cucumber, thinly sliced
5 tomatoes, cut up
1 head romaine, chopped

vinaigrette:
1 bunch basil
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
Please all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender, pulse until smooth. Set aside. Arrange salad ingredients on a plate. Set aside.

Rub freshly ground black pepper and sea salt into both sides of the meat. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat the oil and garlic cloves on the stove or microwave until just warm. Set aside. Thread the shrimp and bread cubes on bamboo skewers. Brush the shrimp, mushrooms and bread cubes with the garlic olive oil.

Meanwhile, prep grill according to manufacturer's instructions. Place the steak in the middle and the skewers around the edges. Grill until the steak is medium-rare, the shrimp is fully cooked and the bread is toasty. Allow the meat to sit five minutes. Slice thinly. Top the salads with steak, shrimp and grilled croutons. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

My thoughts:

I know, another salad recipe. But it has been an unusually hot summer and we have pretty much given up on making anything that isn't grilled, no-cook or made in the slow cooker (save the occasional late night jam or cupcake making). The bright green basil dressing and grilled steak, shrimp and croutons make this salad fancy enough for company but is super simple. Just take care that the croutons don't burn, not unlike the shrimp, they go from "raw" to crispy very quickly.

Raspberry-Avocado Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
for the dressing
8 raspberries
2 oz balsamic vinegar
2 oz avocado oil
1 teaspoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)
salt
freshly ground black pepper


for the salad
2 heads of romaine, chopped
2 avocados, diced
3 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup raspberries


Directions:
Muddle the raspberries in the bottom of a jar or dressing container. Add the remaining dressing ingredients. Cover and shake to thoroughly mix. Toss the salad ingredients together. Divide into four bowls. Drizzle with dressing.

My thoughts

As odd as it sounds, raspberries are a good substitute for tomatoes, which are just now coming into their true season, they are sweet-tart, flavorful enough to stand up to salad dressing and their soft texture contrasts nicely with the crisp lettuce. Raspberries are also delightfully mashable so it is possible to incorporate them into a salad dressing with minimal effort. I like how their texture contrasts with the avocado, I wasn't sure about the pairing at first, but it was so good, I had to share. An easy way to sneak fruit into dinner.

Vibrant Corn Salad with Jalape�o Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
6 ears of corn worth of kernels (cooked and cooled)
6 radishes, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 1/2 large avocados, cubed

for the vinaigrette:
5 tablespoons avocado oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
juice of 1 lime
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and halved
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Toss all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Shake the vinaigrette ingredients in a dressing mixing container or closed jar. Strain over the salad. Discard the jalapenos. Toss to evenly distribute the dressing. Serve at room temperature.

My thoughts:

I love salads like these. I am honestly not the biggest traditional salad person but on hot days, a cool dish is needed. I especially love the vinaigrette I came up with for this salad, the oils of the peppers get shaken into the dressing adding just enough heat. It is a great way to get a spicy fix without actually having to bite down on a pepper. The trick to the perfect corn salad is to have a mixture of tastes and textures. A mix of sweet (corn, tomato), crisp (radish), creamy (avocado), spicy (radish, jalapeno), juicy (tomato) and crunchy (cucumber) is my favorite. I served this as an entree but I think it would also be great as a side dish to grilled seafood or portobello burgers.

Summer Vegetable Green Salad with a Dill Vinagrette, Feta and Grilled Tuna

Ingredients:

for the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup minced dill
3 oz white wine vinegar
2 1/2 oz olive oil
1 teaspoon pepper sherry
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt
pepper

for the fish:
2 tuna steaks
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons minced oregano
2 tablespoons fresh or freeze dried chives
salt
pepper
olive oil

for the corn:
1 or 2 ears of corn
olive oil
salt
pepper
celery seed

for the salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
4 radishes, sliced
4 button or crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 English cucumber, sliced
3 oz crumbled feta
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin

Directions:
Place the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar or salad dressing shaker. Shake until emulsified. Set aside.

Prep the grill according to manufactures' instructions. Prep the cedar plank according the package instructions. Meanwhile, rub the tuna with oil then pat on the zest and spices onto both sides. Place the tuna on the grill. Follow the instructions for grilling corn. Grill until the tuna is medium rare and the corn is done, covering briefly if needed, about 10 minutes. Strip the corn from the cob.

Meanwhile, toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Divide among two dishes. Top with tuna and the corn. Drizzle with dressing.

My thoughts:

I know this salad looks complicated with the long list of ingredients but it really isn't, I promise! The salad dressing is super easy, there is nothing fancy about the salad itself and the tuna and corn require pretty much the same prep and cooking time. I have been eating a tons of salads lately because of my feta challenge and I have found that my favorite salads with feta are the ones that have a lot of different ingredients and flavors. Feta is so robust tasting it can stand up to pretty much anything, even very herbal dressings and heartier ingredients like fish or meat so I've been experimenting. I wanted to make this salad my complete meal so I added tuna and a hard boiled egg to make it more substantial without feeling heavy.

I had room on the grill (even though I was making extra tuna for another recipe) so I tossed some corn on. It added a smoky-sweet flavor that was a wonderful contrast with the feta and all of the crisp vegetables I used. All in all, a very tasty, vegetable packed salad. Perfect for a hot July day!

Pomegranate Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:
vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons pomegranate juice or PAMA
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt
pepper


salad:
2 cups cooked wild rice, cooled
1 cup thinly sliced fennel
1 cup pomegranate arils
1 shallot, very thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, very thinly sliced

Directions:
Whisk together the vinaigrette in a small bowl. Set aside. Toss together the salad ingredients. Stir in vinaigrette. Serve at room temperature.

Quick Tips: If you have one, a mandoline makes quick work of thinly slicing the vegetables. I bought this inexpensive mandoline last year and it works well.

I like to make the wild rice for this salad the day before. Refrigerate it then fluff it with a fork before adding the remaining ingredients.

My thoughts:

This is a great late autumn or winter salad. Pomegranates are at their peak and fennel is widely available. A lot of recipes call for mixing wild rice (which actually isn't rice at all but a kind of marsh grass) with long grain rice but I prefer it by itself, especially in a salad. I love how the nutty flavor and chewy texture contrasts with the juicy pomegranate and crisp vegetables. I love the burst of flavor the arils provide. While I like it as a side salad, it is hearty enough to serve as main dish.

Zippy Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Pinenuts and Cranberries

4 broccoli crowns
3 slices (cooked) bacon, crumbled
1 bunch green onion, diced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted pinenuts

dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons minced basil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon agave nectar
salt
pepper


Directions:
Quickly blanch the broccoli by plunging it into boiling water for one minute. Rinse off under cool water. Allow to cool. Thoroughly drain (a salad spinner works nicely) then chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss with salad ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing. Drizzle over the salad, toss to coat and evenly distribute.

My thoughts:

My family never made broccoli salad when I was growing but from what I've encountered at picnics and parties since, we were in the minority. I think I have had at least 10 variations of the salad. They all seem to have some things in common: something crunchy, something sweet and some sort of onion. When I went to make my own version, I didn't see any reason to leave any of that out. Raisins seem the most popular sweet ingredient but since I find them abhorrent and bug-like I went with sweet-tart dried cranberries. The need for bacon was clear and for crunch I added some toasty pinenuts. Often the dressing in broccoli salad is rather sweet which isn't terribly appealing to me so I made basil vinaigrette with just a drop of agave nectar for sweetness. Green onions and shallot provide the onion flavor without the sometimes harsh flavor of raw onion.

Quick note: While blanching the broccoli seems like an unnecessary step; it brightens the color of the broccoli and takes some of the raw edge off which really adds something to the salad.

Strawberry-Asparagus Salad with Strawberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 bunch spring lettuce
1 bunch baby spinach
2 strips crisp bacon
3/4 lb fresh asparagus
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup bee pollen dusted hazelnuts
2 oz ch�vre

for the vinaigrette
2 oz avocado oil
2 oz pomegranate infused balsamic vinegar*
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 strawberry, mashed**

Directions:
Place the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar or salad dressing mixer. Shake until a smooth, emulsified dressing forms.

Place the lettuce in a large bowl. Top with the spinach. Cut the bacon into bite sized pieces. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for about 2 minutes. Drain and cut into manageable sized pieces. Arrange on the salad. Add the sliced strawberries. Dot with goat cheese. Toss in the hazelnuts and bacon. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

*I used locally bottled Pompeian vinegar.
**I just put it on a cutting board and mashed with with a potato masher until pretty smooth.

My thoughts:

A while back I was invited to do a cooking demonstration at the Maryland Heartland Sustainable Living Fair which is going on today. Of course I agreed to do it. The major challenge was designing a recipe that made the most of what is in season in the end of May in Maryland. Which, unfortunately, isn't terribly much as May is pretty much the beginning of the growing season here. I had thought of doing some sort of stir fry but when I looked at the list of what was in season I realized that a big salad might be a better choice. I used locally grown strawberries, lettuce, spinach and asparagus along with some local fresh goat cheese. I tossed in some bacon because it just smells so good and thought it might draw some people in to watch the demo. It also adds a smoky note to the salad. I used some hazelnuts from a family owned farm (in Oregon) that were dusted in local bee pollen for some crunch. The dressing was simple but extremely tasty and added an additional fruity note to the salad. Unfortunately some of the dressing ingredients were not quite local but there is a drawback to living in the mid-Atlantic; no avocado or olive trees for oil.

All of these seemingly disconnected ingredients came together to from a very satisfying salad that felt light and fresh. I loved the asparagus and the strawberries, they made the salad feel hearty despite the near absence of meat. The perfect springtime meal salad.

Fennel & Three Bean Salad

Ingredients:
15 oz cannelloni beans
15 oz dark red kidney beans
1/4 to 1/3 lb steamed or blanched green beans
1/2 onion, sliced very thinly
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced very thinly


for the dressing:
1 (large) clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
salt
pepper


Directions:
Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients or pulse them quickly in a blender or Vita-Mix)until a emulsified dressing forms. Drizzle over the salad ingredients and toss gently. I like to allow it to sit for 1 or so hours before serving. Serve at room temperature and refrigerate any leftovers.

My thoughts:

I've been thinking about three bean salads for a while now. I read a mention of one on a nonfood blog I read and vaguely remembered my mother eating a(jarred) three-bean salad when I was a child. I sort of remember it being sweet & pickley and not liking it. I still wasn't sure about the sweet + pickled part of it but a salad made with my favorite beans was appealing. I noticed I had some fennel slowly decomposing in the fridge so on impulse I sliced it up (and my finger on my mandolin, ow) and it really was the perfect addition. Rather than going down the sweet and pickled route I made a very fresh tasting Italian-inspired vinaigrette. I think this might be my new favorite cold salad: simple, delicious and rather impressive looking.

Update: I am happy to say that the salad was just as tasty today as lunch as it was yesterday as a side dish for dinner.

Grilled Rapini & Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1/2 lb rapini
10 oz sliced mushrooms
salt

for the vinaigrette
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon pomegranate infused balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
pepper




Directions:
Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients. Set aside. Sprinkle the mushrooms and rapini with salt. Toss the rapini and mushrooms with the dressing. Place on a perforated grill pan. Place on the rack and cook until cooked through but not crispy, tossing occasionally-the time will depend on the grill you are using. Serve hot!

My thoughts:

Welcome to another edition of My Grill Friday!



I was pleased to find out that the rapini is more than hardy enough to stand up to grilling. The vinaigrette really accents the greens. I've found there aren't a lot of vegetarian/vegan recipes for the grill out there. While this one isn't exactly a main dish by itself, it could be if you tossed with with some pasta or quinoa. It is surprisingly filling. It is also a great side dish for meat or fish as-is.



Stay tuned for more recipes for the grill including more vegetables, options for the meat eaters and even desserts every Friday until Labor Day.

Our Usual Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon on Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
a pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together vigorously; it should make a nice dark brown emulsion. Add more oil, vinegar, or mustard to taste.

My thoughts:

We make this salad dressing at least once a week, some times more. It also plays a key role in our "need to feed a crowd" or lazy dinner nights: we make a big salad and slice steak or chicken to serve over it. You can also easily double or even triple the recipe and refrigerate the rest.

Spring this recipe!