Taco Salad

I love this salad! Remember Catalina Dressing? Well, it’s just what you need to complement all the other ingredients. You can use ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken for the meat, sautéed with a packet of taco seasoning. You could also add fresh jalapeños and red, green, or yellow bell peppers.

Recipe

1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 head iceberg lettuce, broken up
4 green onions, chopped
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 avocado, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
tobasco sauce, a few dashes
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
3/4 c. chopped black olives
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 small bottle Catalina Dressing
1 c. sour cream, for garnish
1 bag taco chips or Doritos

In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the ground beef with the packet of taco seasoning. Drain and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the rest of the ingredients, from the lettuce to the hard boiled eggs. When the ground beef has cooled, add to the bowl along with half the Catalina dressing, and mix well. Add more dressing as needed.

When ready to serve, crunch up the taco chips and mix into the salad. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Serve more chips on the side.

Tricolore Salad with Oranges

This beautiful, colorful salad is perfect for Fall and Winter (or any time of year). Pickling the shallots in apple cider vinegar really makes this salad special – don’t skip this step!

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Recipe

1/2 c. shallots, peeled, thinly sliced in rings and separated (2 big shallots)
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 head of radicchio, cored and shredded
2 small endive, halved lengthwise, cored and sliced crosswise 1/2” thick
2 handfuls baby arugula
1 navel orange, peeled and sliced in 1/4” thick half-rounds
1/3 c. pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half

Vinaigrette:
1/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2/3 c. olive oil

Put the shallots in a shall shallow bowl and pour the vinegar over them. Set aside for 10 minutes to macerate.

In a large serving bowl, combine the salad ingredients. Remove the shallots from the vinegar with a slotted spoon and sprinkle on the salad. Discard the vinegar.

For the vinaigrette, put all the ingredients in a jar and shake for 30 seconds to blend. Pour enough of the vinaigrette over the salad to moisten well. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper, if needed, and serve at room temperature.

– inspired by an Ina Garten recipe, Food Network

Balsamic Roasted Beet Salad

If you love beets as much as I do, you’ll love this simple salad. Nice for a light lunch, or serve with roasted chicken. To keep the beets from staining your cutting board, cover with a piece of parchment paper to slice them on. Serves 4.

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Recipe

8 beets, tops removed and scrubbed
4 oz. arugula
1/2 c. marcona almonds, roasted and salted (I like using Trader Joe’s roasted and salted truffle marcona almonds)
4 oz. goat cheese
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Vinaigrette:
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. olive oil
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. honey

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Wrap beets individually in foil, or if smaller wrap 2 or 3 in a packet. Put on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 50 minutes. While the beets are cooking, make the vinaigrette — whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and honey, or put in a jar and shake vigorously to blend. I usually double the vinaigrette recipe and use it for all sorts of salads.

When the beets are done, open the foil packets and let sit for 10 minutes. Peel the beets when cool enough to handle (but still warm), cut into bite size chunks and put in a bowl. Stir in a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette while the beets are warm so they absorb the dressing. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Put the arugula in a bowl and toss with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Top with the beets, almonds, and goat cheese, and drizzle with a little more vinaigrette. Serve warm or at room temperature.

— inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe

Greek Dinner Menu

What a perfect meal! I had to post each of the recipes so you can also enjoy this delicious menu. A homey, warming dish, the cinnamon chicken is a good choice for a casual supper and definitely tasty enough for company. I served it over gluten free chickpea macaroni noodles accompanied by a tossed Greek salad. Mini baklava bites with a scoop of your favorite ice cream round out the meal. Serves 4-6.

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Chicken Kapama

with a subtle cinnamon flavor

Recipe

2 chicken breasts + 4 thighs, bone in, skin on (or a 2-1/2 to 3 lb. chicken cut into 8 pieces)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used Penzys Vietnamese cinnamon)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
5 cloves garlic (3 minced, the other 2 left whole)
2 T. olive oil
4 c. yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 c. water
6-oz. can tomato paste
2 whole cinnamon sticks
1/2 c. Myzithra cheese, grated
Noodles, pasta, or rice for serving

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. In a small bowl mix the ground cinnamon, salt and pepper, then rub all over the chicken pieces. Heat 2 T. oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side. You may have to do this in two batches. Don’t crowd the chicken or it will steam instead of getting a good sear. When browned, remove from pan and set aside.

Add the onions and minced garlic to the pan and cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onions are softened and golden brown. Add the wine and stir to get up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes, stir in the tomato paste until mixed, then add the water, 2 whole garlic cloves, and the 2 whole cinnamon sticks. Return the chicken to the pan; the liquid should cover about three-quarters of the chicken. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Taste and add more kosher salt or pepper if needed. Serve over noodles or rice, sprinkled with plenty of grated Myzithra cheese.

Freeze any leftover sauce, or use it to top pasta or chicken for lunch the next day.

– inspired by Chef Cat Cora’s Kota Kapama

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Greek Salad

using green beans instead of cucumber

Recipe

1/2 lb. green beans, ends trimmed, cut in half crosswise
1 lb. grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1/4 lb. feta cheese
3 T. red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
1 small shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
2 large basil leaves
1/4 c. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the beans in a pot of boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. In a blender or mini processor, combine the red wine vinegar, garlic clove, shallot, mustard, oregano, thyme, and basil and puree until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the blanched green beans, tomato halves, red onion. and crumbled feta. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

– inspired by Chef Michael Psilakis’ Chopped Greek Salad

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Baklava Bites

find phyllo shells in frozen foods section of your grocery store

Recipe

1/2 c. pistachios
1/2 c. walnuts
1/2 c. almonds
1 lemon, zested
1/4 c. plus 3 T. sugar
2 T. butter, melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 boxes mini phyllo shells, 15 shells each
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. honey

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Put the pistachios, walnuts, and almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly and add to a food processor with the lemon zest, 3 T. sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and melted butter. Pulse to combine.

Take the frozen phyllo shells and place in a mini cupcake pan. If you don’t have a mini cupcake pan, place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add 1 tsp. of the nut mixture into each shell. Bake at 350-degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the water and honey and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Pour 1 tsp. syrup into each phyllo cup and allow it to soak in. Repeat with another 1 tsp. Refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight. Serve at room temperature. Keep the phyllo cup packaging to store any leftover baklava bites. Makes 30.

– Sunny Anderson, Food Network

Broccoli Salad

This is a sweet, sour, crunchy, savory and delicious broccoli salad. Blanch the broccoli first for a minute or two in boiling water, it makes a difference - unless you like your broccoli super crunchy. If you don't have dried cherries, you can substitute dried cranberries or other dried fruit.

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Recipe

6 cups broccoli, chopped into bite-size pieces
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked, drained, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 c. mascarpone
1/4 c. mayonnaise
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 c. dried cherries
1/2 c. walnuts
1/2 c. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the broccoli and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and run under cold water to stop the cooking; transfer to a bowl and set aside. Cook the bacon, drain on paper towels, and cut into 1-inch pieces (reserve 2 tsp. of the bacon fat).

In a large bowl mix together the mascarpone, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar and salt with a whisk until smooth. Add the broccoli, cherries, walnuts, bacon, 2 tsp. of the bacon fat, and gorgonzola. Toss well and serve.

— inspired by Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network

Frisée aux Lardons

This beautiful salad pairs perfectly with the Thai Red Curry Mussels recipe. Use frisée if you can find it. It wasn't available yesterday when I was searching, so I used escarole which was delicious. You could also substitute arugula, radicchio, or a combination of any slightly bitter green. Top with a poached egg — slightly runny yolk so it mixes with the dressed salad greens, croutons and chopped bacon. Yummmmmm!

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Recipe

1 large head frisée lettuce (or escarole, radicchio, arugula), washed, dried and cut into 3-inch pieces
8 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces
Baguette - cut up enough to make about 40 small squares for croutons
4 large eggs

Mustard-Garlic Dressing:
1-1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1-1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 T. sherry vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil

In a bowl large enough to hold the salad, use a whisk to combine all of the mustard-garlic dressing ingredients. Set aside.

Sauté the bacon until crisp, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the pan and add the baguette croutons and cook over medium-high heat, stirring and turning over so they brown on all sides. Set aside.

Poach the eggs. I cheat and use an egg poacher, but if you're comfortable doing it in a nonstick skillet with 1-1/2 inches of water and 1 T. red wine vinegar, go for it!

To assemble, add the washed and dried greens to the bowl with the dressing in it; toss well. Divide the salad among four dinner plates, top with the poached egg and sprinkle the bacon bits and croutons over the top. Serve immediately.

— Jacques Pépin, "More Fast Food My Way"