Waldorf Salad

This classic salad of apples, celery, and mayonnaise served on a lettuce leaf was created by maitre d’ Oscar Tschirky at New York’s famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1896. Since Oscar invented this salad, we only thought it appropriate to bring it to our friends’ Oscar party on last night.
Although the original salad contained only apples, [...]

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Harvest Salad with Riesling Reduction

Topped with a seductive dressing made from a reduction of riesling, this hearty green salad showcases some of the best that autumn has to offer.
Ingredients

1 cup Riesling
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound of mixed greens
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 pomegranate seeds
1 cup diced anjou or bosc [...]

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Fattoush

This wonderful Lebanese salad makes a great summer salad with the fresh vegetables, parsley and mint, and the tangy dressing. You can buy the sumac in the dried spice aisle of any middle eastern or gourmet grocery store. Whole Foods generally sells it in the bulk spice aisle.
Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/3 [...]

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Savory Croutons

These croutons work well with both the Caesar Salad and the Dandelion Greens with Garlic-Anchovy Dressing. Most croutons are made from day old (or older) bread. I prefer to use fresh bread slices. They soak up the olive oil better and create a toasty outside with a somewhat soft inside that is rich in olive [...]

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Dandelion Green Salad with Garlic-Anchovy Dressing

This is Jan's favorite salad, and summer is the season for dandelion greens. This salad has a very sharp flavor, and if you love the taste of garlic and the salty taste of anchovies, you are going to love this one. Myself, I love garlic, and I'm rather averse to anchovies, but in this salad, [...]

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How to Make a Proper Caesar Salad

There are numerous legends about the true origin of Caesar Salad and who invented it. The one thing that is certain is that Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini made it in his Tijuana restaurant in the 1920s. Julia Child ate one made by Caesar, himself. Certainly, it is this form of the Caesar Salad that has [...]

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Mushroom Salad with Vinaigrette and Sage: My Iron Chef Challenge

While at the Ferry Building on Saturday morning, Jan bought the most amazing, freshest chanterelle mushrooms. Among other delectable purchases–not the least of which was a small box Recchiuti Sea Salt chocolates (but that's a topic for a different post)–was a small bundle of fresh sage.
For various reasons this weekend, there was little gourmet cooking [...]

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