The Brutus Salad � Watch Your Back, Caesar!

I don�t post a lot of salad videos, since, other than the dressing recipe, what am I going to teach you? Most people are pretty good when it comes to tossing things in a bowl, but I made an exception for what I�m calling a �Brutus.�

I discovered this salad at a great restaurant in Healdsburg, called Willis�s Seafood, where it was definitely not called a �Brutus,� but simply described as a, �Little Gem Salad, Dijon Vinaigrette, Fuji Apples, Aged White Cheddar, Fresh Herbs, Fried Pecans.� It sounded amazing, and tasted even better.

It was so good, I joked that it could replace the Caesar as America�s favorite tossed salad, and a few beers later, the idea to call it the �Brutus� was born. I�m explaining this not only to give credit, where credit�s due, but also to make clear it has nothing to do with politics. Yes, nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.

Normally, I would tell you to add whatever you want to this salad, but not this time. Please make it exactly as shown. Having said that, you�ll of course have to adjust the dressing to your taste, but you already knew that. I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

For the dressing:

1/4 cup real French Dijon mustard

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

freshly ground black pepper

cayenne to taste

- the dressing should be sharp and acidic, but please adjust to your taste

For the salad:

4 hearts of romaine, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces

2 ounces extra-sharp aged cheddar

1 apple, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons dill sprigs, chopped

3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted in 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, seasoned with salt and 1 teaspoon of white sugar

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Smashed Cucumber Salad � I Crushed This

Your cooking skills might not be the best, but the word on the street is that you�re pretty good at smashing things, sometimes even on purpose. If that�s the case, this refreshing, and very addictive smashed cucumber salad is going to be perfect for you. Above and beyond whisking up an extremely simple dressing, the success of this recipe comes down to you being able to flatten a cucumber with something heavy.

It really is as easy as it sounds, and by crushing our cucumber before we cut it, we produce flavors that un-smashed cucs can�t. When you crush the cells in a vegetable, as opposed to cutting cleanly through them, certain compounds get mixed together, which can result in a significantly different flavor. 

This is not always a good thing, and onions are the perfect example. Use a sharp knife, and they�re sweet and mild. Use a dull knife, or that thing you ordered after seeing the infomercial at 2 AM, and you�ll get something much harsher. In fact, it�s no joke that most people who don�t like onions, grew up in a kitchen with dull knives.

However, when it comes to cucumber, these ruptured cells produce a more desirable flavor, and texture. The only decision you�re going to have to make, is how long to let the cucumbers marinate in the dressing, if at all. Many chefs will toss and serve immediately, while others like to let the cucumbers chill in the dressing for a little while in the fridge, which is the method I prefer.

You�ll just have to do some tests to see what you prefer, but either way, this is one of my all-time favorite cold summer side dishes, and one I really hope you try very soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 6 portions:
2 English cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds total weight)

1 teaspoon granulated white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

2 garlic cloves, finely crushed

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

(or regular rice vinegar with an extra pinch of salt and sugar)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

red pepper flakes, to taste

toasted sesame seeds to garnish

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"Norcal" Nicoise Salad � Layered for Your Pleasure

I know I�ve made fun of salads served in Mason jars before, but when I was asked to contribute a layered Nicoise to an Allrecipes Easter feature, I immediately thought of this tragically hip presentation. Also, I didn�t have a straight-sided, see-through glass bowl to do the layered salad in.

I love a good Nicoise, and it�s perfect for layering, especially if you slice/chop up the ingredients first. Not only will your layers be easier to keep straight, but chopped salads are always a pleasure to toss with dressing. Speaking of which, I really enjoyed this avocado spiked French-style vinaigrette, and it paired perfectly with the rich, fatty, olive oil-packed tuna. 

Look for something from Spain or Italy, and you will be impressed with how much nicer it is than the stuff Charlie and his buddies are pushing. So, whether you composed this on a plate, in the classic fashion, or follow my lead, and create the world�s trendiest Nicoise, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Nicoise (amounts are up to you)

3-4 ounces per person olive-oil packed tuna

tender green beans

Yukon gold potatoes

cherry tomatoes

hard boiled eggs

Nicoise olives, or other pitted olives

parsley and/or chives

anchovy fillets, optional

Ingredients for the dressing:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 anchovy fillets

2 teaspoons minced shallots

1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup ripe avocado

1/3 cup olive oil, or more to taste

freshly ground black pepper

pinch cayenne

water as needed to adjust texture

salt to taste

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Grilled Shrimp Louie � Dressing Up a Classic

I don�t do a lot of salad dressing videos, since it�s pretty much just adding things to a bowl, but when that dressing is going on a grilled shrimp Louie, I�ll make an exception. By the way, this is usually done with crab, but I think the smoky, grilled shrimp are a great summertime twist.

This is my take on a classic Louie dressing, and as with all such recipes, you�ll need to taste and adjust for acid, salt, and heat. Just be sure to wait until the dressing is nice and cold before tasting. You�ll get a more accurate reading, since that�s the temperature we�re going to be serving at.

If you do grill the shrimp, don�t toss it with the oil and lemon until right before you grill. This isn�t a marinade, and we don�t want the shrimp to start �cooking� in the acid. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 1 3/4 cups:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cr�me fraiche

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 packed teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons minced green onion

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

For the grilled shrimp:

2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp

1 tablespoon olive oil

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt

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This Tuna Poke is No Joke

There are many of foods I�ll stand in line for, and/or pay too much for, but Hawaiian-style tuna poke isn�t one of them. I can�t make a world-class croissant at home. I can make a decent one, but not a perfect one, so I�ll happily queue up at a boulangerie that does.

However, when it comes to poke, the technique is so basic that even the most inexperienced cooks can get something pretty much identical to what they�d get out. There�s one catch though. You have to use only the freshest possible tuna, even if that means it�s frozen.

Hopefully you�ll be able to get a hold of some fresh, sushi-grade tuna, but if you can�t, frozen will work. What many people don�t realize, is that most of the fish they enjoy at their favorite sushi restaurants has actually been frozen beforehand anyway. Google it, it�s true.

So, as long as the tuna is Grade A, or sushi grade, the frozen variety will work. Above and beyond that, all the other ingredients, except for the soy sauce, are optional. So, please use this video as merely a guide to the technique, understanding that this will work with so many different ingredients. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 4 portions Tuna Poke:

1 pound sushi-grade ahi tuna (aka yellowfin), cut into about 3/4-inch cubes

1/4 cup high-quality soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 tablespoons roasted macadamia nuts, crushed

1 tablespoon finely crumbled dried seaweed

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Other delicious additions include (add to finished poke, not the marinade, otherwise you may lose that gorgeous appearance):

- seasoned rice vinegar

- lemon or lime juice

* Toss tuna with marinade, and chill for 2 hours in the fridge before serving.

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Shaved Asparagus Salad with Fried Pastrami and Mustard Dressing � Keeping it Raw

This shaved asparagus salad actually started out as an asparagus wrapped with pastrami recipe, but when that didn�t work out, my wife Michele saved the day, and convinced me to go raw � and I do mean convince.

I really dislike under-cooked asparagus, and in virtually every video I�ve used it, I�ve pleaded with the audience to make sure the spears get to the sweet and tender stage. I�ve always felt that the main reason most people who don�t like asparagus, is that they grew up eating it crunchy, barely warm, and bitter.

However, when you shave it thin with a peeler, and give it a quick curing/pickling in the dressing, those harsh attributes mellow out substantially, and the sweet, grassy flavor comes through. In fact, it was so delicious that I contemplated serving it without the fried meat.  Happily, that passed.

Thanks to the pastrami�s aromatic spices, subtle smokiness, and peppery finish, it was a perfect match. Of course, you can substitute with bacon or ham; but the cured beef brisket was a nice change of pace to those much more common, pork-based choices.

Just be sure to not dress your raw asparagus until you�re ready to eat. The couple minutes it takes to fry the meat is all the marination time you�ll need. Anyway, peak asparagus season is almost upon us, and if you�re looking for a new way to enjoy it, I hope you give this shaved asparagus salad a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

24 large asparagus spears (save bottoms for soup)

salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

4 oz pastrami, sliced thin

For the dressing:

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (or regular rice vinegar with a pinch of salt and sugar)

3-4 tbsp olive oil, or to taste

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�Local� Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese and Walnuts � Kill Once, Cook Twice

They say if you video blog long enough, you�ll eventually post a snuff film. Okay, so no one says that, but that�s what this roasted beets with goat cheese and walnuts kind of felt like, as I harvested my homegrown, and completely defenseless beet.

I was obviously kidding about vegetables being able to sense pain, but the more I think about it, who knows? Anyway, until I find out otherwise, I�ll assume the bloody root didn�t suffer for my pleasure, and just enjoy its incredible goodness. It�s the same assumption I use when eating chicken wings.

There are very few things that pair as perfectly as roasted beets and goat cheese. Simply a match made in occasional-vegetarian heaven. When you toss in some crunchy walnuts, foraged greens, and a simple walnut oil/vinegar dressing, you have something that�s way beyond the sum of the parts. 

I really can�t think of a more perfect fall lunch. By the way, in addition to making a great mid-day meal, this would also work nicely as a fancy side dish come holiday time, and you have plenty of time to practice. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

1 or 2 tbsp walnut oil

1 roasted beet (*about 8 oz)

2 oz goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup roasted chopped walnuts

2 tbsp champagne or sherry vinegar

thinly sliced beet greens and fresh chives to top

toasted walnut bread to serve with

*Note: Since beets come in all sorts of sizes, you�ll just have to go by feel. Roast a beet or two, slice it up, see how much you have, pick a baking dish that large enough for one layer, cover the bottom with walnut oil, toss in the beets, fill in between with goat cheese, season, bake and dress as you see fit.

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Salad Lyonnaise � A Super Salad from a City of Meat

How great is Salad Lyonnaise? Lyon is considered the meat capital of France, and yet the city�s most famous, and reproduced dish is probably this simple frisee salad. Now that�s some delicious irony.

Don�t worry�this salad is far from vegan. The mildly bitter greens are dressed in a shallot and Dijon dressing, it�s spiked with a generous handful of crispy lardons, or bacon in my case, and topped with a runny egg.

By the way, unless you�re some kind of crazy person, you�re going to need some crispy croutons or crostini to finish this masterpiece off. Here�s a link to the ones I used for this, sans Parmigiano-Reggiano. You�ll also want to taste and adjust the dressing to your liking. I use a 2-to-1, oil to vinegar ratio, as I think you need some acidity to cut the richness of the bacon and egg yolk, but you may not want it as sharp.

As I joked about in the video, this is so tasty, it may be the only salad that has a chance to be picked as someone�s last meal. There�s good, and then there�s death row good. Anyway, I�ve been dying to film this old favorite, and I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

For 4 generous portions:

2 heads frisee lettuce, aka curly endive, or use arugula

8 oz bacon (or pancetta if you want to experience something closer to real lardons)

4 large eggs

1 tbsp chives

For the dressing (makes extra, about 3/4 cup total):

1 generous tbsp minced shallots

1 generous tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 cup lightly flavored olive oil

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A Tomato and �Dirt� Salad You�ll Really Dig

It�s not unusual for me to steal a recipe idea from a local restaurant, but it�s not everyday that I�m inspired by something I eat at a bowling alley. This happened recently at the Mission Bowling Club, a fun and funky, six-lane bowling alley located just a few blocks from our home, which despite the cacophony, features some of the City�s best bites.

In addition to an otherworldly fried chicken appetizer, and a �granulated,� aged beef burger some (including my wife Michele) consider the best in the City, the MBC also features daily specials, and one such offering was described as an �heirloom tomato salad topped with a crispy rye crumble.�

That sounded great to us, and our server vouched for its excellence, so we happily included it among our starters. What we didn�t know at the time, was that our server had defied the kitchen and refused to use the dish�s official name, �tomatoes and dirt.�

She made this stunning admission as we raved about its deliciousness, and admitted to going rogue and changing the name because she just didn�t think that �dirt� sounded appetizing. What?! I thought this plate of tomatoes and �dirt� was just about the most creative thing I�d heard/seen/tasted in a while.

I was this close to going into that kitchen, ratting her out, and maybe getting a free dessert for my trouble, but thought better of it, and decided to quietly finish the salad, knowing that I would share it here, dirty name and all.  Anyway, this is my version, and I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Small Portions:

8 oz burrata cheese, or fresh ricotta

Enough freshly sliced tomatoes for 4 portions

Wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Fresh sliced basil leaves

For the crumbs:

2 tbsp olive oil, more if needed

3 large brown mushrooms, minced fine

big pinch of salt

3 slices of dark rye, made into crumbs

1 rounded tablespoon ground almonds (aka almond meal, almond flour, or just crush your own)

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�Steakage� � Changing the Shape of Your Steak Sandwich

Hot dogs and hamburgers are fine for the regular season, but when the playoffs and Super Bowl roll around, you need to upgrade the tailgate menu to something a little more special, like this �steakage� steak sandwich.

The name comes from the fact that the steak is being treated more like a sausage link. The problem with a traditional steak sandwich is it usually consists of a thin slice of beef, grilled and served on a thick sandwich roll. The steak to bread ratio is way off, and it�s very easy to overcook the meat.

Here, by cutting our steak into thick strips, we not only have a more geometrically appropriate piece of meat for our smaller bun, but we are able to get a nice sear on the outside without having to worry about the inside overcooking.

I used a gorgeous flat iron steak, and I really hope you can get one from your butcher, but if you can�t, this technique should work for other cuts of steak as well. NY strip, rib eye, top sirloin, and tenderloin could all be made to work. The key is something that can be cut into a large slab first, ideally about 1 1/2-inch thick, and then into strips about the same width, and as long as your bun.

I was very happy with these, and really enjoyed the little extra something the grilled mushrooms provided. The smoky salad added an earthy texture to the grilled beef, and it was all tied together nicely with the barbecue vinaigrette. To make this easy and versatile condiment, simply combine 3 parts barbecue sauce, with 2 parts vegetable oil, and 1 part cider vinegar.

So, if you were planning on splurging for your next backyard tailgate, and want to serve something a little out of the ordinary, then maybe give this whole �steakage� thing a try. By the way, it goes without saying that this would rock with cheese on it, but the American Kobe beef I was lucky enough to use was so exquisite that I didn�t want to cover it up. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

1 fully-trimmed flat iron steak

6 hot dog buns

1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

mayonnaise and arugula leaves as needed

For the mushrooms salad:

8 oz brown clamshell mushrooms, grilled, separated

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

For the bbq vinaigrette:

3 tbsp barbecue sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp cider vinegar

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New Year�s Day Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing � Good Luck with That!

This spinach salad with black-eyed peas is a twist on one of my favorite American culinary traditions; the custom of serving beans and greens on New Year's Day. Supposedly eating "poor" on New Year�s Day brings much wealth and good luck throughout the year.

The greens, usually braised with ham or sausage, represents paper money, and the beans, usually black-eyed peas, symbolize coins. Here, we�re presenting those ingredients in salad form, which is a great delivery system for our hot bacon dressing� the true star in this video.

If one of your New Year�s resolutions is, �Eat more bacon,� then here�s another delicious way to work it into your diet. This peppery, sweet and tangy sauce is fast to make, and shines on other things besides wealth-generating spinach salads.

Wouldn�t this be great in a warm potato and mushroom salad, as well as a sauce for a grilled chicken breast or pork chop? What about spooned over poached eggs, or slathered on sweet potato fries? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

If making and eating this salad on January 1st doesn�t really bring you prosperity in 2012, it will certainly bring you some tasty memories, and other pleasures money can�t buy. Happy New Year, and enjoy!

Hot Bacon Dressing Ingredients: (makes about 1 1/3 cup � or 6 servings)

1/2 pound bacon, sliced and cooked in 1/4 cup vegetable oil (reserve bacon pieces and bacon fat drippings)

1/2 cup minced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/3 cup of the bacon fat drippings

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp cold water

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

For 6 Spinach Salads:

1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried

12 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

1 (15-oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

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Cranberry Mustard Salad Dressing � You�ll Be Tickled Some Kind of Pink

For whatever reason, pink sauces are considered somewhat visually offensive in the foodie universe, so when describing this cranberry mustard salad dressing to your friends and family, please use hipper alternatives like, �ballet slipper� or �rosy mauve.�

Whatever it�s called, I actually love the color of this vinaigrette, and think it�s especially gorgeous with the classic fall/winter salad palette. I served it over some endive garnished with persimmons, pistachios, and pomegranate seeds, and it tasted as bright and pretty as it looked.

One word of caution regarding the ingredient amounts listed below: I like my salad dressings on the acidic side, so be sure to taste and adjust the amount of oil you add. You want to be careful with the walnut oil, as too much can overpower the dressing, but you can add more vegetable or olive oil, until it�s perfectly balanced for your palate.

As I joke about in the video, this seasonal vinaigrette is perfect for the non-cook to bring to a family gathering. We�re talking about a minimal effort to get what could potentially be lots of loving praise, or at the very least, fewer disappointed glances. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 2 1/4 cups of dressing:

1/4 cup prepared fresh cranberry sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 small garlic clove

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

[note: you can use 1/2 cup of any vinegar(s) you like]

1/4 cup walnut oil

1 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil, or as much as needed to balance acidity to your taste

View the complete recipe

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Lettuce Entertain You and Get to Know a Farmer

This quick and dirty video recipe for grilled romaine hearts was shot on location at Tanimura & Antle, a family-owned lettuce farm we toured as part of the Get to Know a California Farmer field trip Michele and I just returned from in Carmel, CA.

The event was to introduce their website and, as the name implies, help us get to know a farmer, and that's what we did. We got a fascinating look into how lettuce gets from their farm to your table. Brian Antle, the farm�s Harvest Manager, ran the tour, and it was a joy to hear him talk with such pride about what his and the Tanimura family had created from this land. 

After the tour we were treated to a wonderful lunch showing off some of the farm�s famous foliage. The grilled romaine salad you�ll see in the video was a big hit, but we also had some beautiful pizzas, as you can see below. It always feels special to eat produce that was just picked hours before.

You�ll also see a short video I did showing how the lettuce goes from dirt to final packaging on this slow-rolling mobile processing plant. You�ll have to pardon the dirty lens, as I hadn�t planned on filming in the field, and never checked it. I believe the smudge is gumbo, but there�s really no way to tell for sure. Don't let that deter you, or you'll miss a cameo by social media guru, Jay Baer, on a bed of lettuce.

After lunch we got to tour Naturipe Farms, one of the largest berry producers in the state. Our guide, Tom, did a great job of explaining all the challenges that go into growing berries, especially strawberries. I learned that organic doesn't mean that no pesticides are used. They just need to be certified pesticides, and are often the same ones used in conventional farming. The highlight for me was his explaining how fish meal is regularly used to fertilize organic strawberries, unbeknownst to most vegans we assumed.

Anyway, it was a really fun trip, and I want to thank Adfarm and Get to Know a California Farmer for inviting us. Also, huge thanks to the farmers who shared their stories and delicious products with us. For more information on Get to Know a California Farmer, please check out their website! It's a fantastic way to connect directly with the people growing the food you put on your tables every day.

They�re also running a sweepstakes on the Facebook page where you could win $10,000 worth of groceries. It�s only open to California residents, and ends soon, so get over there and check it out. Enjoy!

Grilled Romaine Salad

How Lettuce is Harvested

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Cold Romano Bean Salad � There are Different Kinds of Vibrant

When I was a young boy, many summer lunches were spent at my grandparent's table, and that's where I first learned to enjoy fresh vegetables. Like every Italian family in town, they had a backyard garden, which meant an abundance of zucchini, tomatoes, and beans. This cold Romano bean salad was a staple during those hot summer months, and is still one of my favorite summer side dishes.

So, there are two ways you can do this recipe. You can boil your beans, dress them and serve immediately. This technique provides you with a nice vibrant salad, but the beans are simply coated with the dressing, as opposed to being marinated in it.

I prefer it dressed and left to marinate in the fridge overnight, which gives you something closer to a pickled bean. This style creates a sharper, colder, more herbaceous salad that is ideal for the rich, fatty, smoky meats of summer. The tradeoff is in appearance, with the beans giving up the green color for a more vibrant flavor.

If you grow beans, or have a neighbor who does, you should have the ways and means to give this dish a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 or 3 fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

fresh sliced mint to top

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Sufferin' Succotash Salad

I've been looking for a tasty way to show off this ultra-fast and easy barbecue sauce vinaigrette idea, and this almost raw succotash salad proved to be a perfect vehicle. And to think, I almost ruined it by doing it the right way.

Originally, I was going to grill the corn first, and then slice the cooked kernels into the salad. As I started to prep, I took a little nibble off the end of the ear, and it was so sweet and juicy that I decided to change the plan, and go au natural.

Thanks to the sweet, starchy crunch of the raw corn, the combination of tastes and textures in this salad is outstanding. Sure, you could certainly add more than the four ingredients called for here, but I'm wondering if that would really make this any more perfect.

This succotash salad is great for those occasions when you need to bring a side dish to the company picnic, or family reunion, and want to arrive with something that looks like you put in a lot more effort into it than you actually did.

As you'll see in the clip, the dressing could not be simpler, but will rely on a quality barbecue sauce to bring everything together. I used my wife Michele's famous SFQ sauce, but your favorite barbecue sauce should work out as well (assuming it's deeply-flavored, complex, and kind of spicy).

Anyway, this may not be the most exciting, or visually thrilling thing we've made around here, but what it lacks in aesthetic charm, it more than makes up for in everything else. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 ears fresh sweet corn

1 large red bell pepper, small dice

4 green onions, chopped fine

1 can white beans, rinsed, drained

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Dressing:

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

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Garlic Parmesan Croutons, My Beyonc� Imitation, and How Did Cesar's Salad Become Caesar Salad?

There may not seem to be much rhyme or reason to the video selection these days, but there's a good reason for that. As I've alluded to in previous posts, for the next couple months I'll be basically cooking only recipes that appear in the cookbook.

When I have a chance to turn on the video recorder, I will, and this crouton how-to is an example. During normal times I'd probably not wake up inspired to film croutons, but hey, it's better than another talking plate clip from YouTube.

In addition to what may be a useful recipe for some number of you, you'll get my first and last Beyonce tribute. Sources deep within the music industry tipped me off she was planning a parody of my chicken wing video, so I wanted to strike the first blow.

Speaking of blow, virtually all salad dressing historians claim Caesar salad was invented in 1924 by Cesar Cardini in Tijuana, Mexico. It doesn�t appear on any written menus or cookbooks until decades later, and when it does, it�s called the �Caesar.�

What happened? I realize the inventors name, Cesar, is Spanish for the Latin, Caesar, but so what? The salad was invented by a Cesar, not Caesar. It�s not like it was changed to make it easier to say, or to Americanize it. Anyone have any ideas?

While you're pondering that one, why not head over to my American Foods site where I've posted my version of Caesar salad dressing, and the same recipe that will go into the book. Any thoughts or corrections would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!




Crouton Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, minced very fine
1/2 cup olive oil
1 (8-ounce) loaf French baguette or similar style bread (for best results, use day old bread)
3/4 cup finely grated "real" Parmesan cheese (sold as Parmigiano-Reggiano)
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne

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Warm Mozzarella and Bread Salad - Sunshine on My Salad Makes Me Happy

One reason I like making pizza so much are the great leftovers it provides. I don�t mean the cold pizza, which is in the leftover Hall of Fame, I am referring to all those great toppings that didn't get used. A few mushrooms here, a hunk of cheese there, maybe some roasted peppers hiding behind the olives. Some of my greatest omelets, pastas, and risottos have followed a pizza-making binge.

This warm mozzarella and bread salad was no different. What was different was the bright idea I had when I went to serve the salad. I placed it on the table, and went to get the rest of the meal. As I looked across the kitchen, I saw the pesto glistening on the bright white cheese. It looked good. So, I decided to film the plate being placed in the sunny window as part of the recipe (which you'll see in the video).

The results were stunning. The sun warmed the cheese, woke the pesto, and turned a very good bread salad into a memorable one. Now, I'm not saying the sun's rays imparted some kind of mysterious, magical energy into it, but I have been humming John Denver tunes ever since. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
stale Italian bread
8 oz mozzarella fresca (fresh mozzarella)
1/2 cup pesto
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
sun

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