Salad with Prosciutto and Gorgonzola

At my family's holiday table, there is one salad that keeps coming back year after year. It's really a pretty simple salad, with a few bold flavors that combine for a bold, crunchy, Italian flavor that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It is a bit tough to pin down a recipe for this salad, because it just sort of comes together (as a team effort usually). All of us siblings are usually in the kitchen asking "is that enough prosciutto? I should add more, shouldn't I?" or "pass the gorgonzola, I'll just add the rest of the container. I wasn't going to do anything with the leftovers anyway..."

So as you're putting this together in your own kitchen, keep that in mind, and remember that you can add as much (or as little, but where's the fun in that?) as you like. 

It starts with chopped hearts of romaine with some thinly sliced red onion mixed in. Add some mixed greek olives, crumbled gorgonzola cheese and sliced prosciutto that has been lightly fried until crispy. I've intentionally left the amounts out here, so that you can make this salad for one or for your next big party. As a guideline, I usually use about 1/2 medium onion with 1 bag of romaine hearts, 1/3 pound prosciutto, and 6 ounces of gorgonzola. I buy the olives in bulk at the local specialty market olive bar, and you can add as many or as few as you like.
To make the dressing, combine ~2 parts olive oil with ~1 part red wine vinegar, add salt, pepper, powdered mustard and oregano. Sweeten the dressing with a bit of honey. For about 1/2 cup total dressing, use approximately 1 tsp mustard, 1Tbsp oregano and honey to taste.

Pomegranate Mint Couscous

I know, I know... this is already (!) a bit of a divergence from my vegetable side dish fest. But I swear to you there is a reason! You see, winter is also pomegranate season, and despite the massive amount of work required and propensity to staining your favorite sweater (or your sister's... sorry Elizabeth!) I just love them. There is nothing like that sweet-tart, surprising burst of flavor when you bite into those tiny, gloriously red seeds. And pomegranates are super good for you, full of anti-oxidants. So you're getting healthier just by eating them (I make this argument to defend my red wine habit too, in case you are wondering).

Here is a wonderful, festively colored pasta side dish that is simple to make and can be prepared ahead of time. Serve it warm or cold, it is fabulous either way. I served it for dinner with a simple pan seared steak and caramelized shallots, but it was equally delicious on its own the next day for lunch.

Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous, cooked and fluffed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 2 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

Dress couscous with olive oil and lemon, stir well. Add all remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Maple Cayenne Glazed Carrots

Poor carrots, often written off  as unwelcome at the dinner table due to their prevalence in sub-par steamed vegetable mixes. Their only other appearances are as a part of veggie trays served up with ranch dip. Ish. We can do so much better!

Here is a spin on the classic sweet glazed carrots that Christopher and I put together for Thanksgiving dinner this year. We were craving sweet and spicy, and this delivers.

Ingredients:

2 pounds carrots, sliced in rounds

2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

-In a large, heavy pan, sauté the carrots in the butter over medium high heat until they begin to soften.

-Add maple syrup and cayenne pepper, maintaining the heat. Watch the carrots carefully at this step, as you want to remove them from the heat just as they begin to caramelize, before the sugar has a chance to burn.

Side Dish Fest!

Help lovely readers!

Sorry I've taken such a long break from sharing new recipes. Life and the holidays got a *little* bit crazy there! But the break has provided me with some inspiration for a series of posts on side dishes. I realized at Thanksgiving this year just how routine some of our side dishes have gotten. Even the so-called "new" versions are things that we painstakingly re-create year after year. This year was the year we broke the mold, and the fabulous new dishes served with alongside our holiday turkey called attention to how predictable our holiday cuisine had gotten.

Not that there is anything wrong with predictable mind you. This Minnesota girl loves mashed potatoes as much as any midwesterner, and to serve turkey without them is definitely sacrilegious. But what about options? And more importantly, what about vegetables? It's fall, and we're coming off of all of the beautiful summer produce that has been at our fingertips for so many months. Garden season is over, the farmer's market is closed for the season, and the mass-market produce available at the local mega grocery is just too lackluster in comparison to get excited about, right? Wrong!

There are so many cold weather options that are still there, and bursting with flavor. Sure peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers taste like cardboard versions of themselves. But check out the squashes, carrots, brussels sprouts, winter greens, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and vaguely alien kohlrabi. For the next several posts I'm going to focus on sides that liven up your table, and feature some of these excellent seasonal options.

Winter Kale Salad

This is a variation on the first raw kale salad that I ever tried, and to this day it is one of my favorites. My friend Julie is a wonderful cook, and she made this for a Christmas party she hosted at her house. The fresh green flavor of the kale, couples so well with the crunchy carrots and vegetables, and the sweet pomegranate seeds make the whole dish seem somehow decadent. Additionally, the contrast between the green vegetables, orange carrots and bright red pomegranate seeds also makes this a brilliantly festive salad to serve at the holidays.

This salad is so versatile, please feel free to experiment with whatever vegetables you like to add. I've posted a winter and a summer version to take advantage of some of my favorite fruits when they are in season. Adding bell peppers, green onions, dried fruits, celery, or anything crunchy is a great way to make this dish your own.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches kale, washed, stems removed and chopped into bite size pieces
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 1 avocado
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• pinch of sea salt
• optional: add pistachios, sunflower seeds, pine nuts or almond slices

Directions:
1. sprinkle salt and lemon juice over kale add, avocado
2. massage avocado into kale for 2 minutes with your hands, kale will soften and reduce in volume by about 1/3
3. stir in carrots and cucumber, taste and add salt or lemon juice if desired
4. spread pomegranate seeds over the top

Kale salad before being dressed with avocado and lemon juice. 

Summer Kale Salad

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables, it's unbelievably tasty and at the same time you get to feel great about eating it. I'll admit, for a long time I was stuck in a leafy green rut. I felt like I had two options: spring green salads or sautéed kale/chard/collard greens. But then, someone shocked me with a new culinary delight! A raw kale salad. Raw kale? You can DO that?!?!

It turns out, yes, you can. And more importantly, you definitely should! Kale salad is a wonderful accompaniment to a summer BBQ, or served with a hearty winter meal. This version, with mangoes, cucumber and carrots is a light tasting side dish that is perfect with grilled chicken or fish. Plus it is super duper healthy: high in fiber, loaded with anti-oxidants, low in calories, and packed with vitamins A and K.

Summer Kale Salad

• 2 small bunches of kale, stems removed, washed and coarsely cut
• 1 mango, diced
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1 carrot, grated
• sea salt

Now for the fun part, roll up your sleeves, wash your hands really well, and prepare to get dirty :)

1. Put kale, avocado and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Using both hands, massage the avocado into the kale for 2 whole minutes. The kale will soften quite a bit, and reduce in volume.
2. Dress the massaged kale with juice of 1/2 lemon (or to taste).
3. Toss in the mango, cucumber and carrot.