Kinda-Cobb Salad

When people hear "Cobb salad," their minds usually associate this with corn-on-the-cob.  In fact, a traditional Cobb salad doesn't have corn in it at all.  It just happened to be invented by Cobb, Howard Cobb.

A lot of people are stumped when it comes to salads.  They need inspiration to steer them away from the same ol' iceburg-tomato-and-cheese trio that usually stakes claim in their salad bowls.  This salad was an easy weeknight meal for 2.  I did not have any tomatoes on-hand, but halved cherry tomatoes would have been a great addition to this salad.  Add or leave out any ingredient you wish; that's the beauty of salads!

Kinda-Cobb Salad

• 8 large Romaine leafs, diced into 1/2" strips
• 4 slices turkey lunchmeat, rolled into a log and sliced into 1/2" pieces
• 4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
• 1/2 avocado, diced into small cubes
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced into small cubes
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced into thing rings
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

Layer a bed of Romaine in each of two salad bowls.  Top with remaining ingredients.

Cobb salads are typically served with a vinaigrette of some sort, but use and dressing of your choice.

Serve with garlic bread and enjoy!

Meatless Monday - Panzanella Salad

I adore the fresh taste of basil. So much so that I grow an abundance of basil on my back deck. I have so much, I usually end up freezing it or making pesto to use it up.  I grow many other herbs too, and end up only using a portion of each.  This year I vowed to be more creative with the plethora of herbs that I insist on growing.

This recipe is a good way to use some delicious basil and also day-old bread.  Not only that, but once any of my several tomato plants start producing ripe red gems and my shallots are ready to be pulled up, this recipe will be a perfect use of my container garden!

                                                                                                               Photo by Ryan Macchione

Panzanella Salad with Ricotta (serves 4-6)

• Loaf of crusty Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, seeds removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
• 3 T red-wine vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Large handful of basil leaves
• 8 oz ricotta

Bake bread cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer at 375 degrees until just golden, resembling large croutons, about 18-20 minutes.

In the meantime, combine bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, vinegar and oil in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add basil and toasted bread cubes, stir to combine.  Allow bread to soak up the juices by sitting for 20 minutes.

Divide evenly among serving bowls.  Top with a large spoonful of ricotta.  Season with salt & pepper and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. 

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving time! Roasted Pumpkin Salad **Guest Spotlight**

The remainder of this week and into the next is all about a Foodie's favorite feast - Thanksgiving. My soon-to-be sister-in-law (holy hyphenations, Batman!) Michele invited me to cook up a feast with her in her lovely kitchen. We experimented with recipes, some tried and true, some new and not so true...

The menu:

• Roasted pumpkin salad
• Aunt Lyle's cranberry relish
• Brussels sprouts with pancetta
• Smashed sweet potatoes with roasted pecans
• Roasted turkey breast
• Turkey London broil
• Stuffing
• Pumpkin mousse parfaits

Today, I'll start off with a first course - a Roasted Pumpkin Salad. Although the Italian family we were cooking for (including Michele) eat their salad at the end of a meal, I consider salad to be a beginning of a meal.

Keep checking back this week and next to see some great recipes and tips to try at your own thanksgiving feast! If you have a recipe that you're planning on making, send it to me - and if you have any pictures of your concoction, you may just be the very next Suburban Spoon Guest Spotlight!

Some tips I'd like to offer:

The pumpkin I used was something called a cheese pumpkin, purchased from a local farm called maple Acres. These aren't typical Jack-o-lantern pumpkins; they have a thinner, paler skin and are a lot shorter than the typical pumpkin.

While the flavor of the cheese pumpkin was great, preparing it (getting a knife through it to cut it, scooping out the seeds and all of its stringy innards, etc) was an awful pain. The flavor is so similar to its cousin squash, the Butternut Squash, I recommend using those instead if you are not up for a challenge.



Roasted Pumpkin Salad

• 1 small cheese pumpkin, cut in half and seeds/strings scooped out
• Seeds from pumpkin, rinsed free of all pumpkin strings
• Salt
• 1 bag baby arugula, washed and spun dry1 cup dried cranberries
• 4 oz. Asiago cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
• Dressing (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place hollowed-out pumpkins, face side down, on a cookie sheet. Roast for 40-50 minutes, you will be able to tell when the pumpkin is done, it is visibly softer and a knife can easy pierce all the way through.

Peel off skin and cut into 1" cubes.

For the pumpkin seeds, spread them out in a single layer on another cookie sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for 10-12 minutes.

Place arugula in serving bowl and add cranberries and shaved Asiago. Add with pumpkin cubes and pumpkin seeds, and drizzle with dressing (recipe below).


For the Dressing

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper
  

Whisk all ingredients until well combined. Taste and add any ingredient, bit by bit, until the dressing is to your liking.

Mexican on the Grill

Still sifting through a batch of produce that I picked up at a farm stand on the way home from the shore, I decided to make it a Mexican night! I fired up the grill and the end result was a healthy, tasty meal to satisfy my hunger for something robust...




Chicken Quesadillas on the Grill (makes 4)

• 1 cup of leftover cooked chicken
• 8 corn or flour tortillas
• 1 ripe tomato, diced
  
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced into small pieces
  
• 1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
  
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey jack or pepper jack cheese
• Canola oil

Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Brush one side of each tortilla with canola oil.

On half of the tortillas (oil side down), place about 1-2 T of the shredded cheese. Top with chicken, tomatoes, peppers, and scallions.

Add another layer or cheese to create "glue" to hold the tortillas together. Top with second tortilla, oil side up.

Slide onto grill and heat for about 4-6 minutes, pressing down with a spatula every so often. Carefully flip, and grill on second side until cheese is melted, about 3 more minutes.

Remove from grill and slice into wedges. Serve with sour cream and guacamole, as well as a side of grilled corn salad (recipe below).



Smoky Grilled Corn Salad

• 4 ears of fresh corn, husked
• 2 red bell peppers cut into 1" strips
• 1 bunch scallions (green onions), cut into 3" pieces
• 4 T olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 T fresh lime juice
• 1 T chipotle hot sauce (I used the adobo sauce from leftover canned chipotle peppers in adobo)
• 1/2 cup cilantro (I used Italian flat leaf parsley since I dislike the taste of cilantro

Thread peppers and scallions on metal skewers or wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for 20 minutes.

Brush corn, peppers, and scallions with oil. Grill vegetables until charred in some spots, 15 minutes for corn and 5 minutes for peppers & onions.

Cool slightly. Cut corn off the cob and add, with onions and peppers, to serving bowl.

Heat 2 T oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cumin and saute until garlic begins to sizzle. Remove immediately - do not let garlic get brown. Add lime juice and hot sauce and combine. Pour over vegetables and stir to coat.

Season to taste with salt & pepper. Cool completely, add cilantro (or parsley).

Enjoy!

Trader Joe's Tri-Tip Asada

A “carne asada” is the Mexican equivalent to an American barbecue. Traditionally, marinated beef is roasted over a large fire pit while friends and family gather and prepare to eat.

But, with Trader Joe's Tri-Tip Asada, you don’t need a large fire pit – a grill will do (or even an oven). It is a fresh cut of tri-tip that comes marinating in a Mexican-inspired spice blend. At $5.99 per pound (comes in cuts of about 3 lbs.), it's a winner.

It grills up low and slow, to produce a moist and tender, but vibrant, piece of meat. Slice it up and serve with guacamole, salsa, cheese and tortillas to make fabulous fajitas. Or, do like I did and pair with a zesty salad and add some cornbread on the side. ¡Delicioso!

I am going to share one of my secrets with you. Something that is incredibly easy and absolutely scrumptious is cornbread mix. You can find it in the International foods aisle. You add water, butter, a can of creamed corn, mix & bake! The result is a very nice addition to any Mexican-style meal.

For the salad, I shredded some romaine and topped with Trader Joe's Corn Salsa, Mexican mix cheese, and ranch dressing.

What a great summer meal!

Black Bean and Corn salad ¡Ay, caramba!

For a recent 3-day weekend, our street held a block-party. Since we were headed to the mountains and were not planning on attending, I did not plan on making anything.

We ended up returning much earlier than normal, so I was faced with pulling something together to bring to the pot-luck party that we decided to attend last-minute. Thinking about the fare I knew would be present (hot dogs, burgers, chicken, pasta salad.. the usual), I surveyed my pantry and came up with a snazzy little side dish that couldn't be easier to prepare! This dish was so tasty, I decided to turn it into a salad for my next week's book club meeting.

This yummy dish can be made with items you may already have on hand. It's a quick and easy side with a little zip!




Black Bean and Corn Salad

• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 can of yellow corn kernels, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 red onion, diced into small pieces
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced into very small pieces
• 2 tsp of lime juice
• 1/4 cup of chopped diced cilantro

Combine beans, corn, onion, and jalapeño in a medium bowl.

Add lime juice and cilantro, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste, stir.

That's it! I told you it was easy!

*Since we all know I hate cilantro, I added that in the recipe just for my readers! Cilantro would be perfect for this Southwestern-style dish, but I actually used chopped Italian parsley to give it a little color.

To make this dish a salad:

• Black bean and corn salad
• Romaine lettuce
• Shredded carrots
• Shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Newman's Own Light Lime Vinaigrette
• Tortilla chips
  

In serving bowl, toss lettuce, carrots, and dressing.

Top with cheese and bean & corn salad.

Nestle in tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Something on the light side...

Last night, I was craving something light for dinner and decided a salad was the way to go. To me, salads are a quick and easy way to have something light but still feel satisfied. I like to get creative with my salads though, especially when they are the main course!



Summer Salad

• Grilled chicken cutlets
• Romaine lettuce (or Spring Mix)
• Crumbled blue cheese
• Dried cranberries
• Diced avocado
• Sliced red onion
  
• Shredded carrots
• Chinese noodles

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T raspberry vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
  

Mix greens and all ingredients below on list in serving bowl. In a small jar, combine vinaigrette ingredients and shake to emulsify and toss into salad.

For grilled chicken, simply season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of Herbes de Provence (if available) and brushed both sides with canola oil. Heat grill to 350° and grill for 5 minutes/side or until internal temp is 155°. (The USDA recommends 170° but that is far too cautious in many peoples' opinions and will produce tough, dry chicken. Remember, meat continues to cook after you remove it from the heat)

Remove chicken from grill and let rest & cool a bit to room temperature. Slice, and add to salad.

Easy as pie. Or salad...

*Note- if you are planning on making enough for leftovers, do not add the dressing, avocado, and noodles until just before serving.