Hello My Precious!

No real recipe or restaurant review today, but I simply had to share my excitement of my first tomato plant and the subsequent tomatoes. Oh, look how pretty they are!  How proud I am!

How to eat the first pick? Simple and plain. No seasoning, not fancy smancy preparation. I simply wanted to relish in that first taste of fresh, sweet tomato yummy goodness.

For some reason, I can't bear to cook them and would rather eat them simply sliced. Sliced, sprinkled with a little bit of sea salt, quick spray of some basil infused olive oil and a few fresh basil leaves - also from my garden!

Perfect salad before dinner - or in my case, a great afternoon snack!  

So Fresh Edamame Salad

This is a dish I discovered several years ago during a Central Market cooking class. In that class, this salad was served alongside grilled lamb chops. It's such a simple and incredibly fast dish that I love making it when I'm in a bind and need a somewhat healthy lunch. 

I feel like edamame has really taken off in the past few years and is now a much more common snack. It's no longer just the soybeans you have in a japanese restaurants. You find it now incorporated into a variety of non-Japanese food now. 

I typically buy the frozen edamame from the asian grocery store. Nowadays, you can find this in almost any store.  I have found that I prefer the edamame that are still in the pods versus the ones that are already shelled. I feel like the unshelled beans taste firmer and fresher. Just my preference but it does mean it takes a little longer to shell each one. 

Edamame Salad

Serves 3

1 package soy beans / edamame

5 radishes, sliced

1 large shallot, minced

Zest of one lemon
6 slices of prosciutto, sliced in similar size as the radish
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp champagne vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice from one lemon
S&P

1. If you have frozen edamame, boil water and then briefly soak the edamame. Shell so you have individual beans.

2. Make sure you thoroughly wash the radish. Slice approximately five radishes into thin slivers.  

3. Mince the shallots. Taking about six slices of proscuitto, I rolled it and slice into slivers. Then take a rough chop so they are smaller pieces. Add to the soy beans. 

4. In a small bowl, mix the mustard, champagne vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk well.

5. Toss the dressing with the salad. Take a quick taste and add S&P as needed. If you need more acidity, add more lemon. I have a tendency to always add an additional splash of vinegar.

Crisp Fennel Salad

Well, well.  Happy New Year!  A resolution for 2011 is to provide you with more posts each month - I realized I've slacked these last few months but did you also realize that I've had this blog for more than a year!  Hooray!

So, I discovered fennel from one of my go-to Food Network chefs - Giadda. She's definitley one that I consistently watch, but I do have to say, the way she closes her eyes while she tastes the dish and does that mmmm-MMMM sound, makes me cringe and like her just a little less. So annoying! Ha! Her dishes are fairly good, not too complicated but beware some are hit and miss. 

Back to fennel.  It's a crisp, sweet, licorice-ish flavor veggie.  It's an odd looking thing with the bulb and several stalks that are typically tossed.  For me, it was one of those intimidating veggies that I saw in the store, wasn't sure how to cook or eat it and so just kept walking to the cauliflower and broccoli.  After seeing Giadda and Ina use fennel various ways, I thought to give it a whirl.  Baby steps, though!  Make it into a raw salad with a simple lemon vinagrette and wow, I love this salad and I love fennel!  Now, if it wasn't so expensive I think I'd be inclined to eat this at every meal.  A fennel bulb will cost around $3-$4 and two will feed one person.  If you're making for several, you'll need about 5 bulbs. 

As for the stalks, you are suppose to cut the tips and discard. I've tried grilling/sauteeing them and they are edible.  Also, my dad pulled back the outside, fiberous layer (like a banana) and the inside veggie meat was quite delicious.  Just takes a little work.  Also, for plating, save a few of the leaves for garnish to add a nice touch.

Crisp Fennel Salad

Serves 1

2 bulbs fennel (bulbs only)

S&P

1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Handful of arugula

Freshy grated parmesan cheese

1. Wash the fennel well as it can be quite sandy.  I cut the bulb right where the green stalks start to protrude.  Then cut the end off too - where it's a tad tough.  Then half it vertically as shown below.  I don't cut out the core which some may tell you to.  It's a little harder but still edible in my opinion.  Then slice them up!

2. In a small bowl, grate the lemon zest then juice the entire lemon.  Add a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Then with a fork, whisk in olive oil until it creates a yummy vinagrette.  Keep tasting until it's just right - adding S&P as needed.  

3. In a bowl, toss the arugula, fennel and the dressing.  Once incorporated, add in the freshly grated cheese, taste and add more S&P as necessary.  Done!  I also grilled a tomato to complement this salad and yum!

Kiwi Vinaigrette - Aunt Chien's Versatile Salad Dressing

I've referenced my Aunt Chien in prior posts.  She's the amazing aunt that cooks, arranges flowers and graciously shared her banana nut bread recipe with me.  Well, she was in town again for a visit and of course, our family EATS.  She showed us how to make the most simple salad dressing with common cupboard ingredients and fresh fruit.  That night, it was with kiwi and mangos.  I don't see why you couldn't use strawberries, rasberries or blueberries if that is what you have in your fridge.

Beyond just tasting good, knowing exactly what went into it, and simply how fast and easy this is to make, I also like that you can keep this in the fridge for a few weeks. Make a batch, put into a pourable container/jar, and it's a quick pour each time I need it.  In addition to salads, I'll just use this when I have my cucumber or sweet snap pea veggie snacks throughout the day.  If you have some cheese, even better.  I had this kiwi dressing in a salad with some blue cheese - um, hello!  They tasted delicious together!  I've made this with kiwi, mangos and strawberries with the latter being the best in my opinion.

Also, my other Aunt had this fun appliance called the Magic Bullet.  You put everything in the cup, blend and in two seconds, it's done.  Serve right about of the cup.  Amazing.  I want one. 

Kiwi Salad Dressing

Recipe from my Aunt Chien

2 kiwis

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp honey

4 and 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 lemon

S&P

1. Peel and cube the kiwi. 

2. In a blender, add everything in except the lemon.  For the honey, adjust if your fruit is very sweet.  For istance, if you are using a sweet mango, I would only use 1 tbsp of honey.  You can use about 6 large strawberries or a good handful of rasberries.  I have some frozen rasberries that I will try next. 

3. Give it a good blend and then squeeze half of the lemon in.  Taste and if you feel like you need more, squeeze the other.  Also, I like my dressing on the tart side and find myself adding just a tad bit more vinegar. 

Dill Shrimp Salad

Yes, I admit it. I enjoy mayo and I probably enjoy it more than the average person. Yeps, no shame in that! This is probably why I gawked at friends who said they love visiting London but hated the food - they put mayo in every sandwich possible. Who can resist! Even better......who can resist it in a salad? Tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, you name it - I'm all ears. So when I saw this recipe for a Dill Shrimp Salad - I pretty much knew that was going to be my dinner the next day.
Okay, I know too much mayo can be overwhelming and can hit a point of the "ugh, that was too much mayo," but when used right, it can bring a creamy, fresh take to a food that needs a little boost in extra flavor, such as shrimp. So, what's so different with this salad? Fresh orange juice and zest. I never even thought about combining orange juice/zest with mayo. It leaves this wonderful sweet zang that adds a little kick to the salad. Not only does it make the dressing that much creamier, the shrimp tastes like its been marinated in juice for a few hours. Delicious!

Directions said to roast the shrimp in the oven for 8 minutes. Next time, I think I'll cook it for around 6 minutes and actually let it marinate in the salt, pepper and olive oil for about 20 minutes before roasting. I put the finished salad on top of a bed of arugula and baby spinach salad and lightly tossed with a little olive oil. *Please pardon 'yellowness' in the images, due to a not so great camera.

Dill Shrimp Salad
Recipe from Ina Garten

1 lb fresh shrimp
1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoon of chopped dill
1 orange
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Peel, devein and rinse the shrimp. Pat dry and place on baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil - make sure to mix to thoroughly cover shrimp. Bake 400 for 8 minutes. (I recommend marinating the shrimp in the olive oil mixture for about 20 minutes before baking.)

Zest one orange and squeeze juice from half of orange. Mix in mayo (I only used 1/4 cup instead of the 1/2 cup), dill and white wine vinegar. Mix and add salt/pepper to taste.

Once shrimp is slightly cooled, add a spoonful of mayo mixture to shrimp to test. Add more as appropriate. Serve on top of fresh arugula and baby spinach salad - enjoy!