Pita salad (Fattoush) (p. 159)

I had a good feeling about Pita salad (Fattoush) (p. 159) because I really like pita bread.  I'm not a big salad eater.  I want to be.  I really want to love salad.  But I don't.  

I started by tossing cucumber and salt in a colander and leaving it to drain for a half hour:

I also split some pitas and baked them until crisp:

I whisked together olive oil, lemon juice, a crushed garlic clove, salt, and black pepper.  The dressing was good, nicely spiced.  I'm sure I used more garlic than I was supposed to, I always do.

I mixed tomatoes, romaine lettuce, scallions, parsley, cilantro, and mint in a bowl:

And tossed it with the dressing.  The pita chips were added to the top and it was done!

The salad was easy and very tasty.  I like a crunch in a salad (I notice that they really care about texture on the cooking shows but I don't usually pay a whole lot of attention to that--even so, the crunch is nice in salad).  The dressing was perfect, although I would have liked to add some olives or feta or something briny.  I've never had fattoush before this--anyone have any experience with the dish?  Does this seem similar?

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November party post 2: Waldorf salad (p. 169), Carrot and raisin salad (p. 166), Texas caviar (p. 73), and Rosemary pecan butter (p. 179)

This is the second post in a series so make sure to read Post 1 (especially if you like whipped fish [and who doesn't]!).

I hate Waldorf salad (p. 169). I always have. In fact, I hate it so much that it amazes me that anyone likes it. But people must like it because it's everywhere.

Like all Waldorf salads, I mixed celery, apples, walnuts, and grapes with mayonnaise. *Gag*

Why would anyone voluntarily eat fruit covered in mayonnaise? Look, I like mayonnaise, but that's just going too far. TJOC recommended that you can include marshmallows too--that's horrifying. It tasted just like it looks--crunchy things covered in mayo. If you like Waldorf salad, I would love for you to explain why in the comments. Please.

Texas caviar (p. 73) is one of those items that I had seen on menus before but never ordered. To be honest, I had no idea what was actually in it. It turns out that I don't like real caviar and I don't really like Texas caviar either.

I combined black eyed peas, pimientos, jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, bell pepper, scallions, parsley, oregano, cilantro, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and some vinaigrette:

This recipe makes a TON of food so make sure you have a crowd. I don't really like bean salads but it was a pretty solid salad if you're into that. The vinaigrette really soaked into everything and it was nicely flavored. This is one of those dishes that gets better the longer it sits so if you are going to make it for a party, make it a day or two early.

Carrot and raisin salad (p. 166) is a strange recipe. I combined grated carrots, raisins, pecans, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and tossed that with sour cream and mayonnaise:

It was certainly a simple recipe but, again, I don't understand all the mayonnaise love in the salad chapter of TJOC. I don't really like raisins in savory dishes but that's a personal thing. It was a sweet salad and it would be a good choice if you were going to a potluck and wanted to bring something a little different.

Rosemary pecan butter (p. 179) sounded interesting. I kind of like the idea of savory nut butters (yeah, yeah ::insert innuendo here::) as a spread that's a little different than the norm and I really like rosemary.

I combined toasted pecan pieces, cold butter, rosemary, and brown sugar in my food processor:

Certainly easy. It was good. The rosemary went really well with the pecans. It was particularly tasty on my bagel the next day. I always have trouble with spreads because I can never tell exactly what you are supposed to spread them on--crackers? Bread? Veggies? I think I overthink these things.

There are many more posts coming up about this party so keep checking!

Tomato and mozzarella salad (insalata Caprese) (p. 169) and Baked fish fillets in white wine (p. 397)

Both of my parents are huge proponents of Tomato and mozzarella salad (insalata caprese) (p. 169). When my father and I went to Rome in 2003 he ordered caprese at every restaurant we ate at (I ordered tiramisu everywhere, so it was really only the middle of the meal that differed). I consider myself well-versed in caprese salad because it's a simple way to use tomatoes if you have an over-producing garden.

So when I noticed that my mother not only had a ball of mozzarella in the fridge but also a few nice tomatoes and some garden basil I know it would be the perfect dish to make.

I arranged slices of tomato and mozzarella on a plate. I sprinkled it with basil and drizzled olive oil over the top and it was finished:



It was every bit as simple and delicious as I expected it to be. The creaminess of the cheese, the tang of the tomato, and the spicy basil complemented each other perfectly. Caprese salad is summer on a plate.

Mom had defrosted fish so I decided to make Baked fish fillets in white wine (p. 397). I'll confess that I don't particularly like wine so I wasn't very excited about this recipe.

I took my fish fillets, laid them in a greased baking dish, and poured white wine over the top.



That's it.

Really.

That's the whole recipe.

I put the fish into the oven for a half hour, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and it was done:



Bland and boring (although very easy). The fish picked up strange floral notes from the wine, which I didn't like, and needed a lot more flavor. It wasn't bad enough not to eat but it certainly wasn't something I would make again.

Random trivia:

• Insalata Caprese is traditionally made with buffalo mozzarella, which is made from the milk of the water buffalo (Wikipedia)
• Caprese refers to the island of Capri, a place I really, really want to visit.

Creamy cucumber salad (p. 167)

Summer is usually full of overproducing vegetable gardens for many people. Those people (often totally sick of most of the vegetables growing at such an alarming clip) are usually willing to share, often leading to me having a lot of vegetables (a great problem to have!). Mom had a bunch of cucumbers and was getting a little tired of them. I thought that Creamy cucumber salad (p. 167) might be a nice step off the beaten path.

I tossed sliced cucumbers and salt together in a colander and let it stand (and drain) for almost an hour:



I pressed the cucumber but didn't rinse the salt off (which seemed very strange). I added sour cream and lemon juice and tossed it:



At this point I sprinkled a little basil on the top and it was finished!

This was easy and surprisingly good. The saltiness cut the acidity in the sour cream nicely. It was different than my normal preparations for cucumbers. I really recommend this recipe when you are at the point of summer where you can't imagine eating even one more cucumber.

I have to say, I hate draining cucumbers. Does it really make that big of a difference if you don't? Does anyone know?

Marinated cucumbers I (p. 167) andMarinated cucumbers II (p. 167)

**Pop to the end for my new feature!**

As I mentioned before, I got a terrific deal on cucumbers and had to find a way to use them all. I thought Marinated cucumbers II (p. 167) would be a good start.

I layered peeled sliced cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkled them with salt to help draw out water, placed a weighted plate (I put a can of tomatoes on the plate) on top, and refrigerated it for a couple of hours.



Look how much water came out!



I poured all of the water out and rinsed the cucumber under cold water (get all that salt off!). I mixed dissolved a little sugar with a little water:



I added the sugar mixture, along with cider vinegar, to the cucumbers, along with some salt and black pepper and it was done!



If you like pickles, you will like these cucumbers. You aren't creating a true pickle--that requires fermentation--but these are pickle-flavored cucumbers.

Since I still had a ton of cucumbers left I decided to go ahead and make Marinated cucumbers I (p. 167). I mixed white wine vinegar and sugar in a bowl and then added sliced cucumber. I see now that I was supposed to cut them in half first but I don't think it affected the recipe at all.



Both cucumber recipes were very similar. The I recipe was slightly sweeter and the II recipe had an odd texture from being pressed but they were almost the same. I recommend salt and pepper for your cukes in the future if you aren't using it now. I love pickles, so I might fool around with these recipes in the future--I think they could be improved with some garlic and balsamic vinegar.

I love pickles so much that I have been complaining about wanting a subscription to the Pickle of the Month club for about a year. For Christmas, Josh bought me a six-month subscription for two jars a month! I'm so excited! Expect to see my reviews on those pickles.

New Feature!
I'm writing these blog posts incredibly out of order and I have recently found that I enjoy doing a little "Fun Facts" section while writing my alcohol posts (nothing special, just information that I've gleaned off of Wikipedia and the like). I've decided to continue doing it on all posts. Let me know your thoughts! They will always be at the end and in blue so you can skip it if you aren't interested.

Cucumber facts!

• Cucumbers are a fruit, not a vegetable (Wikipedia)
• Cucumbers and gherkins are in in the same genus but are different species (Wikipedia)
• Cucumbers lose acidity and gain sugar as they grow (On Food and Cooking, p. 334)
• The word "pickle" is from the Dutch word "Pekel"" which means brine (Wikipedia)
• The word "Pickle" alone in the US always refers to cucumber pickles--that is not the case in other countries (Wikipedia and personal experience)
  

Sauteed corn (fried corn) (p. 271) and Caesar salad (p. 159)

Sauteed corn (fried corn) (p. 271) is such an easy recipe that it is barely registers as a recipe at all. I (or rather, Josh) sliced six ears worth of kernels off of the cob (fortunately, there was a 3 cobs for $1 sale). I sauteed them for a few minutes in butter and then seasoned the corn with a little parsley and chili powder:



Definitely tasty. Better than corn poured out of a can and almost as easy. That being said, corn is a heckava lot better in Iowa than it is in Colorado. No contest at all.

I'm not much of a salad girl. My mom finally admitted to me this year that she doesn't like salad either which probably explains why we never ate it growing up (even though my grandparents and aunt have it with almost every meal). Up until recently, I would refuse salad even if it came free with my meal. I just have never really liked salad--it seems so boring and like such a waste of calories.

If I am going to eat a salad, I prefer Caesar salad (p. 159), partially because I see the lettuce as a vehicle to get dressing, croutons, and cheese to my mouth. I wasn't particularly excited about the recipe, though.

I pressed garlic and added a little salt (much easier than mashing the garlic with a fork):



I whisked lemon juice, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in with the garlic:



Slowly added olive oil in a slow, steady stream:



I tossed romaine lettuce, homemade croutons, grated Parmesan, and the dressing together:



SO GOOD! In fact, I don't think capital letters are enough emphasis--it was SO GOOD!! This salad was better than I thought salad could be! My croutons were big and delicious, the dressing was SO garlicky, it was so perfectly balanced that I couldn't stop eating it. When Josh told me he wasn't hungry, I thought 'Great! More for me!'--that's how good it was. Of course, he grazed the kitchen after telling me that he wasn't hungry and I walked in to the kitchen to find him shoveling the salad into his mouth as fast as he could. It was the stand-out dish of the night. Has anyone tried this before? What did you think?


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Curried chicken or turkey salad (p. 164)

I have a number of reasons for putting a recipe off instead of making it.  Sometimes a recipe is expensive, sometimes they are complex or challenging, sometimes they have an ingredient nobody in the house likes.  But sometimes I already make a great version of a dish, so there is no real incentive to make the TJOC version.  Curried chicken or turkey salad (p. 164) is one of these.  I make a GREAT curry chicken salad that is essentially my recreation of the curry chicken salad at Paradise.  

This version, too, tastes exactly like the version at Paradise, which makes me question where they got their recipe.

It was one of only two recipes left on one of my randomly selected pages though and I knew it would be easy.  It was easy.

I mixed cooked chicken (I used poached chicken the stock I made), pecans, golden raisins, a few scallions, a chopped apple, and some celery:

I whipped up some curry mayonnaise and poured it over the top:

How was it?  Good but my version is just as good (I use sunflower seeds rather than nuts, for example).  The curry lends a nice spiciness to the empty canvas of the chicken, the apple and celery give a juicy crunch, and the raisins add a nice sweetness.  This chicken salad is something different than the normal chicken salad, so if you are getting stuck in a sandwich or salad rut I recommend it.  Make sure you use a good curry or it would be awful--I always make my own but I'm sure you can buy good mixes too.  

I'm making great progress on this randomized list!  I'm a third finished already!

Baked goat cheese and mesclun (p. 160) and Spicy walnut vinaigrette (p. 574)

I haven't been making much progress on the entree salad section of TJOC. I'm guessing it's because we tend not to have a lot of fresh salad veggies in the fridge and lettuce seems to go bad so quickly. I thought Baked goat cheese and mesclun (p. 160) sounded tasty.

I cut a log of goat cheese into slices, coated them in olive oil and breadcrumbs, and then baked them until they were bubbling.



I mixed baby mixed greens and chopped herbs (parsley and tarragon), tossed them with a vinaigrette, and placed a round of goat cheese on the top.



The salad was good, although I'm not sold big chunks of herbs in salads. The cheese was nice and creamy and lent a nice contrast to the acidity of the vinaigrette. Goat cheese tends to be rather expensive and I thought this was a pretty good use of it.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned since starting TJOTJOC is that salad dressing is much better when it's homemade and is really, really fast and easy to make. I had the ingredients for Spicy walnut vinaigrette (p. 574) so I decided to make a batch. I whisked a shallot, balsamic vinegar, minced walnuts, Dijon mustard, a touch of salt, and a bit of hot pepper sauce together. I then added walnut oil and olive oil slowly to the mixture.

Sorry about this picture--it's probably one of the worst I've ever taken:




This dressing was a really nice, well-rounded vinaigrette. It was pretty acidic, but that's typically for a vinaigrette. I thought the walnuts added a nice crunch and the walnut oil gave the dressing a different flavor base than I'm used to (I usually just stick with olive oil or the occasional peanut oil).

I still think that blue cheese dressing is my favorite salad dressing, although my head can be turned by a nice vinaigrette. I tend to find Ranch dressing extremely boring. What is your favorite dressing? Do you make it or buy it? I used to adore this 5-Cheese salad dressing that Wishbone disconnected--it was amazing on artichoke hearts.

Ranch dressing (p. 576) , Creamy macaroni salad for a crowd (p. 172), and Creamy dressing for coleslaw (p. 578)

The week after my PhD "graduation" my brother Sam graduated from high school! Congrats, Sam!

(I will post a picture of Sam and I when Dad sends me one this weekend!)

My dad asked me to help him cook for the large graduation party and dad and I had a lot of fun puttering around the kitchen. Dad made a TON of pulled pork with different sauces and I whipped up some Western South Carolina sauce , along with my delicious blue cheese dressing. Most of the party food wasn't from TJOC but I talked him into letting me make Ranch dressing (p. 576) as a dipping sauce for the carrots/celery/dipping veggies.

I just don't get the love people have for ranch dressing. To me, it's boring and really high in calories. I've known people who dipped EVERYTHING in ranch, which always grossed me out. I understand vegetables or pizza. I don't understand getting an artery-clogging side of ranch with everything you eat.

Did you know that ranch was originally created at the Hidden Valley Guest Ranch? Interesting piece of random trivia.

I combined garlic and salt until smooth, and then added buttermilk, lime juice, parsley, chives, and a little salt and pepper.

It was really, really, really thin. The problem might have been that I quadrupled the recipe but it was a dressing as in 'dressing for cole slaw' and not a dressing as in 'dressing for a salad'. So, like TJOC recommended for thicker sauce, I added sour cream and mayonnaise.



It was still a no-go and was really, really thin. Disappointing! Has anyone else made this recipe? Did it work out for you?

Dad had already planned on making potato salad and had bought bean salad but I thought a pasta salad would really round things out. And I thought it would be the perfect time to make Creamy macaroni salad for a crowd (p. 172).

I chopped what seemed like a ton of peppers, carrots, and an onion--my knife skills are improving--while the pasta boiled away on the stove.



While that was happening, I whipped up some Creamy dressing for coleslaw (p. 578). It was a simple sauce. I mixed mayonnaise, cider vinegar, and sugar:



I mixed it all together:



It was really pretty and inviting. I thought it had the perfect amount of dressing--not much. I made the pasta salad the day before it was eaten and I really recommend doing that because the flavors melded together and improved. I think adding a few cucumbers or cherry tomatoes would make the dish even better. It was a sort of boring pasta salad but was very popular which make it a perfect dish for a potluck. The recipe does make a LOT of pasta salad, so I recommend only making it if you honestly do have a crowd.

Graduation weekend #1: Chickpea salad (p. 170), Tangy coleslaw (p. 161), and Spicy Chinese slaw (p. 161)

The next few posts need a bit of introduction (a happy introduction!).

Most of you know that I'm working on a PhD--I'm nearing the end (thankfully!) but my university only has graduation ceremonies in May and December. I was originally going to be finished within summer session (I will be done in September now) but because of the lack of an August graduation ceremony, I decided to walk (and get hooded) in the May ceremony.

My mom, her sister, her best friend, my dad, his brother, Josh's mother, and Josh's brother all traveled in for the ceremony and everyone stayed in the house for at least a few days. It was my first time to host that many people and took me a couple of months to get the house in shape. I learned a few things, like take the amount of toilet paper that you think you need and buy twice that.

The part (aside from the actual graduation) that I was the most excited about what cooking the meals. I thought we would have appetizers and cold salads as people trickled in on Thursday, our big dinner Thursday night (giving me an opportunity to cook a big piece of meat), and a nice brunch on Friday before the afternoon ceremony, which would really help my goal of "201 TJOC recipes in 2010".

My thought process with the cold salads was that they could be snacked on during the day on Thursday and kept in the fridge if people needed a snack.

The first salad I made was Chickpea salad (p. 170). The salad was simple. I mixed together chickpeas, roasted red peppers, onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, and garlic. Simple!

Actually, the only disaster was while I was roasting the red peppers--I used too much olive oil and put the rack too close to the heating source and there was a small fire incident.



This is a hard salad for me to rate because I dislike red peppers--the chickpeas really soaked up the red pepper/onion flavor and the garlic and lemon juice gave it a nice kick. I think it was better the next day after it sat overnight and the flavors totally melded.

I thought that Tangy coleslaw (p. 161) would also be good. I like coleslaw but not enough to eat it for several days until it's gone, which is why I haven't made many of the coleslaw recipes in the past. I mixed scallions, rice vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar together:



I then tossed cabbage, watercress, and a carrot with the mayo mixture:



And it was finished! I liked this dish. The watercress gave it a nice peppery kick and the carrots were nice and crunchy. I don't think it was particularly tangy but it wasn't the same ole boring coleslaw that I'm used to, so I liked it. It was easy and eye-catching--I think it would be a good choice to bring to a potluck.

Finally, I also made Spicy Chinese slaw (p. 161). I picked up a nice piece of diakon (a type of Japanese radish) at the grocery store and cut it into matchsticks. I ate a TON of diakon when I was in Japan--it's worked into essentially every dish and it's used in probably a hundred different ways.



Honestly, that is some of the best work I've ever done (sad but at least I'm improving!). I salted the daikon with a TON of salt.

I let it marinate and rinsed it off, then stirred in garlic, red pepper flakes, sugar, rice vinegar, olive oil, and sesame oil.



It was so pretty! But WAY too salty. WAY too salty. Rinse the heck out of the daikon. Rinse it until you think it's done and then rinse it some more. I imagine you salt it to reduce the moisture--which it definitely did--but the salt really soaked in. So it's really hard to judge because it was so salty. I think if it had less salt, it would have had a great spicy flavor. Has anyone else made this dish?

Pickled beet salad (p. 166) and Sauteed bacon (p. 508)

Pickled beet salad (p. 166) was on my randomly selected list and I've been meaning to make it for a while, but, honestly, it's difficult for me to get excited about pickled beets.

I combined cider vinegar, the beet juice that I drained off the canned beets, sugar, peppercorns, cloves, bay leave, and salt in a saucepan. I boiled it, then let it sit for a half hour, boiled it again, and then poured it on the beets.

Absolutely delicious! I have managed to get over my dislike of beets, a problem I totally blame on my father burning me out on the veggie. If you like vinegar this is the recipe for you! The beets are sweet, the vinegar is sour, and the broth is well seasoned. Make sure everyone in your house likes vinegar if you make this recipe--it makes the entire house smell like you were just cleaning the coffeepot. And don't forget that beets can make your pee red--I imagine some people find that a little disconcerting.

Sauteed bacon (p. 508) is one of those asinine TJOC recipes that I don't think you actually need a recipe for. You take bacon, throw it in a pan, and cook until crisp. Is a recipe needed? Who doesn't know how to sautee bacon?

The only thing this recipe taught me was to use medium-low heat instead of the high heat I usually use--I liked the way the bacon turned out. Bacon is absolutely delicious and I used it to make some delicious BLT's (with the Bibb lettuce and tomato that were originally destined for the Cobb salad I chose against making). Yum! You can't go wrong with a BLT.

Egg salad (p. 164) and Drip coffee (p. 30)

This is a simple blog post, each recipe with only one picture.

I don't like Egg salad (p. 164), so this is another post in the list of foods my mom likes that I needed to make while I was home so mom could eat it.

The egg salad was easy--I chopped up hard-boiled eggs and mixed it with mayonnaise and a little onion:



Mom said it was the perfect egg salad. It's bizarre to me because it has almost no ingredients--it must be the ratios. I think people probably go over the top with mayonnaise although it's not necessary because of all the egg yolk. Mom said that lots of coworkers lustily eyed her egg salad sandwich the next day.

I don't drink coffee, although I do have a coffeepot. My mom has always sworn that everyone should have a coffeepot for guests and it actually does get used by other people relatively frequently. Even so, I've never made Drip coffee (p. 30), believe it or not. The only time I drink coffee is when I really need the caffeine and can't get to a nice can of Coke. And I then fill it full of cream and sugar.

TJOC's recipe is more about the quantity of water per coffee, which I followed, and then I followed the directions for the coffee maker:



I still didn't drink any, but my mom said the coffee was good. Not much to say about the topic, it's just coffee, right?