mayo-free potato salad
Although I use and like mayonnaise, I am not a fan of it in potato salads, coleslaw, and such. It’s just too heavy and kind of just sits there and globs altogether. This salad is light, tangy, and fresh-tasting – so much better than that big mayo-mass of stuff served at picnics, and it’s safe to leave out in “the weather” too!
Just add some shredded chicken to this and you’ll have yourself a main-dish salad supper (use purchased rotisserie chicken or roast a chicken breast, or two, alongside the potatoes). Other great add-ins include; thin red onion slices, chopped Kalamata olives, cherry tomato halves, minced parsley, chopped sun-dried tomato, etc. Or switch out the cheese; maybe some shaved smoked Gouda, Parmesan, or Manchego. How about pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts in place of the walnuts? You get the idea, make it our own and be sure to let me know how you mixed it up!
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January 14, 2010 3 Comments
candied almonds and a sweet and savory sherry vinaigrette
Today I have a spin on another recipe from Chef Tim McGrath of Cook’s Gathering. Tim made a lovely Mixed Greens and Stilton salad with candied pecans and a citrus-sherry vinegar dressing. What made the dressing remarkable was the fact that the dressing’s base was made from the syrupy liquid the pecans were candied in, ingenious! The moment I tasted the dressing I imagined how wonderful it would be on fresh, hot green beans or sugar snap peas. The next day in class, Tim suggested using the dressing on freshly steamed asparagus – great minds think alike!
What makes this dressing special besides the syrup base from the candied nuts, is the sherry vinegar. Sherry vinegar is from Spain. It has an assertive yet smooth taste and is perfect for deglazing pans to create flavorful sauces, especially those for meats such as beef, lamb, or duck. You will have a hard time finding sherry vinegar in most regular grocery stores, but it is readily available at gourmet grocers, Cost Plus World Market, Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, and other food specialty stores.
I’ve changed up Tim’s original recipe a little by candying almonds instead of pecans for this version, which I think will compliment steamed or blanched vegetables a bit better. I am again using sugar snap peas since I have a pound left over from the 2-pound package I purchased at Costco for the post a couple of days ago, but mix it up and feel free to use green beans, asparagus, snow peas, broccoli, or cauliflower.
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October 23, 2009 1 Comment