Succotash is a hot bean and corn dish that was  popular during the Great Depression because of the ingredients were more readily available than most other foods and relatively less expensive. I’m not a fan of traditional succotash… but turn it into a cold salad with basil dressing, and I’m all in!

Succotash Salad with Basil Dressing

2 cups frozen baby lima beans, thawed
2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Two 15- to 16-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 cups peeled and diced sweet onion
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil, divided
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the lima beans, edamame, and salt and cook 2 minutes. Add green beans and cook until all beans are just tender, about 4 minutes longer. Drain. Rinse beans under cold water; drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add kidney beans, corn, and onion.

Puree 3/4 cup of the basil, yogurt, mayonnaise, and vinegar in a blender or food processor. Add dressing to bean mixture; toss to blend well. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Transfer salad to a platter. Surround with tomato slices. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup basil over salad and serve.

Serves 8

Here is the first of four brunch dishes that I’d like to share with you from our New Year’s Eve Brunch. Since I wasn’t the one cooking any of these, there will only be the one picture… no preparation photos. And in some cases, as with this one, I even forgot to take the picture myself and had to ask the creator of the dish to email me the photo taken from the leftovers they brought back home – thanks for this one, Mary!  Oh, one more thing – This is my 800th Post! Wow 800!

Mary’s Sausage and Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella

1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.

Sauté sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with a spatula into small pieces, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the parsley; stir 1 minute. Spread sausage mixture in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half and half, whipping cream, 1  1/2 cups of the cheese, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in dish.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley over. Bake until top of casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

One of Les Gourmettes Cooking School’s longtime students, Marilyn, brought in a huge box of green tomatoes to share with the class. I brought home a couple pounds of them myself. My lone remaining tomato plant yielded the three tomatoes with the stems that you see in the photo below.

I’ve posted the recipe for fried green tomatoes previously, so this time I’m turning them into the deli delicacy – pickled green tomatoes. If you love these crunchy, thick walled, salty, sour, spicy treats like I do, just wait until you see how easy they are to make at home.

This “refrigerator pickle” technique is basically foolproof. No lengthy temperature-critical fermentation and no sterile canning (although the jars and lids need to be cleaned with boiling water first). And they must be kept refrigerated. The best part is that the refrigerator pickled green tomatoes  remain crunchy. Pasteurized pickled green tomatoes get mushy.

It is important that the tomatoes are firm and completely green, no bits of orange or red and no mushy green tomatoes!  I have labeled four of the jars and will be giving them as Christmas gifts.

Picked Green Tomatoes

2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 cups water
6 tablespoons kosher salt
2 pounds firm green tomatoes
2 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled then sliced in half
5 tablespoons dried dill weed or seed
5 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 1/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Equipment:
5 pint-size canning jars with lids, sterilized by submerging in boiled water

Make the brine by combining the vinegar, water, and salt in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir until the salt is dissolved, cover and keep hot.

Divide the garlic, dill weed, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes evenly between the sterilized jars.

Thoroughly wash the tomatoes and slice into wedges. Cut out any bad spots and cut off the stem ends. Tightly pack into the jars, leaving about 1/2 to 3/4-inch of space at the top.

Pour the hot brine over the tomatoes to within 1/4-inch of the top. Wipe the jar top clean and put the lids on tightly.  Shake to distribute the spices. Refrigerate for at least 4 days before serving. Use within 4 to 5 weeks.

Makes five 1 pint jars

Marilyn, thank you for sharing your garden’s bounty!

Everyone has their favorite way to eat up their leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I’d guess that a good old turkey sandwich would be the hands-down winner for most of us. I like my sandwich one way and one way only – on white bread that is slathered in Miracle Whip with sliced turkey breast only. I don’t eat any of the leftover sides, I just relish that sandwich and I am as happy as can be. If I haven’t remembered to purchase a jar of Miracle Whip before Thanksgiving so that it is ready to be cracked open on the Friday after… well, someone (someone who is not me!) is going to the store to get me my Miracle Whip! Mayo will not do! I buy the smallest jar because this is the only thing I ever use it for, leftover turkey sandwiches.

Connor, on the other hand, makes a sandwich that looks like this…

He’s got the required white bread, but tops it with turkey (white or dark), then spoons on the gravy and the stuffing, tops that with the other slice of bread and heats it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Interesting, but not to my taste.  Marissa also must have the breast only and tops her’s with cranberry sauce and eats some stuffing and maybe some gravy on the side.  Finally there is Dave, he will eat it all and will eat it any and every way, sandwich or a full redo of the Thanksgiving plate.

After a couple or three sandwiches, I am through with the turkey, then it is time to remake it into an entirely different meal, such as this lasagna. Now this is how you get rid of leftover turkey!

Five-Cheese Turkey Lasagna

Turkey and Turkey Sausage Red Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet or mild turkey Italian sausage
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups finely peeled and minced onions
1/2 cup minced celery
1/2 cup peeled and minced carrot
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 large sprig of fresh basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups diced cooked turkey breast

Lasagna
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese8 ounces grated provolone8 ounces grated mozzarella
8 ounces grated Asiago
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Turkey and Sausage Red Sauce, recipe follows
2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano1 package no-cook lasagna noodles

Turkey and Turkey Sausage Red Sauce:  Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, add the oil. Add the sausage, use a spatula to break up and cooked until brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the onions, celery, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Add the garlic and tomatoes, continue to cook for 3 minutes. Fill one of the tomato cans about 3/4 full with water. Whisk the tomato paste into the water and add to the pan.

Stir in the thyme, bay leaves, basil sprig, oregano, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes.  Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and basil sprig; stir in the diced cooked turkey, cover and let sit for 15 minutes before using. Makes about 8 cups of sauce.

Lasagna:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, Asiago, egg, milk, basil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread 2 1/2 cups of the meat sauce on the bottom of a  13 by 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle 1/4 of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano over the sauce. Cover with 1/4 of the noodles. Spread 1/4 of the cheese filling evenly over the noodles. Repeat the above process with the remaining ingredients. Place the baking dish on a baking sheet that is covered in foil to catch any drips or spills. Place in the oven and bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serves 8 to 10

This rich and colorful salsa comes together quickly. It is important to seed the tomatoes, otherwise the salsa will be watery. To seed, simply cut each tomato in half and squeeze out the seeds and juices, then dice.

I served this salsa, along with Cheddar Cheese Button Crackers, Mini Crab Cake BLT’s, Crudités Garden Bowl with hummus, and Elote’s De Lujo Margaritas on Friday night for a Stella & Dot jewelry party I hosted for my friend and neighbor, Amy (Amy of the famous Amy’s Taco Soup).

Avocado-Shrimp Salsa

1 pound cooked cocktail-size shrimp (41-50 ct) thawed, drained, and patted completely dry
2 cups seeded and diced tomato
2 ripe avocados, pitted and diced
1/3 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeno
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, stemmed and chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Tortilla chips

Thoroughly mix the shrimp with the remaining ingredients (except tortilla chips) in a medium glass bowl. Taste for seasoning and adjust with more lime juice, salt, and/or pepper.

Salsa may be made up to 2 hours ahead. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the salsa to prevent air from darkening the avocado.

When ready to serve, transfer salsa into a decorative bowl. Place bowl in the center of a platter or tray and surround with tortilla chips.

Makes about 5 cups

…small packages! Really, not much more to say other than that!

Mini Crab Cake BLTs

Crab Cakes
6 slices white sandwich bread
3/4 cup minced fresh parsley, divided
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup peeled and finely diced white onion
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1 pound lump crab meat, picked over

Horseradish Mayonnaise
1 cup prepared mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Sandwich
Butter and olive oil for cooking crab cakes
12 slices thick-cut bacon, each slice cut into quarters and cooked crisp
24 slider buns, lightly toasted
12 slices heirloom tomato, each slice cut in half
12 butter lettuce leaves, each leaf torn in half

Crab Cakes: Tear up the bread and pulse in a food processor to make fine, soft crumbs. Transfer the bread crumbs to a shallow pan and mix in 1/2 cup of the parsley.

In a food processor, combine the egg yolk, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, mustard, paprika, thyme, celery seeds and black pepper. Pulse to combine. With the motor running, add the oil through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream until the mixture emulsifies and forms a mayonnaise. Transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the onion and bell pepper with the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.  Add the fresh mayonnaise and crab and mix lightly.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 cup of the bread crumb mixture. Do not overwork the mixture.  Gently form into 24 mini cakes and flatten them into patties. Dredge the patties lightly in the remaining bread crumb mixture.  Place on a wax-paper lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.

Horseradish Mayonnaise: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.  Cover and refrigerate.

Sandwiches:  Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet.  Add 12 crab cakes and saute for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and heated through. 

Transfer to clean baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 12 crab cakes.

Lightly spread each side of the buns with the horseradish mayonnaise.  Top each bottom bun with 1 piece of bacon, 1 crab cake, another piece of bacon, a tomato slice, and a lettuce leaf. Place on top of bun and secure with a pick.
Makes 24

Last month my dad was in Colorado visiting friends and shopping for beans. OK, not exactly shopping for beans, but he had offered to pick up some anasazi beans for my cousin, Dennice, and some pinto beans for a friend of his. Dennice was thinking he’d get her a pound or two of beans, but in my dad’s usual style, he brought home a 10-pound bag. Really, who needs 10-pounds of dried beans?  I offered to take three pounds off her hands, at $1.20 a pound, they were a steal. If you haven’t seen anasazi beans before, they are pretty cool looking, but honestly, they taste about the same as a kidney bean and once cooked, they lose most of their good looks. Plus they are a lot more expensive than plain-Jane kidney beans as you can see from THIS LINK on Amazon.  Anasazi beans have been available commercially only since 1983, check out THIS LINK to learn more about them… and just about every other bean you might be even remotely interested in. So, feel free to substitute kidney beans in this recipe. And if you don’t want to go to the time (overnight soaking) and trouble of starting with dried beans, use three 15-ounce cans of kidney or pinto beans, drained and reserving the liquid. You’ll be adding that liquid (or the cooking liquid from the dried beans) to the chili. If you don’t have a full 3 cups of liquid to add, supplement with either tap water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth.

The thing that makes this chili special is the blend of three pure chile powders; California, ancho, and chipotle. Do me a favor – go pull out the jar or can of McCormick or Shilling chili powder you have in your spice cabinet. Now look at the ingredients; it probably reads something like this – Ingredients: chili peppers, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic, and silicon dioxide. That’s right, plain chili powder is more than just plain. So buy a selection of pure chile powders and you will be able to control the season of things you use chile powder in. If you want to kick it up a bit, add more chipotle chile powder, to taste. Most grocery stores now carry all three of these chile powders, and you can always find them at Cost Plus World Market.

Anasazi, Turkey, and Three-Chile Powder Chili

2 cups dried Anasazi beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 red and/or yellow bell peppers, roasted, peeled, cored and chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground turkey
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon California chile powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
3 cups cooking liquid from beans (supplement with water or broth, if needed to make 3 full cups)
Shredded cheddar and/or pepper Jack cheese, garnish
Sour cream, garnish

Sort the beans to remove small stones, lumps of dirt, and defective beans. Wash the beans with several changes of cold water. Place beans in a large pot and cover with at least 3-inches of cold water. Soak overnight.

Discard soaking water, rinse beans and replace with fresh cold water and bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook until tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours, adding water if necessary to keep beans covered. Place a colander over a bowl and drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Set aside beans and cooking liquid separately.

Heat a heavy large pot over high heat, add oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté over medium heat until onions are soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add turkey and cook until no longer pink, breaking up large pieces with a spatula, about 5 minutes.

Mix in chile powders, cumin, and oregano and stir 1 minute. Add beans, tomatoes with juices, and 3 cups of the cooking liquid (or the reserved liquid from canned beans). Bring chili to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with cheese and sour cream.

Serves 8

Since today is Saturday, I am back to being plain old Linda, instead of Juror #7. But on Wednesday morning, after arriving in the jury room with my fellow jurors, the bailiff entered and requested that Juror #7 come with her to the Judge’s chambers. I am sure the remaining 8 thought I was in trouble, but I knew what it was about. Of course, I still can’t tell you, but stay tuned, I’m certain that you will find it quite entertaining.

What I find entertaining is how each time we (The Jury) enter and exit the courtroom, all remaining people in the room are told to “rise for The Jury.”  Like we are royalty or something. The 9 of us, who are being paid $12 a day (plus mileage) get the royal treatment.  You know what I would honestly appreciate so much more? If each person in the room would just put a dollar or two on each or our chairs every time we enter or exit. That would be preferred to having them stand, and it would more double our compensation. I’m considering making that request… On second thought, that might result in me being called into the Judge’s chambers again, and this time I would be in trouble, probably for contempt.  I’ll keep that suggestion to myself, for now at least.

For you, today, I have a delicious partially roasted and partially fresh cherry tomato and fennel salad using the fennel frond pesto from yesterday. I hope you enjoy the salad and the long holiday weekend.

Tomato & Fennel Salad with Fennel Frond Pesto

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half, divided
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb, divided
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup Fennel Frond Pesto
Salt
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place half of the cherry tomato halves and half of the fennel slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive and season generously with pepper. Roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes, transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.

While roasted vegetables are cooling thin the pesto slightly with a couple teaspoons of hot tap water until it is at a consistency just thin enough to drizzle.

Divide the fresh sliced fennel between two plates and scatter half of the roasted tomatoes and fennel between the plates, atop the fresh fennel. Place the fresh cherry tomatoes halves on top and drizzle each plate with the thinned pesto. Sprinkle both salads with pine nuts, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 2

I am just getting around to using up the remaining radicchio and Napa cabbage from this post. And I’ll be using a favorite dressing that I’ve already told you about as well, so use the link in the ingredient list for the dressing recipe. I used a portion of the greens already for fish tacos and I’ll share that recipe in a few days. Not much more to say, time is short, so I am just happy to get dinner on the table and have time to post the recipe and keep the streak alive… 71 and counting.

Summer Garden Salad with Smoked Paprika Shrimp

4 thick center-cut bacon slices
1 pound jumbo shrimp (21-25 ct), peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large shallot, peeled and diced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Sweet Basil Dressing
1 Napa cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 head radicchio, cored and thinly sliced
2 cups teardrop or cherry tomatoes
2 cups mini mozzarella balls (brocconcini) halved
2 ripe avocados, peeled and cubed

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels; cut in quarters crosswise. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings from the skillet.  Increase heat to medium-high. Sprinkle shrimp with paprika, salt, and pepper.  Add shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove to a plate, spreading out to cool.

Add the shallot and corn to the skillet and saute until the shallots are soft and translucent. Stir in the thyme. Remove from heat and add the corn mixture to the plate with the shrimp to cool. While the shrimp and corn cool, make the dressing.

Place the Napa cabbage and radicchio in a large bowl and toss with 1/2 cup of the dressing.  Divide the greens between 4 large dinner plates. Top each plate with 5 to 6 shrimp, 1/4 cup corn mixture, 1/2 cup tomatoes, 1/4 cup mozzarella halves, 1/2 avocado, and 4 bacon pieces.  Drizzle each salad with additional dressing and serve.

Serves 4

Sometimes getting dinner on the table is the hardest part of the day; yes, for me too. Late yesterday afternoon a friend on Facebook posted this:

“ugghh! that dreaded time, dinner! I never know what to make and on top of it so tired from all those 1st graders.”

Not only is this friend obviously a first grade teacher, she is a wife and the mother of two young daughters. Before she started those wonderful phases of her life, she was my assistant at Les Petites Gourmettes one summer. I sent her two links to a couple of my “easy-breezy” recipes as a “comment” – while at the same time, I was actually having the same issue yesterday evening – “What am I going to do for dinner?” I had been deep-cleaning my house from the time I got up in the morning, right up until I realized that I really needed to stop and make dinner. I was exhausted, tired, and HOT. While the east coast has been gearing up for Hurricane Irene; in Phoenix, we’ve been under an “excessive heat advisory” all week. It was suppose to end tonight at 8:00 PM, but I just learned that it has been extended through Sunday  Monday- oh joy. (late entry – it was 117 degrees today – it is official – hottest August EVER, on record for Phoenix).

If it had only been me who needed to eat, I would have just had some Saltine BP&J’s, but that didn’t seem like the sort of dinner that would make my husband real happy. David usually arrives home around 7:00. It was 6:40, I had to figure this out, now! It was way too late to get something out of the freezer. I looked in the fridge – nothing.  Well, there was something… this.

Saltines and Smoked Provolone, maybe? No, that wasn’t even a step up from the PB&J’s. I went onto foodnetwork.com and found a Rachael Ray recipe. I need to tell you that I am not a fan of RR, I’m not sure I have ever mentioned her name here before. But I was desperate and I had “basically” what was called for in her recipe, so I caved in and made it.  Now, if you are a RR fan, I am sorry, I’m not here to put her down.  She serves a purpose, the whole 30 Minute Meal concept is important for busy lives. But I just don’t think she’s “all that.”  And the recipe I made, was certainly not “all that” either. She calls it Bread Gnocchi with Tomato and Basil. Click the link to get the recipe.

I’d rename it, Kid’s Pizza in a Bowl. It could certainly be jazzed up and improved to make it more “adult-taste” friendly. But since I didn’t have anything in my fridge, I made it pretty much as RR had it. And, it was done and on the table in 11 minutes flat.

The only changes; I used a can of diced tomatoes in place of the tomato sauce and fresh Roma. Plus I layered the sliced provolone on top instead of trying to shred it and topped that with some shredded Parmesan. If I still had young kids, I might tweek this and try it again. But let’s just say that the way it stands, I would have been much happier with the Saltine PB&J’s.

I love tomatoes. I love asparagus. I love sugar snap peas. I love capers. I love Sherry vinegar. I love this recipe ~ hope you love it too!

Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas with Tangy Tomato Vinaigrette

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, strings stripped
1 pound asparagus spears, ends snapped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Sherry vinegar
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 hard-boiled egg, grated

Blanch sugar snap peas in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Drain. Refresh peas in a bowl of ice water and drain thoroughly.

Blanch asparagus in the same boiling salted water until just tender, about 4 or 5 minutes. Drain and refresh in the same ice water, adding more ice, if needed. Drain thoroughly.

Arrange asparagus and pea pods on large platter. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Whisk oil and vinegar to blend in a small bowl. Add tomato, bell pepper, green onion, capers, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the vinaigrette over asparagus and peas. Garnish with grated egg.

Serves 4

The cobb salad was created nearly 80 years ago at the famous Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant and has been an American favorite ever since. I prefer to serve it as individual salads as opposed to presenting on a large platter.  That way it looks lovely for each guest. If served on a platter, it looks great for the first guest or two, but by the end of the line, all the “goodies” on top are either gone or mashed into a nasty looking mess.

Classic Cobb Salad

Dressing
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
1 head iceberg lettuce, cored and thinly sliced
1 head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
1 bunch watercress, leaves only
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
10 strips cooked bacon, roughly chopped
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut into wedges or slices
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons chives, minced

Dressing:  Combine the canola oil, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, sugar, and garlic in a food processor or blender.  Puree the ingredients to make a smooth dressing and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Salad:  In a large bowl, combine the iceberg and romaine lettuces along with the watercress. Toss with 1/4 cup of the dressing.  Divide the greens between 8 salad plates.

Arrange the blue cheese, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, chicken, and avocado on top of the greens in wedges or neat rows.

To serve, drizzle salad with dressing, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with chives.

Serves 8

During the “decision making” time about what to make for our graduation class last week, I had several suggestions to choose from as one of the main courses, among them, tacos or Greek salad.  Both are good ideas and both work well on a buffet, but we already had decided on another salad and “Plain Jane” tacos seemed a bit tame for the rest of the menu.  So we combined the two and made Greek Tacos… they were a huge hit with students and guests alike.  If your family is the more adventurous type, go with the ground lamb, otherwise, either ground beef or ground turkey work perfectly well.

Greek Tacos

Yogurt Dill Sauce
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
Taco Meat
1 pound ground lamb (or ground turkey or lean ground beef)
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 tablespoon Greek seasoning
1 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach, thinly sliced
Toppings
12 packaged crunchy taco shells
2 cups diced tomato
2 cups peeled, seeded, and diced English cucumber
1/2 cup pitted and diced Kalamata olives
1/2 cup peeled and diced red onion
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Yogurt Dill Sauce: In a medium bowl, blend together yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and dill.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Taco Meat: In a large skillet, cook ground lamb over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the tomatoes along with their juices, Greek seasoning, garlic, and pepper.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat; cook for 8-10 minutes or until thickened.  Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Toppings: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place taco shells on a baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.

Spoon about 1/4 cup meat mixture into each shell.   Place the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onion, feta cheese, and yogurt sauce in separate small bowls and allow guest to top their own tacos.

Makes 12