Simple Lunch Salad

A few weeks ago, I came home to walk the dogs during lunch and found myself without much to eat in the house. I could have picked up a sandwich from Subway or another quick restaurant on the way back and forth to my office, but I accepted the challenge to have a quick lunch at home with some enthusiasm. Opening the refrigerator, I found a big bag of baby carrots and a tiny sack of whole radishes. Tomatoes are not in season yet, but I tend to keep a carton of cherry tomatoes on the counter year-round. Here's what I came up with...
Fresh Early Spring Salad
Serves 1
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: None

• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 10 baby carrots, julienned (cut into matchsticks)
• 4 radishes, julienned (cut into matchsticks)
• 1/4 cup excellent quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the ingredients as described and toss together. Enjoy on its own or as a prelude to a sandwich of leftovers from your dinner party the night before! 

Tiny Cream Biscuits

There is a traditional recipe for cream biscuits, but I find that a whole biscuit is too much for a guest as a side bread at supper. Here, you can use a shot glass as your biscuit cutter and serve these small puffs of fatty pastry with accoutrements to your heart's content.

Tiny Cream Biscuits
Yield: About 20 biscuits
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 2 tbsp. chilled vegetable shortening (recommended: Crisco baking sticks)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup very cold heavy cream or half and half (please, use heavy cream...)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt, and fat about 10 times... until the texture is that of a coarse meal. Gradually pulse in the cream until a ball of dough forms. Turn out on to a floured surface.

Roll the dough into a 1-inch thick layer and cut into small biscuits with a shot glass or roughly with a paring knife.

Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes and serve warm.

Foolproof Chicken Wings

Chicken wings fried until crispy and drenched in Buffalo sauce are among my many guilty indulgences. These calorie-laden treats are especially popular finger foods at any sporting event, especially the Super Bowl. In a few weeks, we'll sit in front of our television and watch the Steelers battle the Packers. It goes without saying that I have to serve wings. I've tested a technique that lightens the calorie load significantly and is actually a ton easier than the multi-batch process of frying and saucing. Give this a try...

Oven Roasted Spicy Wings
Serves 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes (20 minutes if you split your own wings)
Cook Time: 1 hour
*Special Equipment* : Oven safe baking racks (2) (cooling rack) and 2 half sheet pans, lined with foil.

• 2 dozen chicken wings or 4 dozen chicken wing parts (wing and drumette)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. hot paprika
• 1 tsp cider vinegar

Pre-heat a clean oven to 450 degrees. In a very large bowl, toss the chicken wings with the oil, vinegar, baking powder, and seasonings. Make sure the wings are coated evenly with everything. If you need to do this in batches if your bowl isn't large enough, that is better than having pockets of seasoning and pockets of naked wings.

Arrange the seasoned wings in a single layer on baking racks that are placed on foil-lined half sheet pans (rimmed baking sheet). When I tested the recipe, they all fit on my pans, but if they don't all fit on 2, just do several batches. They re-heat well.

Roast at 450 for 20 minutes, until the fat has rendered and they are crispy and browning well. Turn the oven down to 350 and roast another 30-40 minutes, until cooked through, golden brown, and crunchy. Serve hot or room temperature.

Bruschetta

This is an incredibly simple version of an Italian classic. It has been well-received by numerous crowds and can easily be doubled or tripled. I think I'll make it again this weekend.

Bruschetta
Serves 6-8
Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus time for flavors to combine
Cook Time: 5 minutes, to toast the bread 

• 4 large tomatoes, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced (less if onion is offensive)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tbsp for brushing the bread
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large baguettes, sliced thinly on a bias (diagonal)
• 2 cloves garlic, whole

Once the bread is sliced, drizzle or brush with olive oil on both sides and toast in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes, turning halfway through.
Rub each slice of bread with a whole garlic clove, imparting fresh garlic flavor but not overwhelming the bread with chunks of raw garlic.
Combine all the ingredients for the topping in a large, non-reactive bowl. Allow to sit for about 20 minutes before spooning onto the cooled crostini.

Almost Instant White Bean Dip

My e-mail box is full of questions about light, summery dips. People are fortunately stepping away from the same old (but sometimes good) canned salsas, french onion dips, and cheesy mayonnaise of our parents' generation and looking to fresh or healthy ingredients for parties and barbecues. This dip is very similar to hummus, but not quite as thick.

White Bean Dip

• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil -- use the good stuff here
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients except the oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Turn on and drizzle in the olive oil until desired consistency.

Mango Salsa

A twist on a classic, this salsa will go over really well at parties. It's also great during casual barbecues and keeps well in the fridge for a week or so. Serve with chips as a dip or over chicken or pork as a delicious raw sauce.

Mango Salsa
Serves 12 as a dip
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: None 

• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 2 cups chopped tomato
• 2 cups diced fresh mango
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• Cilantro is traditional, but I am one of those with the genetic cilantro aversion. Use what you like.
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a glass or other non-reactive bowl. Taste for seasonings and adjust to your taste. Allow to sit for a few hours before serving.

Potato Wedges

For some reason, I have accidentally omitted potatoes from my shopping lists lately. It's a shame, because I love to make herb roasted potatoes with meat or chicken. A couple of months ago, the local supermarket had some huge russet baking potatoes on sale, so I bought a couple of pounds. Baking potatoes are a little mealy for roasted potatoes, but great for potato wedges. Here's an easy recipe for wonderful baked potato wedges with a seasoning mix that helps them get delightfully crisp.

Potato Wedges
Serves 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes 

• 2 large russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt (plus more to taste)

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Cut the potatoes into wedges, about into eighths.
Toss the potatoes with the oil and spices until evenly coated.
Place in a single layer on the sheet pan, arranged neatly for easy turning.
Bake for 20 minutes. Turn each potato wedge over to brown the other side.
Bake for another 20 minutes, until brown and crisp. If the potatoes are resisting browning in your oven, as they do in mine occasionally, feel free to turn on the broiler for a few minutes. Watch them carefully!
Serve at cookouts, especially with burgers in lieu of french fries!

Ginger Dressing

This is one of those recipes I have to post by popular demand of my friends. It's based on a salad dressing they used to serve at a great sushi place in Charleston on King Street called Sushi Hiro. I confess I haven't eaten at Sushi Hiro in years, but this particular condiment from the early 2000's is certainly a keeper.
This makes about a pint and a half of dressing, so I'd say package it in old pasta sauce jars and it should keep up to a month in the fridge. It's wonderful on salad, but also a pretty good dip for crudites or topping for fish or grilled chicken.

Ginger Dressing
Yields 14 oz +/- of dressing
Prep Time: 10 minutes

• 1 cup peeled, chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh onion (about 1 chopped small onion)
• 1/4 cup peeled, chopped fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp siracha chili sauce
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except the oil in the bowl of a food processor or blender. While the mixture is being blended, drizzle in the oil until the dressing is smooth. Tiny bits of ginger and carrot will remain. This is the desired texture.
Taste for seasonings. Adjust according to your taste. I often find that, depending on the strength of the onion or sweetness of the carrots, you may want more vinegar or soy sauce).
Blend again and chill before serving.

Caramelized Onion Dip

This is easily the best onion dip I have ever had. It has all the flavor of the store bought stuff, but really sings with fresh, quality ingredients. I love serving it with any kinds of chips or crackers alongside other dips and salsas. There are admittedly a few more steps than opening a jar here, but I promise it's worth it. Let me know what you think!

Caramelized Onion Dip
Makes 2 cups of dip
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

• 1 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 cup of diced onion)
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt (such as Fage)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream cheese (recommend neufchatel), softened
• 1 tbsp olive oil

In a large skillet, caramelize the onions. This sounds simple, but it's not quite the same as sauteed onions. Here's how to properly caramelize onions --

• Pre-heat the skillet over medium low heat.
• Add the oil and allow to come up to temperature.
• Add the onions and allow them to sizzle for a while, then toss to coat evenly with the oil.
• Season with salt.
• Turn the heat to low and allow the onions to cook for about 30 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally to brown evenly.
• Sprinkle with the sugar.
• Allow to cook for 10 minutes more, until the onions are well-browned, but not burned. This is a careful distinction, so be careful. Pay attention these last few minutes.

Allow the onions to cool.  Blend together with a rubber spatula with the remaining ingredients. Taste for seasoning. Allow to chill before serving.

Tea Sandwiches

I'll admit that tea sandwiches sound a little high-maintenance. I personally don't love dainty food most of the time, but these tea sandwiches are wonderful to make for a crowd or a small picnic. The best part of these sandwiches is that there is no absolute recipe as to what you put in them -- I am just offering some suggestions here. You can play with breads, meats, vegetables, and condiments to your liking. Here I'll suggest a few combinations.

Breads

• Whole Wheat
• Pumpernickel
• Plain White Bread

Condiments (Spreads)

• Herb Cream Cheese (recipe follows)
• Unsalted Butter
• Herb compound butter (recipe follows)
• Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe found here)

Vegetables (Crunch)

• Arugula
• Boston Lettuce
• Thinly Sliced Radishes

Fillings

• Smoked Salmon
• Proscuitto or other quality ham
• Sliced heirloom tomato

Here's the drill --

Each of these major categories goes pretty well with any of the others, but some are better suited to one another. The idea here is to pick whatever is quality at the market and make the best ingredients sing for your guests.
For six guests, lay out 12 slices of your chosen bread on a clean counter. Spread a thin layer of your chosen condiment on each slice. Add your crunchy vegetable to half of the slices and your chosen filling to the other half of the slices.
Assemble the sandwiches, remove the crusts, and cut into triangles, rounds, or half-moons, depending on the shapes of the bread slices. Serve chilled.

Herb Compound Butter
Makes 1/4 cup of herb butter

• 1/2 stick softened, unsalted butter (4 oz.)
• 2 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 tsp finely chopped chives
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp finely ground white pepper

With a hand mixer or whisk, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Use immediately as a spread or chill into desired shape for serving later. Will keep fresh for about a week.

Boiled Peanuts

Boiled peanuts are without a doubt my favorite Southern snack. There is no substitute for the salty, soft, wonderful experience that only a boiled peanut can provide. I grew up eating boiled peanuts purchased from stands on the side of the road, never knowing the source of the treats, but enjoying every little pod. The important thing to remember about boiled peanuts is that they are seasonal, so only use fresh, raw, green peanuts. You can adjust the flavors at your leisure, but there are a few tried and true favorites that include cajun and ham. This is a version of the "ham" technique, but please try it and adapt it to your tastes.

Boiled Peanuts
Serves Many, or Few...
Prep Time: None
Cook Time: 2-3 hours

• 5 lbs raw, green peanuts
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 ham hock or smoked turkey wing
• 2 gallons, give or take, of water (depends on size and shape of cooking pot)

In a large stock pot, add the peanuts and ham hock / turkey wing. Season salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 hours, until the peanuts are tender and delicious. Strain out the water and remove the meat. Serve piping hot at first and then store in a refrigerator. Be careful not to overcook, as the peanuts will stick inside their shells.