Marinated Radicchio and Orange Salad - Bon Appetit

With all this roasting poultry the fall and winter brings, I find myself with a taste for salad to bring tart balance to the plate.

Last night we enjoyed this delicious Marinated Radicchio Salad with Orange and Walnuts
found in Bon Appetit. (Yes, this is their picture, by the way.) I made the salad with shredded apple and tangerines when the orange I'd saved for the meal mysteriously disappeared. It was perfect. Toasted walnuts and the slight bitter bite of the radicchio sitting in the tangerine vinaigrette. Scrumptious even.

How about you? What's happening with salads in this lovely cold season?

Chicken Broth update

Ok, I went and got the chicken.
But I went to Whole Foods (but not this one in Austin, Texas).

I became distracted by beautiful kales

Purple cauliflower

Sumo Mandarins

And the salad bar. 

Ai, ai, ai! My daughter and I spent over an hour looking and touching and dreaming. I grabbed some whey protein for morning smoothies and shocked my girl when I showed her the spinach I'd be adding. She's still recovering.

So, yes, we bought the chicken. But with the salad bar, right near the cold case where I picked up some cold roasted brussels sprouts (I promise, both my grandmothers are rolling over in their graves.) I acquiesced immediately to my girlie's request for their rotisserie chicken. Dinner? Done!

Last night I finally got to the Chicken Broth and I'll say this. It is worthy of some time. I roasted the chicken in the dutch oven as Chef John suggested, but I'm finicky about the breast meat coming up to 160 degrees. It took a bit longer than 45 minutes. Do temperature test the chicken when you try this. 

Then, after the stove top caramelizing and about one hour of simmering, I gave up for the night and put it in the refrigerator to wait. (I did cool it first.) So more on that later. The fragrance is superb and I can't wait to finish it tonight for chicken soup. 

I promise, we'll report on it when it's finally complete. Chef John's recipe is a keeper, or at least seems so for now. What I love over and over about his point of view is this, more of the chicken, less of the extras. This recipe doesn't want you to add anything to the broth as you go but one celery stalk, one onion and three little bruised garlic cloves.

It took a lot not to let my Dear have a spoonful. Mais non! It is not ready for tasting.

To be continued.

Til then, 

Vicki

  

Another version of the Kale Salad

I do hope my lovely friend Lori will be a guest blogger with her fabulous Kale Salad with feta and rice wine vinegar. Until then, here's a new version I'll be trying this week. Found here at Cesars Tradgaard. You'll have to translate.

Kale

3-4 tbsp lemon oil

1/2-1 red onion

2 apples

a handful of walnuts

Translated: Add chopped kale in a blender, in batches, so that it becomes very finely chopped. Finely chop the onion and apple and mix with green cabbage (kale). Stir in lemon olive oil and mix well. Sprinkle with walnuts. If you leave to stand for an hour so the flavors can come together really well!

I haven't used a blender or food processor with kale. I may try it, or I may just chop, chop, chop. Can't wait for this mix of flavors.

Has Kale made it to your plate?

Alone for Dinner - A favorite salad

Tonight I found myself on my own for dinner and I swear my car drove itself to grab a few bits of this and that for the perfect salad.
I ate it before I could take a picture. So, sorry. But, so happy.

As I sat in pure dinner bliss my dog stared deeply in my eyes. I sent him back to his dinner. And then, my dear husband who didn't want dinner used his famous opening line, "whatcha got there?" The rest of the meal quickly became history.

Don't you just love a good salad!

The Un Deux Trois Salad

One head crisp romaine torn (or chopped!)

A couple of ounces of bleu cheese - tonight Stilton

One peeled and chopped Granny Smith

A couple of teaspoons of almonds (or walnuts)

A handful of shredded chicken (from last night's dinner)

Nora Ephron's Dijon Vinaigrette

Mix 2 tablespoons Grey Poupon mustard with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar.

Whisking constantly,  add 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, until creamy.

Actually, I've been making it so long, I forgot about the red wine vinegar. I've always used organic apple cider vinegar. And Melissa D'Arabian shared a secret, that when making his vinaigrette, a Parisian cafe owner added a few drops of soy sauce as a secret ingredient. Here's that link.

You can always make it more complex, adding minced garlic, minced shallots, fresh herbs you love. I always return to the basic and enjoy it with champagne vinegar and even the subtlety of rice wine vinegar. Leave out the vinegar, add lemon juice and grate Parmesan. Variations and flavors are endless.

For my taste this simple recipe means I never have to buy a bottle of dressing.