Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan & Pine Nuts

It’s hot outside and after roasting a pork shoulder earlier this week at 1 million degrees, I felt like something with no heat required would be best.   Not to mention, many of you have zucchini coming out your ears this time of the year. 

When Obed asked me what was for dinner yesterday and I told him that he was grilling chicken and I was making a zucchini salad he was not super excited.  He didn’t have a problem with grilling the chicken, he was “poo, pooing” the idea of a zucchini salad.   I don’t think salad is in Obed’s vocabulary.

This is one of the simplest and refreshing salads that you can make.  That is my opinion anyway….whatever that is worth.   

For my salad I used two zucchinis and one yellow squash.  Trim the ends off the vegetables and run a vegetable peeler from top to bottom, slicing them into ribbons.    When you start to see seeds stop and start slicing from the other side, leaving the core.

Place zucchini and squash ribbons in a bowl, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.  Which I didn’t do because I didn’t want to turn the oven on, but if you feel so inclined I encourage you to do so.

Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Cheese makes everything better…..right?

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.  If you are the more organized type, you may want to do the dressing first, but after a long hot day I was not organized nor I did know my name.

Toss everything together a TA-DA you have a wonderfully crisp and light salad to go with your husband’s grilling. 

Yes ladies if you want to grill, feel free.  I am all about equality.  I just believe that I have an equal right not to sweat like a dog in front of a hot grill when it is 102 outside…..I am just saying.

The jury (Obed, aka Spousal Figure) came back with a ruling on the salad and declared it good enough to moan, grunt and have seconds…..and then pout when it was all gone.

It really is a wonderful salad and a quick and easy side dish after a long day.  You can even add some diced chicken breast have it as your main dish. 

Print Recipe

Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan & Pine Nuts  (adapted from Bon Appétit  | August 2010)

Dressing

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 large garlic clove, grated
• 1/2 tsp dry rosemary, crushed

Salad

• 2 large zucchini, trimmed
• 1 large yellow squash, trimmed  (about 2 lbs total)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• Small wedge of Parmesan cheese

Whisk together dressing ingrediants ina  small bowl to blend. Set dressing aside.

Using vegetable peeler and working from top to bottom of each zucchini, slice vegetables into ribbons.  Place ribbons in large bowl. Add nuts and parm then dressing; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional nuts and parm if desired.

Panzanella Salad

Now I present to you the final recipe of my Italian feast.  Mind you by this point my guest had arrived and I was trying to cook, entertain and photograph all at the same time.  Unfortunately due to my lacking skills in multitasking, step-by-step photos didn’t happen and may of them were blurred.   The good news is I didn’t burn myself, sever any fingers or accidentally poison my guest, so I think I did ok.

This was my first Pazanella Salad and why I deprived myself so long of this beautiful salad is beyond me.  I guess I always thought that it was just a salad with glorified croutons.  I was so wrong and I am so sorry.  *Stupid, stupid, stupid*

I made this salad with a day old loaf of homemade olive oil bread, but you don’t have to do that, a store bought French bread or boule will work just fine.  I just lucked out and happened to have some dough in the refrigerator.  Thanks to this wicked awesome cookbook!

This salad is everything you could ever want it to be, full of flavor, textures, color and simple….simple good!  Nothing complicated about this dish.  To make my life a wee bit easier I made the dressing and chopped the vegetables the night before.  When it was time to assemble I just toasted the bread in a cast iron skillet, combined everything and tossed.   I almost followed the recipe to a “T”, but I left out the capers and basil….only because I was distracted.     But it;s all good, it was still delicious and nutritious!

The salad was an instant hit and of course my guest were picking out their favorites.  Some liked more peppers, some liked more tomato. but everyone wanted more bread. 

The idea that a Panzanella is a salad with glorified crutons was so wrong.  Croutons are there just as a garnish but in a Panzanella the bread is the star.  It takes in all the flavor of the salad without getting soggy, it really is a wonderful salad.   Perfect for the summer and a better option than a heavy potato or pasta salad.

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Panzanella   (Barefoot Contessa. 2001)

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
• 20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 3 Tbs capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 tsp finely minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend

Thai Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp

I will not confess to sitting on the sofa with a carton of ice cream and a spoon, yesterday.  I will confess to feeling guilty for some unexplained reason and deciding that a light salad would be a great dinner option.  The guilt had nothing to do with a carton of ice cream, because there was no carton.  :)

Ok fine there was a carton, but only because all my bowls were in the dish washer.

I didn’t only make this salad to counter act the pint of ice cream I almost polished off.  I have been curious about a green papaya salad since I saw it on an episode of Triple D.   When I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit I jumped in the car and headed out to the Asian market for a few ingredients.

First let’s start with the dressing.  You will need fish sauce, golden brown sugar, dried shrimp, lime and garlic.   Whisk everything together and set aside.

A warning, it won’t smell so great at first but don’t let that scare you, it’s really very tasty.

Take 1/4 cup of the dressing and pour over the peeled and deveined shrimp, set aside.

Time to work the papaya.  I had to go to the Asian market for the green papaya because I only found ripe ones at my local grocery store.  Cut the papaya in half, seed and peel.

The seeds look like little popped rice pods, interesting.

Using a julienne peeler (or grater) peel enough until you have 3 cups of papaya.  It will be about half of the papaya.  You can peel the rest and freeze to use later.  Place in a bowl and set aide.

Blanch the green beans in boiling salt water until bright and crisp.

Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Chop the green beans into 2-inch pieces, add to papaya.

Thinly chop the scallions, cilantro and half the cherry tomatoes, add to bowl.

Now to give this salad a bit of a kick, add 1 tsp of chile garlic sauce.  It gives you that little tickle in the back of your through, it’s good for you.

Now cook your shrimp until pink and cooked through.  I grilled mine on my cast iron grill skillet but any skillet will do.

Add the shrimp to the salad,

top with chopped peanuts and remaining dressing,

toss until evenly coated.

This salad was perfect!  It’s light, crisp, and the lime in the dressing makes it bright and tangy.   For such simple ingredients it has a lot of texture and character, you will not be disappointed.

When Obed got home from work and saw what I had for dinner he made “the face”.  You know the face your man makes when he is suspicious about what you are about to feed him, the “what is that?” face, but he was very surprised to find out he actually enjoyed it.  He said the seller for him as the citrus in the dressing.

Trust me if my carnivore of a husband can eat this and enjoy it, anyone can.

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Thai Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp (adapted from Bon Appetit May 2010)  Serves 2 – 4

Ensalada de Camarones (Shrimp Salad)

Ahahahahahaha!  Today when I woke up my buns where burning and I am not talking about some baked good I put in the oven, I am talking about my own personal buns.  No, it’s not because I sat in a batch of hot jamaican peppers it’s because I did a new class yesterday at the gym and it kicked my butt.  I felt the burnnnnnn.

It was an awesome class and one of the instructors was a trip.    He was from Texas, loud, buff, about 50 years old, in blue and white spandex and with a personality that would barely fit inside the state of Texas.  He had me laughing, while at the same time turning my legs into jello with every squat.

I was beat after that workout and I needed to get dinner together quick.  This is one of those I am tired and don’t feel like making an effort, toss together, and get dinner on the table quick meal.  The bonus is that Obed loves this and so he is happy and I have saved myself time and energy. The only problem about this dish is because it is a “throw it together” meal I have never paid full attention to my measurements when making it, so some of this will be a guesstimation.

In a hot skillet drizzle about 2 Tbs of olive oil and drop in 4 tbs (cubes) of sofrito.

While the sofrito breaks down, thinly slice 1/2 a large onion.

Add an additional 2 Tbs of olive oil, 1 Tbs of white vinegar and onions to the hot skillet cook at a medium-high heat until they begin to become translucent, about 5 minutes.

Once the onions begin to soften, but not too much because you still want a crunch, add the 1/2 bag of medium shrimp, about 30 shrimp.

Cook shrimp and onions together until shrimp turns pink and curls.  Once the shrimp is cooked through set aside in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of white vinegar and set aside.

Dice a large tomato, two hard boiled eggs and cube an avocado.

To cube the avocado cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Open the two halves to expose the pit.  To remove the pit gently tap the pit with a knife with enough force so that the knife edge wedges into the pit, then twist your knife and the pit will pop out.  If you need tap it again but be careful not to miss and loose a finger.  Then using a small knife cut the flesh into a cube grid and use a spoon to scoop out the pieces.  For a more detailed tutorial check out this post by Simply Recipes.

Add diced egg, avocado and tomatoes to shrimp mixture and drizzle desired amount of dressing over top.

Toss everything together and add salt and pepper to taste.  You can serve it immediately or refrigerate and allow to marinate.

I have served this salad with white rice, boiled roots like yucca or on a chopped bed of spinach.    It is full of flavor and super easy and when the temperature finally decides to rise this will be a great dish to toss together.

Print Recipe

Ensalada de Camarones (Shrimp Salad)

• 4 Tbs of sofrito
• 3 Tbs olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbs white vinegar
• 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
• 30 medium shrimp
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2 eggs, hard boiled and diced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

In a hot skillet drizzle about 2 Tbs of olive oil and drop in 4 tbs (cubes) of sofrito.

While the sofrito breaks down, thinly slice 1/2 a large onion.

Add an additional 2 Tbs of olive oil, 1 Tbs of white vinegar and onions to the hot skillet cook at a medium-high heat until they begin to become translucent, about 5 minutes.

Once the onions begin to soften, but not too much because you still want a crunch, add the 1/2 bag of medium shrimp, about 30 shrimp.

Cook shrimp and onions together until shrimp turns pink and curls. Once the shrimp is cooked through set aside in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of white vinegar and set aside.

Dice a large tomato, two hard boiled eggs and cube an avocado.

To cube the avocado cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Open the two halves to expose the pit. To remove the pit gently tap the pit with a knife with enough force so that the knife edge wedges into the pit, then twist your knife and the pit will pop out. If you need tap it again but be careful not to miss and loose a finger. Then using a small knife cut the flesh into a cube grid and use a spoon to scoop out the pieces.

Add dice egg, avocado and tomatoes to shrimp mixture and drizzle desired amount of dressing over top.  Toss everything together and add salt and pepper to taste.

You can serve it immediately or refrigerate and allow to marinate. I have served this salad with white rice, boiled roots like yucca or on a chopped bed of spinach.

Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

If you didn’t know apparently the southern part of the Midwest is in the clutches of a heatwave…and it’s not burning in my heart.  Did you get that? It’s a little joke.  You know like the song…..ok maybe it wasn’t so great, sorry moving on.  Needless to say it is hot, like really hot, like if you wear shorts and sit on a leather seat or worse pleather seat, you and the seat are sure to become one and in this case it does not end in happly ever after.  Not to mention you may have 1st degree burns.

Well this heat doesn’t give me much of a desire to cook.  Especially since my kitchen is so well ventilated…..NOT!  Unfortunatly in order to say alive we must consume some form of sustanance, which therefore requires me to cook.  In an effort to keep myself and Hubby alive and well norished, while at the same time trying not to pass out from a heat stroke, I came up with this light yet filling dish.  Oh and there is a bounus, it is actally healthy.  I stayed away from anything heavy, starchy,  cheesy or fried. 

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Pecan Crusted Chicken and Apple Salad with PB & Maple Dressing

Pecan Encrusted Chicken with Apple Salad and PB & Maple DressingAh the weekend is finally here can I get a YIPEEEEEE! This weekend is going to be a busy weekend though because we are having company over tomorrow and we leave for a mini vacation on Monday, which I am soooooo ready for!

Yesterday I posted a recipe to use as “inspiration” and soon after I posted the recipe it gave me this idea. I noodled on it most of the day and even though I initially was thinking of giving my kitchen the day off, I just had to make it. I swear it has become like a sickness lately. I am walking around with a note book writing down ideas that are constantly popping into my head. I think I may just convert my house into a permanent soup kitchen for my friends. If your my friend I will feed you….lol.

Ok back to the salad. I was super pleased with the results! It was yummy scrumptiousness and it looks so pretty! The dressing was perfect it was sweet and tangy and went perfectly with with the chicken. Of course as usually my brain got over stimulated while making it and I wasn’t paying complete attention to my measurements, but I think this is about right.

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