Recipes

Buttermilk-Garlic Salad Dressing

Buttermilk-Garlic Salad Dressing

The tangy, dairy taste of buttermilk is wonderful on potato salad, green bean salad, or on a bed of mixed greens.
Couverts8 servings
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine yogurt, buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, scallions, and pepper in a bowl, and stir.
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Course; Dressing

Mint Vinaigrette Dressing

Mint Vinaigrette Dressing

A salad side should refresh your palate. Using this mint and citrus juice combination will leave you breathless. The combination of mint, lemon, and orange juice is especially good with spinach, onions, and radishes or with a chicken or tuna salad.
Couverts8 servings
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine the lemon juice, orange juice, mint, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a blender.
  • Blend the ingredients until the mint is minced and the mixture is well combined.
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Course; Dressing

Caesar Salad from Bev Bennett

Caesar Salad from Bev Bennett

If you prefer to use the whole romaine lettuce leaves, buy 1 large or 2 medium heads for this recipe; if you use only the hearts, buy 4 heads. Last night’s grilled chicken breast or leftover steak can enhance this dinner salad. Cut the chicken or meat into thin strips and arrange over the salad after it’s dressed. Caesar is an excellent first course for a dinner party, or you can serve it as a side dish or a light entree.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • To provide a safe alternative to a coddled egg (a Caesar standard), beat the egg and combine it with water in a small, heavy pan.
  • Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with a spoon for about 4 minutes or until the egg thickens into a foamy mass and coats a metal spoon with a thin egg layer.
  • Remove the egg from the pot and place it in a blender with the garlic clove, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, vinegar, oil, and pepper.
  • Turn the blender on and process about 30 seconds or until the mixture is creamy.
  • Place the lettuce leaves in a large serving bowl and toss with the croutons.
  • Pour on the dressing and toss gently but well.
  • Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese over the salad.
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Course; Salad

Salmon Salade Niçoise

Salmon Salade Niçoise

If you prefer to use tuna in this salad,choose oil-packed tuna, which tastes more like the tuna in Nice.
Couverts2
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the potatoes in a small pan with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
  • Bring the water to a boil, and cook the potatoes at high heat for 10 minutes or until almost tender.
  • Meanwhile, cut the green beans into 1-inch lengths.
  • Add the green beans to the potatoes and cook another 5 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the green beans are crisp-tender.
  • Drain the vegetables well.
  • While the potatoes are cooking, separate the lettuce into individual leaves, rinse under cold running water, and pat dry.
  • Also prepare the dressing while the potatoes cook.
  • Whisk together the olive oil, mustard, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a cup or small bowl.
  • Stir in the shallot.
  • Arrange the lettuce leaves on 2 serving plates.
  • Cut the potatoes into quarters.
  • Place half the potatoes on each of the two plates in a wedge to take up one quarter of the plate.
  • Place half the green beans on each plate taking up a second quarter.
  • Then add the egg pieces to each plate for a third quarter.
  • The tomatoes take the last quarter.
  • Spoon half the salmon in the center of each plate, over the vegetables and eggs.
  • Sprinkle half the Niçoise olives over each serving.
  • Pour the dressing over each salad or pass separately.
  • Vary It!
  • Substitute cooked, leftover salmon or tuna steak for the canned salmon.
  • A half to one cup of fresh salmon or tuna makes one serving.
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Course; Fish / Salad

Mountain of Lettuce Special

Mountain of Lettuce Special

Serve this heaping platter of iceberglettuce, meat, and cheeses with a pitcher of lemonade and breadsticks for aquick lunch or light dinner.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 2 hard-cooked eggs peeled and quartered
  • 2 plum tomatoes cored and quartered
  • 1/2 pound ham cut into thin strips, or 1/4 pound ham and 1/4 pound roasted, sliced chicken breast, cut into thin strips
  • 8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese cut into thin strips
  • Thousand Island Dressing

Instructions

  • Cut the head of lettuce lengthwise in half.
  • Remove the core; then cut the lettuce into quarters and shred as shown in Figure 10-1.
  • Mound the lettuce on a serving platter.
  • Arrange the egg quarters on the platter at the base of the salad, alternating with the tomato wedges.
  • Place the ham strips vertically across the mount of lettuce; then cross the ham with horizontal cheese strips.
  • Drizzle enough Thousand Island dressing over the salad to give it a strong, pink color.
  • Then pass the remaining dressing separately.

Notes & Wine Advice

Vary It!
Don’t be tempted to turn this into a fancy salad but add pitted ripe olives if you like.
Speed It Up! Use the bottled version of Thousand Island Dressing. To perk up the flavor and make bottled taste more like fresh, pour 1/4 cup of dressing into a bowl and add a dash of lemon juice. If you have a scallion in the fridge, chop it up and add it to the dressing as well.
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Course; Salad

Thousand Island Dressing from Bev Bennett

Thousand Island Dressing from Bev Bennett

Use Thousand Island dressing with iceberg lettuce or as a change from plain mayonnaise on a sandwich. Leftover dressing will keep if covered in the refrigerator for a few days.
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the mayonnaise in a small bowl.
  • Stir in the chili sauce, pickle relish, chives, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
  • Vary It!
  • Add a dash of hot red pepper sauce to give the dressing a little zing.
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Course; Dressing

Tomato, Zucchini, and Shrimp Bisque

Tomato, Zucchini, and Shrimp Bisque

This dish has such a heady aroma of basil andscallions that you’d never know it starts with canned soup. Fresh herbs make a significantimprovement in the color and flavor of this soup, so I don’t recommend usingdried basil as an alternative. Add bread sticks and a glass of wine for afeast.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 small zucchini trimmed, and diced
  • 2 cans 11 ounces each condensed tomato bisque
  • 2 packages 8 ounces each individually frozen, cooked, peeled medium-size shrimp
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a 4- to 5-quart pot.
  • Add the zucchini and sauté over high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally.
  • Add both cans of tomato bisque and 2 soup cans of water.
  • Bring the soup almost to the boil, but do not boil.
  • Add both packages of shrimp.
  • It isn’t necessary to thaw the shrimp first.
  • Add the basil, scallions, and pepper and simmer 5 minutes or until the soup is hot.
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Course; Fish

Nacho Cheese and Sausage Soup

Nacho Cheese and Sausage Soup

The same ingredients — sausage, cheese, and chiles — that make nachos so appetizing, make this soup delicious, too. I like to serve low-fat baked tortillas for crumbling into the soup.
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Ingredients

  • 1 pound bulk pork sausage
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 can 11 ounces condensed nacho cheese soup
  • 1 can 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes with roasted garlic and onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced cilantro optional

Instructions

  • Take sausage out of the wrapper and place the sausage in a 3- to 4-quart pot.
  • Break the meat into small pieces, using a wooden spoon.
  • Add the onion.
  • Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until all the sausage is browned.
  • Pour off any accumulated fat.
  • Add the nacho cheese soup to the pot.
  • Add 1 soup can of water and stir well.
  • Add the canned tomatoes with the liquid and simmer 5 minutes or until the soup is hot.
  • Stir in cilantro (if desired).

Notes & Wine Advice

Vary It!

Substitute sage-flavored or hot pork sausage if you prefer. If you really appre- ciate a soup with bite, try chorizo, a zesty Mexican sausage that you’ll find in many supermarkets.
Note: This is a soup that you can freeze for later enjoyment, too. You can pour leftover soup into single-serve plastic containers. Add a piece of freezer tape to the lid and mark it with the name of the dish and the date you freeze it. Store the soup in the freezer up to one month. Thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight before you reheat it.
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Course; Cheese / Nacho’s / Soup

Cream of Celery, Mushroom, and Chicken Soup

Cream of Celery, Mushroom, and Chicken Soup

Buy raw chicken breast strips for stir-fry orcubed chicken, so you don’t have to cut up the chicken. Using sliced mushroomsalso eliminates a cooking step. Heat a package of frozen broccoli or asparagusspears to serve with the soup.
Couverts4
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 pound boneless chicken breast cut into bite-size strips or chunks
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 package 4 ounces sliced wild mushrooms (3 cups sliced)
  • 2 cans 10 3/4 ounces each condensed cream of celery soup
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried thyme

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a medium-size pot.
  • Add the chicken breast and onion and cook over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until the pieces turn white.
  • Add the mushrooms and sauté 5 minutes or until they give off liquid.
  • Stir in the soup and mix well.
  • Add 2 soup cans of water and the thyme.
  • Simmer the soup 5 minutes or until it’s hot.

Notes & Wine Advice

Vary It!

Add 2 cans of milk instead of water for a creamier soup.
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Course; Chicken / Soup