EASY SUMMER COLE SLAW WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING

EASY SUMMER COLE SLAW WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING 2 x 1 lb. (32 oz.) pkgs. cole slaw mix (just cabbage and carrots)  or 1 head green cabbage, shredded and 2 carrots, shredded ½ red onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced ¼ cup chopped fresh chives  Dressing: 1 cup mayonnaise ¼ cup canola oil ½ cup red wine or apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon poppy seeds 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tsp. salt ¼ tsp. ground white pepper Combine all ingredients for salad in bowl.  Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over slaw.  Toss well.  Cover; allow to sit for several hours in refrigerator before serving.  Serves 10.

WHIDBEY’S COLORFUL MIXED GREEN SALAD

WHIDBEY’S COLORFUL MIXED GREEN SALAD Ingredients: 4-6 cups mixed greens 2 small Romaine lettuces, leaves separated 1 cup feta cheese, cut into thin slices 2 cups watermelon wedges, thinly sliced 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise with vegetable peeler 1 cup baby tomatoes, halved Kernels of 1 ear of fresh corn 1 cup boiled baby new potatoes, halved 3 medium boiled and peeled beets, cut into small dice ¼ cup finely chopped mint leaves ½ cup chopped nuts of choice   Dressing: Juice of 2 lemons 2-3 tablespoons olive oil Pinch of kosher salt Pinch of ground black pepper Place the greens and lettuces on a flat, large serving platter.  Arrange the cheese, watermelon, blueberries, cucumber, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, beets, mint leaves and chopped nuts on the lettuces.  When ready to serve, spritz the lemon juice over the salad, drizzle on the olive oil, add salt and pepper.  Serve at once.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS

GRILLED ASPARAGUS Using the same dry rub as the salmon, sprinkle over: 2 pounds trimmed asparagus spears Drizzle olive oil over the asparaugs, grill over medium heat (325˚) for 5-7 minutes, turning every few minutes to cook evenly.

PANZANELLA SALAD

PANZANELLA SALAD This is the perfect way to use days old bread.  Ingredients: 4 cups cubed French or Italian style loaf bread 4 cloves garlic, finely minced 1/4 cup olive oil 4 large tomatoes Red onion Basil Parmesan cheese In a bowl, toss the garlic and olive oil with the bread.  In a large skillet cook the bread over medium heat until toasted on all sides (also can be done in a 400˚ oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.) Place in a bowl with 4 large tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces, 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced, 1 bunch fresh basil, cut into thin strips, 1/4 cup red wine or white wine vinegar and 1/2 cup olive oil.  Toss; allow the salad to sit for about 20 minutes so that the vinaigrette softens the bread. Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese.  Serves 8.

RADICCHIO SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE, APPLES AND HAZELNUTS

RADICCHIO SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE, APPLES AND HAZELNUTS – salads are always served as a separate course after the main dish in France. 2 heads radicchio, cut into thin strips 4-6 cups mixed baby greens 1 cup crumbled blue cheese of choice 3 tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced ½ cup chopped hazelnuts ¼ cup olive oil 3-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar Pinch of salt and pepper   In a bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients for the salad.  Just before serving, add the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Serve at once.  Serves 8-10.

BAKED RATATOUILLE WITH CHEVRE

BAKED RATATOUILLE WITH CHEVRE 1 large onion, thinly sliced 4 zucchini, cut on diagonal 2-3 eggplant, cut ½” thick and then cut in half if pieces are too large 4-6 whole slicing tomatoes, cut into 1/2” thick slices 2 green peppers, cut into thin strips 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 ounces chevre or goat cheese (or use mozzarella or Gruyere is you don’t like goat cheese) ½ cup finely diced basil leaves Have a large baking dish prepared with olive oil drizzled on bottom. Alternate the onion, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers in rows down the dish.  Sprinkle on the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cover with foil.  Bake at 375˚ for 35-40 minutes.  Remove foil, add the cheese; bake an additional 5 minutes.  Sprinkle on the basil leaves and serve at once.  Serves 8-10.

GRILLED SPRING VEGETABLES

Ingredients: 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed, cut to 5” lengths 8 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise 1 pound baby peeled carrots with ends, blanched for 2 minutes 1 pound snow peas, trimmed 1 sweet onion or red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into thin strips 3 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon ground black pepper Place the vegetables in decorative manner on a grill pan large enough to hold all. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on the salt and pepper.  Place the pan over a medium heat grill; cover the grill, cook for 10 minutes.  Toss the vegetables to cook evenly on all sides for another 5-8 minutes.  Transfer to a large serving platter.  Serves 8-10.

POTATOES AND LEEKS

Ingredients: 3 pounds baby new potatoes, cut into fourths 2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced 3-4 garlic cloves, smashed 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 3 tablespoons olive oil Place the potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Top with the leeks, garlic, salt and pepper.  Drizzle the oil over entire pan.  Roast in 400˚ oven (if you have convection, use it!) for 20 minutes or for 15 minutes in convection oven.  Potatoes should be golden brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside.  Serves 8-10.

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

I know many of you have this recipe, but it’s worth repeating.  In honor of my mother for Mother’s Day…this sauce will always be recognized as Grandma Rose’s tomato sauce and meatballs. 
 
Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 4 cloves (about 2 tablespoons) chopped fresh garlic
• 102-ounce can – also called #10 cans, (from Costco) chopped tomatoes with puree or #10 can Marzano tomatoes with 16 ounces tomato paste
• 3 cups water (rinse out can with water to get all the good sauce from bottom)
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1-teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons sugar

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil; sauté the onion on low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring often until softened.  Add garlic; sauté another 3 minutes, stirring often. Add can of sauce, water, red wine, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and sugar.  Stir; cover; cook on LOW heat for 45 minutes, stirring often.  Sauce should be at a low simmer at this point.  You can continue to cook for another hour, if desired, but sauce is done after 45 minutes or so.  Taste for seasoning.  Cool to room temperature; store in containers.  Freeze for 6 months or refrigerate up to 1 week.  Makes about 4-5 quarts of sauce.

BOILED BABY POTATOES

Ingredients:

• 1- 1½  pounds baby potatoes, left whole
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes just until fork tender.  Drain off the water; add the olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley.  Toss.  Serve alongside the chicken piccata.  Serves 4.

SPRING CUCUMBER SALAD

Ingredients:

• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced (I use a mandolin)
• 2 slicing tomatoes, cut into eighths
• ¼ red onion, diced
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced or quartered
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

In a salad bowl, toss the cucumber slices, tomatoes, red onion, green onions, and radishes.  (Can be done hours in advance, chill.)  Just before serving, add the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss gently. Sprinkle with parsley.  Serves 4.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches Swiss chard, washed, tough ends removed, leaves cut into 1” strips
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, slivered
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Have the Swiss chard chopped and rinsed clean.  Heat the oil in a medium skillet.  Sauté the garlic for 1 minute on medium heat, making sure it doesn’t burn.  Add the chard, salt and red pepper flakes.  Stir once.  Cover; steam over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring once.  Serves 4-6.

ASPARAGUS WITH HERBED LEMON CRUMBS

Ingredients

• Asparagus
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 pounds fresh asparagus spears, ends trimmed
• Lemon Herb Crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons herbs de Provence
• 2 cups soft bread crumbs (made with fresh bread)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Romano cheese

For asparagus: Bring the water, salt and oil to a boil. Add asparagus spears, lower heat to medium, cook for 3-4 minutes until asparagus are bright green and tender. Drain. Place asparagus in an ovenproof shallow baking dish. (Can be made ahead up to this point, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until ready to use.)

For crumbs: In a medium skillet, heat the butter and oil. Add the garlic and herbs. Cook on low heat for 1 minute. Stir in the breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes until crumbs are golden brown. Remove pan from heat and stir in the lemon zest, pepper and grated cheese. Sprinkle the asparagus with crumbs, bake in preheated 400o oven for 5-8 minutes until asparagus are heated through. Serves 6-8.

TIP:

When choosing asparagus, find bunches that have tight tips and are about ½" thick. When they are too thick, the asparagus are tough. Too thin, they have little flavor.

For ease in cutting asparagus evenly, remove the top rubberband from the asparagus, and gently tap the tips on work surface so that they are even. Cut the asparagus 2 inches from the bottom of the bunch (usually just below the second rubberband, if there is one).

Find more recipes like this one in my book, Small Parties, available for Kindle.

HONEY SPICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds butternut squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 T. unsalted melted butter
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. kosher salt

Place diced squash in pot with enough water to cover. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Drain. Cool slightly. Place squash in bowl with remaining ingredients and pour into a greased baking dish. (Can be done a day ahead.) Bake, covered with foil for 20 minutes at 350o; uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Serve at once . Serves 8-10.

OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.