Cold Asian Salad

A terrific find from my new favorite cooking site. Goes well with a spicy, flavorful wine like Honey Moon Viognier from Trader Joe's.

Sesame and Cilantro Vermicelli Salad Recipe

Ingredients

Honey Soy Dressing
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or corn oil
3 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper or chili powder
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce (less if using tamari which is more concentrated than soy sauce)

Salad
8 ounces of vermicelli, thin spaghetti, or angel hair pasta
Salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup sliced and chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

1 Cook the pasta in a large saucepan in salted boiling water, according to directions on pasta package. Drain but do not rinse.

2 While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing. In a microwave-safe dish, heat the vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red pepper, in the microwave on high heat for 2 minutes. Add the honey and soy sauce and mix well.

3 Combine the drained pasta with the dressing in a large bowl until the pasta is well coated. Cover and chill for several hours.

4 When ready to serve, mix in the cilantro, peanuts, green onions and bell pepper. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4 to 8, depending on serving size.

Delicious Summer Salad

Hubby and I are on a eat-more-veggies-and-less-meat kick these days. It's also been crazy crazy hot here in Los Angeles, so I find myself craving salads that require as little use of my stove as possible. This salad goes excellent with a crisp, light white wine such as Synergy Blanc from Novella Vineyards (a whopping $4.99 at Trader Joes).

CKS Note: I used a large red pepper instead. It gave the salad a lot more color and tasted just as good. I also didn't have time to refrigerate the salad before serving, but I still gobbled it up!

Tortellini Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:
18 ounces tortellini, refrigerated
1 pound asparagus spears, chopped
1 large yellow pepper
1 teaspoon lemon peel, finely shredded
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic , minced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
1/2 cup green onion, sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:
1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven, cook tortellini according to package direactions, adding asparagus and sweet pepepr the last minute of cooking; drain. Rinse tortellini and vetetables with cold water; drain again.

2. For dressing, in a screw top jar, combine lemon peel, lemon jice, oil, mustard, surgar, salt, and garlic. Cover and shake well.

3. In a very large bowl, place tortellini and vegetables. Add dressing, toss to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 8 hours. Just before serving, stir in cheese, green onions, and nuts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Coming up!

Last weekend I learned how to make wontons from scratch. I love wontons, particularly wonton soup, so this was very exciting for me. I'm still sorting out the pictures and the videos so I will post something soon. In the meantime, here's a picture to get your mouth watering.

Ham and Asparagus Frittata

Ham and Asparagus Frittata


Extend whole eggs with egg whites for a generous serving size. Serve the frittata with fruit and toasted English muffins and jam for an Easter brunch for two.


2/3 cup chopped 33%-less-sodium ham (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded low-fat Jarlsberg cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
2 large eggs
Cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat broiler.

Combine ham, cheese, black pepper, salt, egg whites, and eggs, stirring well with a whisk.

Heat a 9-inch nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and asparagus; sauté 3 minutes. Add egg mixture; reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, 3 minutes or until almost set. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Wrap handle of pan with foil; broil 3 minutes or until egg is set. Cut into 4 wedges.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

CALORIES 251 (33% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 3.4g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.1g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 247mg; CALCIUM 373mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.6g; SODIUM 791mg; PROTEIN 31.3g; FIBER 2g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2004

Mango Salsa

Another Treat from Don's Bday Party

Mango Salsa


You'll also love this salsa served with beef, fish, shrimp, or tortilla chips.

This recipe goes with Macadamia-Mango Chicken

2 ripe mangoes (about 1 pound), peeled and diced*
1 medium-size red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Stir together all ingredients; cover and chill at least 2 hours.

*1 (26-ounce) jar refrigerated mango slices may be substituted

Yield: 2 cups

Southern Living, JULY 2002

Guacamole

Simple. Beautiful. Delicious. I made this for Don's Birthday.



Guacamole


Prep: 10 min., Stand: 30 min. While storing in the refrigerator, keep your guacamole from changing color by placing a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the mixture.


5 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
3/4 teaspoon salt
Tortilla chips

1. Cut avocados in half. Scoop pulp into a bowl, and mash with a potato masher or fork until slightly chunky. Stir in chopped red onion and next 4 ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing wrap to touch mixture, and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Serve guacamole with tortilla chips.

Cilantro Guacamole: Mash avocado, and stir in ingredients as directed. Stir in 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro and an additional 1 Tbsp. lime juice. Cover mixture, and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Yield: Makes 3 1/2 cups



Southern Living, MAY 2007

Sliders with Shallot -Dijon Relish

I'll never eat another regular sized burger again. These sliders are to die for.

Sliders with Shallot-Dijon Relish


These mini-burgers make fun and tasty appetizers. Although we enjoyed them on Parker House rolls, they would also be tasty on small dinner rolls or sweet Hawaiian bread rolls.


1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground sirloin
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons butter, softened
8 (1-ounce) Parker House rolls
16 dill pickle chips

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and sirloin. Divide meat mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/4-inch-thick patty. Lightly coat both sides of patties with cooking spray. Place patties on grill rack; grill for 3 minutes on each side or until done.

3. Combine shallots, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and butter in a small bowl, stirring well. Cut rolls in half horizontally. Spread shallot mixture evenly over cut sides of rolls. Layer 1 patty and 2 pickle chips on bottom half of each roll; top with top halves of rolls.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 slider)

CALORIES 167 (37% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.8g); IRON 1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.2g; SODIUM 404mg; PROTEIN 10.8g; FIBER 1g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2008