18 April 2011

Go green

So there's a recipe I've been hanging onto for a few years that I got from Domino magazine's website. (RIP Domino. I still miss you after all these years.) I always tear out meal ideas from magazines and such, but most of the time never end up making them. I refused to assign this salad recipe to the same fate! I've been dying to try it.

That's just it, though. A salad recipe sans major protein just doesn't make its way into our typical meal plans. J's also not a big "just salad" eater and I thought the recipe was too delicious looking to just have it on the side. (Plus, I'm not a big fan of salad leftovers. Putting it on the side would definitely have assured excess saladage.)

The one time I finally went to the store to get the stuff to make it for myself, they were out of arugula! (I just can't substitute for those delicious, peppery greens.) And I also couldn't find champagne vinegar for the dressing, so it just wasn't in the cards that day.

I finally had the perfect opportunity to make it for my brother's birthday in April. I even added my own little spin after having an amazing salad at The Mixx with quinoa in it. And wow, this salad was great! And super easy (I'm disappointed in myself for waiting so long to make it.) Do yourself a favor and try it.

The stuff to make it
3 pink grapefruit
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
salt and pepp
3 large handfuls arugula (I just used a whole plastic box of it)
2 ripe avocados, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup-ish prepared quinoa (I boiled mine in chicken broth) ... optional, but delicious.

How to make it
Slice off the tops and bottoms of grapefruit and cut off skin. Section fruit and remove membranes (ew?), working over a bowl to catch the juice. (Seriously though, removing the membranes is importance as that's where grapefruit gets its bitterness! Thanks for that lesson, Mom.) To bowl, add oil, vinegar, salt and pepp to taste; whisk to combine.

Toss arugula with half of the dressing (and quinoa if you decide you want it in there.) The recipe says to arrange arugula on plates, top with grapefruit, 'cado and red onion and then to spoon on remaining dressing. But I pretty much lazed it up and put it all in the salad bowl and mixed. Not as pretty, I'm sure, as the instructed way to do it, but I'll be the first to admit that my plating skills are never rated very high.

What's your favorite salad recipe?

11 April 2011

Guac it up

I typically don't use dinner hosting sessions as an opportunity to try recipes I've never made before. After all, if it sucks, my stellar reputation as an entertainer is in jeopardy. But when I had a Mexican fiesta to host pals, I knew I had to take my Aunt's guacamole recipe for a spin. Not only does she have fantastic culinary taste, but I feel like guacamole is pretty hard to mess up, right?

My "adventure" paid off because it was absolutely delicious. The recipe makes a giant batch, so I thought we were going to have leftovers. This wouldn't have been a bad thing from a taste standpoint. But guac doesn't always maintain it's awesomeness the best. Regardless, I didn't have to worry about it because the six of us definitely polished it off. Impressive. This concoction has the perfect amount of kick to it, but I think I'll use spicy Rotel to dial it up a bit more next time. (There will be many more "next times" with this recipe!)

The stuffs to make it
4 very ripe avocados
1 small, well-drained can Rotel
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. cumin (I used a tad more, but not much)
8 oz. softened cream cheese (the softened part is important, just to make things easy)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup diced onion

How to make it
Mix the stuff up, dummy. Serve with tortilla chips. Easy peasy, guacomeasy. Huh?