Greek Salad Pizza.....

Yesterday we had a potluck to attend at Robin's work. Since Robin is the big boss lady, she always wants me to make something impressive. My idea of impressive might not be her employee's idea so I basically make what I want to make. I think this turned out tasty and impressive.

In preparation for our big remodel/addition, I was cleaning out a junk drawer in the kitchen and came across a pampered chef cookbook( more like a pamphlet). There was a recipe for a Mediterranean patio pizza. I loosely followed that recipe. Basically, its a Greek Salad on top of pizza dough. I bought a Pillsbury pizza crust and rolled it out in a rectangular shape. I covered that with EVOO, some oregano, an italian blend and some parmesean. The recipe also calls for fresh garlic and feta but I used some granulated( dried) garlic and left the Feta off. I didnt have enough for the crust and the topping. When its cooked and fully cooled, I cut it into strips and topped it with Greek Salad. I made a dressing with red wine vinegar and evoo, some agave nectar some herbs. I drizzled that on right before we ate it. It was a very, very popular dish. Summer produce is at its prime here in Ontario and I'm really getting sad that the Summer is almost over.

Luckily, we're going to San Francisco two weeks from tomorrow and we'll be able to enjoy California Produce ( and burritos, chinese food, italian food and sourdough bread) for a full week!!!

If you have any "must do" reccomendations for us while we're in SF, we'll gladly take them.

cranberry citrus salad.....

This recipe comes from my former catering boss. I left my job at the caterer almost 2 weeks ago. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders as I haven't been happy there for awhile. I actually dreaded going in to work which is very ironic because I love cooking. The working environment was unprofessional and as they say " when one door closes, another opens. I'm happy to report that I got a much better job that I start next week. I still have my Senior dining job too. My new job will allow me weekends off if I so choose. I actually forgot what it was like to have weekends off and I realized how much I've missed that. Anyway, on to the food.

I'm not sure where this recipe comes from, but its super simple. The dressing is equal parts oj and lemon juice, olive oil, a dab of honey, a touch of mustard, salt and pepper. The salad is red leaf, butter lettuce( or bibb), and raddichio. Toasted pecans, dried cranberries and segmented oranges round it out. Its actually a better salad to make in the winter because the citrus is so much better. I had a catering job last week and I thought it would be good to round out the other two salads they requested.

Southwestern Layered salad( Southern Living).....

Here is another recipe we tested on Saturday. This recipe comes from a Southern Living cookbook. I really enjoyed this salad, it was very fresh tasting and easy to put together. I liked it so much that I made it again last night. I prepped each component and kept it seperate so I could whip up a single serving of salad at the spur of a moment. I feel the dressing for this salad is what makes it special. Its not your typical creamy dressing that you'd normally find on this type of salad. The dressing consists of some pickled jalapenos, white wine vinegar, Olive oil and cilantro. Everthing gets pureed in the blender. Its very zippy from the higher proportion of vinegar to oil.

The first layer is just straight iceberg lettuce. I normally avoid iceberg, but it really works in this salad. The next layer is a mixture of black beans and red onion. The beans marinate for a couple hours in some vinegar and oil, then the red onion is added. The next layer is corn( frozen is fine) and green pepper. Then tomatoes( I skipped those for my home version). Then shredded jack. I used a sharp white cheddar at home. The final layer is diced avocado and cooked bacon. At work, we left the bacon on the side because a few of the tasters are vegetarian. I didnt make the bacon at home. I also added some crushed tortilla chips for crunch. When making the large bowl, the instructions have you save a few tbls of each layer to add to the top. I suppose this is to show everyone what is in the salad.

I searched and searched online for the recipe, but I couldnt find it. I just kinda winged it when I made it at home. If you want the recipe, I can borrow the cookbook from my boss, just let me know.

Mexican ceasar salad.....

When I lived in California, I ate a lot of Mexican Food. Next to Italian, its probably my favorite food. Believe it or not, I wasnt as big of a foodie as I am now. I was so busy with college and then law school, that I didnt have a lot of time to read cookbooks, watch cooking shows, troll the internet food boards or even cook for that matter. I wasnt familar with which hole in the wall Mexican restaurant wouldnt make me sick so I stuck to the tried and true. I ate at El Torito a lot!! It was cheap, reliable and good. One of my favorites was their Mexican ceasar salad. The salad starts with the typical romaine but then adds crunchy fried corn tortillas, salty cojita cheese, toasted pepitas( pumpkin seeds) and slivers of sun-dried tomato. They top this crunchy, salty, cheesy salad with a wonderful cilantro-pepita dressing. If you live in California, you can find this dressing for sale at Ralphs, Von's and other area markets. I once did a trade with Nicole of Baking Sheet. I sent her the LCBO Food and Drink Magazine and she sent me the dressing. I guarded that dressing with my life, I got 3 salads out of it that I served to guests. I wondered how I could get more dressing, then a thought came to me. I'll ask my ex. Well, she said NO( can you believe it?) so I went looking on the internet and found a copycat dresssing. But, no anaheim chilis were to be found in this small community. No problem, I hopped the border and bought them in MI. I peeled them and froze them and chucked them in the freezer.

When we were planning the brunch menu at work, I mentioned this salad to my boss. She was all for it. She tried to order the cheese and chilis too, but she couldnt find them either( why oh why do I have to live in such a small town). Anyway, I brought her my chili's and a bag of corn tortillas and I made this dressing on Saturday. It smelled so good!! We ate a bowl of it for lunch with avocado( my addition) and some really big shrimp that my boss boiled up for the classic shrimp cocktail( for sunday's brunch). The salad has everything you could want, salty, crunchy, creamy and just really freaking good. Both of us could not find Cojita cheese( and I looked in MI and so did she) so we subbed out Feta that we grated on a box grated and drained on paper towels).

Robin stopped by my work on Saturday to bring me something( the subject of another post) and I gave her some salad. She said she thought the homeade dressing was better than the bottled( and I'd have to agree).

When Sunday came, I was nervous because the salad is very different from what ppl around here are used to. I cut up 12 romaine hearts but held back some just in case. I ended up having to make more salad because ppl just ate it up. I was so proud. I spoke to my boss yesterday and she asked if I could give her the recipe again. She is teaching a salad class and some of the ladies that are attending that class were at the brunch and want to learn to make that salad. * big grin*.

If you try it, please let me know how you like it.
Yield: Makes 1 quart

I N G R E D I E N T S
2 medium Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled
and seeded
1/3 cup roasted pepitas
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt( I left out the salt since the feta was salty)
1 1/2 cups salad oil (or mild avocado oil)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons grated cotija cheese
2 small bunches cilantro, stemmed
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
I also added a lot of fresh cracked pepper.
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Place all ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a blender or food processor. Blend about 10 seconds, then add cilantro little by little until blended smooth. Depending on the size of the blender/processor, it may be necessary to do in batches.

Place mayonnaise and water in a large stainless steel bowl and mix with a wire whip until smooth. Add the blended ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Place in an airtight container and refrigerate.

I added avocado to the actual salad. I cut up the tortillas and fried them at work. My boss bought the raw pepitas at Trader Joe's so I pan toasted them for a few minutes.

I like to cook fresh ravioli ( either chicken or cheese) and toss them into the salad for a nice main dish meal.