Tag Archives: salad

Caesar Salad

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Filed under appetizers, Crudite/ salad, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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My daughter loves, loves caesar salad. She loves it so much, in fact, that every time we eat out ( which is not that often;-) she orders a caesar salad as an appetizer.

In all the years that she has asked for them, I have come to realize what a good caesar salad is. A good salad is not one that has chopped romaine lettuce, croutons,  shredded parmesan and caesar dressing. Everybody can do that!!!

A good caesar salad needs to have a real caesar dressing made from scratch!!!

Gerhard’s cafe, here in Spartanburg makes his from scratch and it is fabulous. My brother-in-law also makes a good one. I actually learned to make my dressing from him. Though in 20 years, my recipe may have changes a bit from his.

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Ingredients for 4-6 people:

  •  1/2 tsp of anchovy paste
  •  1/2 tsp of dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove minced or pressed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 1/16 tsp of freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tbsp of grated parmesan
  • salt to taste ( you may need any as the anchovies are salty
  • 2 heads of romaine salad, rinsed, and chopped
  • 1/2 cup or more of croutons
  • 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan
  1. In a large bowl, mix the garlic, anchovy paste, egg, lemon juice, and pepper together.
  2. In a slow stream pour the olive oil slowly in this mixture while whisking the dressing. Whisk until the dressing is thickening.
  3. Add the parmesan to the dressing and whisk.
  4. Add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if you deem necessary.
  5. Add the chopped salad and toss.
  6. Add the croutons, the shredded parmesan and toss again.
  7. Serve on individual plates and eat up;-)

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So easy and so yummy!!!

This salad dressing will only keep for 1-2 day as the yolk is fresh and not cooked!!! Do not keep longer!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Grilled Asparagus Salad

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Filed under entree, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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In the summer, we often grill because:

1. it takes no time to prepare dinner

2. it gets too hot in the house if the oven is on

3. i like to hang outside when the sun goes down.

For those same reasons, we grill last night. I had salmon and asparagus while the rest of the gang enjoyed some sausages and roasted potatoes. Because I always fix too much vegetables ( or I fix just enough but no-one else is eating them), I was left with quite a few extra asparagus today. What to do?

Personally I do not like to rewarm asparagus the next day because they don’t taste wonderful therefore I thought of making a salad with that this evening , and I was quite happy with their flavor.

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Ingredients for 2-4 people:

If you have some left-over grilled asparagus, skip step 1-4.

  1. Rinse the asparagus under running water and trim the ends.
  2. Place the asparagus in a bowl, drizzle some olive oil over them, and with your fingers toss the asparagus so that they will be well-coated with olive oil.
  3. Turn the grill to medium and grill the asparagus for 2 minutes on each side.
  4. Let them cool.
  5. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
  6. Place the asparagus on a cutting board, and with a sharp knife cut them in small segments of about 1/2 inch.
  7. Toss the cut-up asparagus in the vinaigrette, stir and enjoy.

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Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Mixed Green Salad

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Filed under Crudite/ salad, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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I get so busy that sometimes putting food on the table can be a challenge. This past Monday was one of those days. I was out running errands when I got a text saying:” what’s for dinner?” I am not one that likes to eat out, or order out so i rushed home to cook dinner, an easy and fast dinner: Quiche Lorraine and Salad. But I get so bored with salad, that i tried to search for things to put in it. And this is what I came up with. Doesn’t it look pretty???;-)

Ingredients for 4:

  • 1/2 box of aragula
  • 1 fresh corn or a small box of corn
  • 1/4 cup of shredded carrots
  • 4 fresh asparagus
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes halves
  • 2 tbsp of balsalmic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
  • 1/8 tsp of salt
  • 1/16 tsp of pepper
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Set aside
  2. Trim the asparagus, then cut them in about 1/4″ pieces. Set aside.
  3. Place the corn in the large round mold, place the octogonal silpat on top of the round mold and cook it for 2 minutes. Cook, then trim the corn of the cobb.
  4. Add all the vegetables to the bowl where the dressing was made and toss the salad. Serve on individual plates with a piece of Quiche Lorraine.

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Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Colorful Winter Salad

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Filed under appetizers, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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Summer offers such an array of beautiful colorful vegetables and fruits that it is easy to make your table fun and appetizing. Winter, on the other hand, is limited with its selection. So when I finally find fun vegetables like Belgium endives and radicchio I buy them to add a bit of color to my table and plate.

Belgium endives is a very common vegetable in France. It is served as salad and also as gratin. Whichever you ix it, you will want to add to the recipes something that counterpart the bitterness of the vegetable. And that is why in am using white balsamic vinegar in my recipe today:

Ingredients for 4:

  • 1 head of radicchio
  • 2 medium-sized endives.
  • 2 tbsp of white vinegar
  • 2 tbsp of walnut oil
  • 1/8 tsp of salt
  • 1/16 tsp of pepper
  • 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbled
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup of walnuts broken in small pieces.
  1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
  2. Chop the salad thinly and add it to the salad. Toss well.
  3. Add the chopped walnuts. and mix again.
  4. Add the cheese and toss, or serve the cheese on the side in case people in your home does not care for blue cheese.
  5. Eat up!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Red, Green and Blue Salad with Grilled Salmon…

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Filed under entree, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, seafood, silpat, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

This past Independence Day was all the more meaningful this year to me because  I celebrated this day as an American for the very first time. I have always been very appreciative of this country for all the opportunities and blessings it has given me to this day, but by studying its history and its path to independence, it gave an even more appreciation of Independence Day. I hope you guys feel as blessed as me to be living in this beautiful country that is The United Stated of America.

So on this very special day, what did you guys eat??? Like a true American, I ate hamburgers! Yes, Hamburgers;-) I am not a great fan of red meat or fast food, but after a few weeks overseas, I was happy to eat a big ol’ Hamburgers with all its stuffings.

The next day however, I was ready for a much lighter fare and so I fix a red, green and blue salad with grilled salmon.

Ingredients for 4: 10 oz. or 2 bags of mixed green ( spinach, lettuce, radicchio, arugula), 8 middle-sized strawberries sliced thinly, 8 tbsp. of fresh blueberries, a filet of salmon of about 2 lbs.

Ingredients for the dressing that will be used to season the salmon, and to dress the salad: 2 tbsp of champagne vinegar, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of dijon mustard, 1 tbsp of maple syrup, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients mentioned above until the mixture is homogeneous. Keep half of this mixture for the salad and use the other to season the salmon.

With a pastry brush, brush the seasoning on the salmon and cook in a hot oven at 450 for 10 minutes or on the grill on medium for 6 to 8 minutes on both sides.

Meanwhile prepare the salad. In a large bowl, place the salad, the sliced strawberries, the blueberries and season with the dressing.

To serve the salad, place the salad on each plate. Slice the salmon and place a few strips of salmon atop the salad. Et voila,

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

A Different Salad: Mushroom Salad

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Filed under vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Is it hot yet?! … I don’t know if you are like me, but with this weather and this heat, I am really not hungry… And if I eat, I want to eat refreshing salads. One of the salad we fix regularly in France is ” Salade de Champigons de Paris”: Button Mushroom Salad.

It is so easy, and really good if you like mushrooms…..

Ingredients: 2 packs of very fresh button mushrooms, red wine vinegar, olive oil, 2 tbsp of fresh parsley chopped thinly, salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium size bowl, prepare the vinaigrette by mixing 2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar, 4 Tbsp of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Slice the mushrooms very very thinly, and add to the vinaigrette. Sprinkle the fresh chopped parsley, and mix well. Et voila! How easy was that;-)

I hope that you will give it a try. It is really good!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!!

Broccoli Slaw

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Filed under vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Whoah….  It was 103 yesterday already.  Summer is definitely here!!! What temperature are we going to get in July?!

If you are like me, you probably don’t want to spend time in the kitchen amid warm ovens, and steaming cook stoves. Instead I bet you like to grill things and have salads.

I love all kind of salads, but the one I particularly like is broccoli salad. I don’t get to fix it often because  I am the only one eating it here at the house. But I will fix it when we have company, and when we are grilling. I offered it on Memorial Day as one of the sides. It is a refreshing salad, and a good substitution for the regular cole slaw you generally see at cook-outs. The recipe I use is my own version of a recipe from a book called “Southern Memories” by Nathalie Dupree. That book was offered to me many moons ago by friends who wanted me to know the ” local southern recipes”. I have treasured this book, and use it often when fixing traditional recipes from the South.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag of broccoli slaw,
  • 1 bag of broccoli florets( diced very thinly),
  • 1 pack of uncooked bacon ( lean bacon, cut in thin strips),
  • 1/2 cup of onion sliced very thinly
  • 1/2 cup of mayonnaise,
  • 1/8 cup of sugar,
  • 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese,
  • 3 tbsp of cider vinegar,
  • 1/8 tsp of salt and
  • 1/16 tsp of pepper.
  1. First cook the bacon in a large frying pan until the bacon is fried and crumbled.
  2. Remove the bacon from the pan, and place it in a bowl covered with paper towels so as to absorb the bacon drippings. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, mayonnaise, salt and vinegar.
  4. Add the broccoli slaw and broccoli florets. Toss well.
  5. Refrigerate.
  6. Before serving, add the crisp bacon and 1 cup of sharp cheddar.
  7. Toss again.Serve.

This salad can keep for few days. It actually tastes better after a few days.

Bon Appetit! and Happy Cooking!