Caesar Salad (vegetarian version)

I actually made this salad a couple of months ago, and have totally forgot to post it! Mommy-brain strikes again! In any case, here it is. It’s from Veganomicon, which is an awesome vegan cookbook. I made the croutons and the dressing first, and was totally making a meal of dipping the croutons into the dressing when I realized that I might need to save some for the actual salad. But, you know, once I got the whole thing made and we sat down to dinner, it just wasn’t as good! It was kind of bland. Toby needed to perk his up a bit with some shredded parmesan, and I later did the same. This recipe gets lots of raves online, so maybe I did something wrong? I was very disappointed.

rating: 5

Caesar Salad
(from the cookbook “Veganomicon” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero)

Caesar dressing:
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3/4 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 heaping tablespoon capers
4 teaspoons caper brine
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
Salt

Croutons:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 medium size loaf French or Italian bread (little less than 1 pound), stale and torn or sliced into bite-sized pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
Freshly cracked black pepper
Handful or two of spinach and/or arugula, torn into bite-sized pieces (optional)

Prepare the dressing: Pulse the sliced almonds in a food processor or blender until crumbly. Empty the ground almonds into an airtight container that you’ll be using to store the finished dressing. Blend the garlic, tofu, and oil in the food processor or belnder until creamy. Add the lemon juice, capers, caper brine, sugar, and mustard powder, and pulse until blended. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste. Put into the container with the ground almonds and whisk to combine. Cover and allow the dressing to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes, optimally 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While the dressing is chilling, prepare the croutons: Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the olive oil, roasted garlic, and lemon juice in a large bowl. With a fork or immersion blender, mash or blend the mixture until creamy. Add the torn bread and toss to coat each piece with the oil mixture. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, if desired, and bake for 12 to 14 minutes until golden brown. Toss the croutons twice during the baking process. Remove from the oven and cool the croutons on the baking sheet.

To assemble the salad, place in a large bowl 2 to 3 cups of lettuce/greens per individual serving (amount depending on whether it’s a side or an entree). Ladle on 1/3 cup of the dressing (or more or less to taste), and use kitchen tongs to toss the greens and coat them with dressing. Add the warm croutons, toss again, and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with a little freshly cracked pepper. If not serving right away, warm croutons in 300F oven for 5 to 8 minutes before adding to the salad.

Buttermilk-Garlic Dressing

This dressing takes no time at all to make, and I thought it was really good. Toby, on the other hand, said that it tasted “like a watered-down ranch dressing.” Don’t listen to him. I think all the years of eating super-spicy foods have damaged his taste buds. He added Creole seasoning to his dressing and proclaimed it “great.” Whatever. Try this one.

rating: 8

Buttermilk-Garlic Dressing
(from the Sept. 2009 issue of Southern Living magazine)

1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
salt and pepper

Whisk together the buttermilk, mayo and garlic; and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

makes about 1/2 cup

Panzanella Take Two

So one of my favorite restaurants in DC is Papa*Razzi (http://www.paparazzitrattoria.com/). We used to go there all the time, and one thing I would ALWAYS order (seriously, like every visit) was their Panzanella salad. According to their menu, it is: A Classic Tuscan salad of mixed greens, capers, tomatoes, torn Focaccia and Vermont goat cheese in a Red Wine Vinaigrette. After having such great success with the Tomato Panzanella a couple of nights ago, I decided to try a recreate this wonderful salad. AND I DID. TOTALLY. At first Toby said “wow, this is pretty close.” After a couple more bites he said “all you need is that red wine vinaigrette and you would have it.” A couple more bites after that he said ” I really don’t think you can tell a difference between your dressing and theirs.” Ha! I used the same dressing from the tomato panzanella and it worked just fine, thank you very much. I can’t really give you any amounts except for the dressing, you just have to kind of eye-ball it and see what you think. TRY THIS.

rating: 10

Papa*Razzi’s Panzanella

mixed greens (we used green-leaf lettuce and then a bag of gourmet greens)
tomatoes (I used 3, sliced in wedges)
capers (I used maybe 2 tbsp)
Vermont goat cheese (I just kind of crumbled it into the salad, maybe 3/4 of a little log)
croutons (I cut up a baguette into cubes, then broiled them with some salt, pepper, and olive oil until brown)

dressing:
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c white wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

I put the greens and the croutons into a large bowl and added the dressing, making sure to stir everything together really well. The croutons are SO good drenched in this dressing. Then add the rest of the ingredients, stirring a little more.

Tomato Panzanella

I love a panzanella salad, but I am kind of on the fence about tomatoes. I wasn’t sure how this recipe was going to go for me. I mean, I like tomatoes, but I don’t just eat a slice of a tomato plain, you know? I told Toby we were having this salad for dinner, and he asked what else we were having with it. I told him if this didn’t fill him up, I would make him something else. When he sat down and looked at the salad, he said “where’s the lettuce?” Let me tell you, there was only a TINY bit of this salad left over today and I had it for lunch. THIS IS SO GOOD. Just something about the bread mixed with the dressing and then the tomatoes…MMMMM. When I finished it for lunch today, I thought to myself “wow, I can’t wait to make this again!” I did leave out the mint.

rating: 9.5

http://fresh365.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-panzanella.html

Almost-Famous Garden Salad

There’s actually one new recipe in this post and TWO product reviews! I know, I went a little crazy. First, the salad. This is a copy of the Olive Garden’s famous salad! I actually only copied the dressing part and didn’t attempt the salad part. Who knew that there was Miracle Whip in their dressing? I sure didn’t! It was super-easy to make and yep, it tastes just like the Olive Garden! Now for the product reviews. We tried another fake meat product from It’s All Good. This one was “Veggie Pulled Chick’n. I served it on a bun with some cole slaw, kind of like a BBQ sandwich. I didn’t like it. Toby said that it was scary how meat-like it was, and he ate his sandwich plus most of mine. I don’t know what it is about most of It’s All Good’s products…they use some kind of seasoning that I don’t like. Anyway. The second product review is for Bush’s Grillin’ Beans. They have four new kinds of baked beans (sorry, Grillin’ Beans!), and three of them are vegetarian. This first one we have tried is the Steakhouse Recipe. I thought they were really good. Toby didn’t love them. He doesn’t like his baked beans sweet (and I do!). Oh well. Two more kinds left to try.

rating: Olive Garden salad dressing: 8

It’s All Good Veggie Pulled Chick’n: 5

Bush’s Grillin’ Beans- Steakhouse Recipe: 8.5

Almost-Famous Garden Salad
(from the June/July 2009 issue of Food Network magazine)

dressing
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp Miracle Whip
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

salad
1 10-ounce bag American salad blend
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
4 small pickled peppers, such as pepperoncini
1 small vine-ripened tomato, quartered
2 tbsp sliced black olives
1/2 cup large croutons
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients and 1-2 tbsp water in a blender or food processor; puree until smooth.
2. Place the salad blend in a large bowl and top with the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle with the dressing.

Broiled Goat Cheese Salad

I love goat cheese, so I thought I would give this recipe a try. I first made the dressing. It really didn’t seem like enough dressing for 2 big salads (and it’s supposed to be for 4!), so I had Toby take a look at it. He agreed that it wouldn’t be enough, so he basically doubled it. As for the goat cheese, the plain-flavored goat cheese “log” in my grocery store was not vegetarian, so I got a flavored version that was. It was Mediterranean Herbs & Garlic-flavored. This recipe was super easy to make and it’s great! The little French bread pieces with the cheese baked on top = delicious. They could be eaten with a shoe and make it taste great! They were so good that today for lunch I made more! We enjoyed this salad with some egg-salad sandwiches.

rating: 9

Broiled Goat Cheese Salad

(from the cookbook “500 Greatest Ever Vegetarian Recipes” by Valerie Ferguson)

2 firm round whole goat cheese, about 2.5-4 ounces each

4 slices French bread

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

6 ounces read-to-serve salad greens

snipped fresh chives, to garnish (I omitted)

for the vinaigrette dressing

1/2 garlic clove

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp white wine vinegar (used white vinegar)

1 tsp dry white wine

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and ground black pepper

1. To make the dressing, rub a large salad bowl with the cut side of the garlic clove. Combine the mustard, vinegar and wine in the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, then whisk in the oil, 1 tbsp at a time, to form a thick vinaigrette.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut the goat cheese in half across their width to make four “cakes”.

3. Arrange the bread slices in a broiler pan and toast them on one side under a hot broiler. Turn them over and place a piece of cheese, cut side up, on each slice. Drizzle with olive oil and broil until the cheese is lightly browned.

4. Add the leaves to the salad bowl and toss to coat them with the dressing. Divide the salad among four plates, top each with a goat cheese crouton and garnish with chives. Serve immediately.

Mediterranean salad with chickpea patties

I decided to give chickpea patties another chance. I don’t why they intrigue me so much. I had problems with this recipe. The mixture would just not stay together at all. I tried and tried, but they just fell apart. So I added 1 beaten egg to the mix, but I think that made them a little too wet. Oh well. The taste was ok, but this recipe only made me 5 small patties. Toby made the dressing, and I guess maybe we just aren’t used to the low-fat Greek yogurt. It’s very bitter! Thank goodness I had the pita chips! I won’t be making this one again, but as Toby said, “they can’t ALL be winners.”

rating: 5

Mediterranean salad with chickpea patties
(from the April 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine)

1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used dried)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt (preferably Greek)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
8 cups mixed greens
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I omitted)
Pita chips (optional)

1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, parsley, garlic, cumin, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper just until coarsely chopped and the mixture comes together when gently squeezed. Form into eight 1/2″-thick patties and coat with the flour, tapping off excess.
2. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties, turning carefully, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, and 1.4 tsp each salt and pepper. Divide the greens, tomatoes, onion, and chickpea patties among plates. Drizzle with the dressing and serve with the pita chips, if using.

Honey-Cinnamon Vinaigrette

Last night I really wanted to have the “Chicken” Salsa Verde Bake again (made it last Oct. and loved it!), so I thought maybe we could have a salad with it, and I would make a new dressing. So I chose this dressing, even though Toby isn’t too into sweet salad dressings. This is a cinch to make, and I think it turned out well! Toby tried it with just lettuce, but I added some dried cranberries and walnuts to my salad. It was good! It was sweet, but good! I think maybe if you also added something like goat cheese to your salad it would be even better! I probably won’t make this again, just because there are so many dressings to try, but you should try it and see if you like it.

rating: 8

Honey-Cinnamon Vinaigrette
(from the Sept. 2008 issue of Southern Living magazine)

1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil

1. Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until smooth. Serve immediately, or cover and chill until ready to serve. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Honey Mustard Dressing

Well, I actually made TWO new things tonight. This dressing, which wasn’t so great, and some garlic croutons for French Onion Soup. First, the dressing: I knew I wanted to make the soup, so I figured soup and salad go together. So I searched for an easy dressing to make. I found this one at whatscookingamerica.net. I didn’t have rice vinegar, and my grocery store didn’t have it either (why oh why can’t I get everything on my grocery list at one store???). I thought maybe apple cider vinegar would sub. Well, I don’t know. Toby tasted it and asked if I had tasted it. I had. He said it tasted like “pure vinegar”. I thought it was ok. So he made my salad with the dressing, then he did something to his to doctor it up. Anyway, it wasn’t the worst dressing I’ve ever had. It WAS tart. That might have been the vinegar. Anyway…on to the soup! We bought 2 little boxes of vegetarian French Onion soup (like a stock, really) at this Middle Eastern store. I first sauteed about 3/4 of a red onion (had it leftover in the fridge- prob. would have used a milder onion if I didn’t have it) in a tbsp of butter. Then I emptied the two boxes into that same pot and brought it up to a boil. Meanwhile I fished out 3 frozen pieces of wheat bread wayyyy back in my freezer. I got out a bowl and put in maybe 1/2 cup of olive oil, and about 1 tbsp minced garlic and stirred it. Then I got out a little pastry brush and “brushed” each piece of bread with the garlic oil mixture. Then I cut the bread into little squares, and put them all in a pan to bake (275 degrees F). I kept checking the bread so it wouldn’t burn, but it took forever to get brown. When they got a little brown, I flipped them and let the other side get brown too. Once they were done, I ladled the soup into my little soup cups, put maybe 5 croutons in each, and then topped them with heaps of shredded mozzarella/gruyere. They were SO good! The 2 boxes made 4 cups of soup. We could have eaten more. It was kind of drizzly and gray out today, so the soup hit the spot.

rating: dressing: 5

rating: croutons: 9.5

Honey Mustard Dressing

(from www.whatscookingamerica.net)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small jar with a lid, combine balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper; cover securely and shake vigorously. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

Super Salsa Dressing

This dressing looks like Thousand Island dressing, but I don’t think it tastes like it. Toby really liked it. I thought it was ok. And I mean, gosh, how much easier could a recipe be? We had this dressing on a green salad with croutons, along with some Gruyere Quorn cutlets and a baked potato. Mmmmmm.

rating: 7

Super Salsa Dressing
(from the cookbook “Heavenly Delights”, put out by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Monroe, NC, 1994)

1 cup Chi-Chi’s or Pace’s salsa (med.)
1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing

Combine and serve. Delicious on green salads, omelets, and especially baked potatoes. Also can be used as a dip for veggies and chips.