Balsamic Roasted Beet Salad

I made this for lunch today – it’s from the Barefoot Contessa Foolproof cookbook. We’ve been eating a lot of not-so-healthy stuff over the holidays and I was in need of a good cleansing dish. I had organic lettuce and beets as well as leftover goat cheese in the fridge so chose this recipe. I chose to roast the beets (tossed in some of the dressing) which allowed them to caramelize a bit. The flavours of this salad worked really great together – I’ll definitely make this again.

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Israeli Couscous & Tuna Salad

This was fabulous – the recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa’s new cookbook Foolproof. It was simple to make and had great flavours – capers, lemon, scallions, roasted red peppers, basil. A definite hit.

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Cooking update: Heirloom Tomatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing

My husband loves blue cheese. I can take it or leave it. So this recipe was right up his alley. It’s from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. The recipe can be found here on the Food Network – although that version includes lettuce as well. The one in the cookbook is exactly th same without the lettuce and the dressing is just drizzled over the tomatoes.

The tomatoes were amazing. I love how heirloom tomatoes grow all deformed and funky looking and in all kinds of different colours. 🙂 The parsley was optional but I added it in and liked the freshness it added to the dish.

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Cooking update: Salad with Warm Goat Cheese

MmmMmm

Who doesn’t like goat cheese…especially when it’s warm, served over crisp greens. Yum!

This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook and it can be found here.

I can totally see this as a base salad that’s great on its own, but could also be served with pears and walnuts, or cranberries and pumpkin seeds…so many options!

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Cooking update: Tabbouleh

Tomatoes, cucumbers, bulgur (I also used quinoa), fresh lemon juice, parsley….what’s not to like?  Eaten with hummus and whole wheat pita bread. Fantastic flavours and healthy too!

This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook. I can totally see this as a salad for a buffet or picnic and it’s super quick and easy.

The recipe can be found here.

 

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Cooking update: Watermelon and Arugula Salad

I made this for lunch. I’ve been feeling under the weather and figured I needed as many vitamins as possible. I wasn’t able to find arugula (which is strange since my supermarket always stocks it) so I chose another lettuce. I can imagine how the peppery arugula would have tasted with this recipe though and although the regular lettuce I used was good, I suspect the arugula would have been much better.

This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy is That cookbook and can be found here. I served it with leftover Herbed Ricotta Bruschettas that I made over the weekend.

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Cooking update: Herbed Ricotta Bruschettas, Green Salad Vinaigrette

After the sliders we had for lunch we wanted something lighter for supper and this fit the bill. I used store-bought low-fat ricotta instead of making it since I didn’t know how to convert the recipe into a low-fat version. The mixture was delicious and the grilled bread rubbed with garlic was a great vehicle for it. Very tasty. I served it with a mixed green salad with the green salad vinaigrette. The whole meal tasted fresh and green – wonderful for a light summer supper.

The recipes are from the Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy is That cookbook and can be found here.

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Cooking Update: Basil Green Goddess Dressing

This is recipe #181 and is supposed to be made with Bibb lettuce, but since I couldn’t find Bibb, and really the dressing is the star, I chose another type of lettuce.

I don’t know which is my favourite between this one and the buttermilk ranch – they’re both very flavorful and make any salad so much tastier. I use lowfat sour cream and mayo when I make creamy salad dressing but they still pack a punch of flavor. I haven’t bought salad dressing in years…not when you can make amazing dressing at home in a few minutes with a wuj of the food processor. (Wuj: Technical term for food spinning around in a food processor).

Here’s a pic of my salad before I slapped a salmon filet next to it:

This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. It can be found on the Food Network here.

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Cooking update: Lobster & Shells

Cooking with lobster makes me feel indulgent. It’s a pretty pricey ingredient and anytime I make a lobster dish that doesn’t clearly showcase the lobster as the main star of the dish, I feel sassy and impudent, like a spoiled brat. “I *know* it’s lobster, but I’m going to nonchalantly toss it into a salad, just because I can.” 🙂

The cool thing about this recipe is that the lobster is definitely the star even though it shares the plate with pasta shells, corn, yellow bell pepper, tomatoes and a delicious mayo/sour cream/lemon dressing. The lobster elevates this salad to a whole new level.

Make it now.

As I was cleaning the lobsters and the yummy smells surrounded me, I just wanted to pack my bags and hightail it to the Maritimes for more! 🙂

Recipe can be found on the Food Network site here. It’s from the How Easy is That cookbook from the Barefoot Contessa. This is recipe #180 of 607 in my Cooking Challenge (that’s just under 30%!).

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Cooking update: Fresh Corn Salad

I served this alongside grilled salmon for dinner tonight paired with the Thirty Bench Steel Post Riesling. Tasty. 🙂 The recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and can be found on the Food Network site here.

The cider vinegar gives it some tang, fresh basil is always delicious… Very nice!

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