Archive | April, 2012

Cheddar & Apple Salad from the Butcher & the Baker

4 Apr

A couple months ago, Brendan invited me to a dinner at his friends Silka & Jake’s apt. Authors of the blog The Butcher and the Baker, they put out an unbelievable spread. Always using farm fresh ingredients– with gorgeous photos to boot– I have been an admirer of their blog since. On Saturday, I decided to make their Spinach Salad w. Apples and Cheddar… and I have eaten it every day following. This dressing is likely to become a new staple at my place (and Sam’s as well).

Make fun of me if you will for my BK-overuse of mason jars… but it is super convenient to make dressing in, just measure ingredients on the side of the jar– and shake up– instead of bothering with the whole whisking, bowl etc thing. Storage and measure in one fell swoop.

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar – reccomend apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salad
1 generous handful of raw almonds [i subbed pine nuts & sunflower seeds]
1 tsp bacon fat (or a little butter, if you’d like to keep it vegetarian)
1 1/2 lbs spinach – b&b add that they like regular, but baby would work fine as well [do note though that the regular organic/farm fresh bunch is quite unlike that old dark stuff you buy in big bags. It is lighter, fresher, and less coarse. i used a combo of watercress, spinach & arugula- also shocking how much more peppery and delicious a fresh bunch of arugula is to the boxed stuff]
2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, cut or broken into chunks
1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced [or chopped]- Fujis are great for this!
[optional add-ins: crispy bacon, avocado, radish]

Throw all dressing contents in a jar. Shake and enjoy.

Heat bacon fat or butter in small pan on medium heat. When melted, add nuts [or seeds]. Shake pan to coat– cook for about 5 mins, shaking every min or so. [seed/pine nuts cook a bit faster.] [If you are fresh out of bacon fat– or just feel like adding bacon to your salad as I did. Make bacon, cook until crispy, remove from pan w. slotted spoon onto paper towel. And voila, some tasty fat for your nuts (twss?). Also– if you are feeling super lazy– one day I just threw in the seeds, untoasted- and still good.]
If using almonds, when done, spread on cutting board, let cool for a few mins, coarsely chop.
Mix all salad ingredients in bowl w. some dressing to coat.

Brussel Sprouts w. Maple and Cayenne

2 Apr

This is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe of all things. I roast brussel sprouts every now and again– and as much as I love plain old olive oil, salt and pepper– i wanted something extra. Looking for a maple dressing of sorts- something I could just pour over at the end- I came across this. Sweet and spicy. Perf.

2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed [cut off very bottom of stump end] and halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil [or just a generous glug]
Coarse salt
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat to 375. In a bowl mix brussel sprouts w. generous glug of olive oil and generous douse of salt. On a rimmed baking sheet [or 9×13 pan]. Roast until brown and tender.Stirring every 15 minutes. I like mine super toasty- w. the leaves falling off and crisy- but feel free to do less.  Takes about 30-40 mins. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine syrup and cayenne. Take b-sprouts out of oven– drizzle w. the syrup/cayenne. Roast for 1 more minute. [original recipe uses 400 oven and 15-20 minute cook time- but I prefer this way- and had read an Anne Burrell recipe for sunchokes and sprouts so wanted to keep it the same]

In the background– I made Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes). Tossed w. olive oil, salt and smoked paprika. Cooked for same amount of time 30-40 mins. They are good- almost potato like. I could have done something though- to make them pop just a little bit more. I’ll try again and get back to you…unless someone has suggestions?

Newer Entries →