Category: Salads

Six dishes guaranteed to make you the best barbecue guest

Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese

IT’S BARBECUE-HOSTING SEASON. And for the lucky ones among us, that means it’s being-invited-to-barbecues season. Of course, that also means it’s what-can-I-bring-to-the-barbecue season. Don’t be the guy who brings a big bag of chips, even the fancy kind. Unless your host specifically tells you to bring chips—in which case, maybe you should ponder the things you’ve brought in the past that were not as good as a bag of chips. For the non-chip bringers among us, here are six recipes that will absolutely shine. Continue reading “Six dishes guaranteed to make you the best barbecue guest” →

A peachy spin on an Italian classic: Peach Caprese Salad

Peach Caprese Salad
Peach Caprese Salad

PEACHES ARE JUST STARTING TO SHOW UP IN THE MARKETS. Sweet, juicy and summery. And that reminded us of a delicious spin we did on the classic caprese salad several summers ago, swapping peaches for tomatoes, and adding mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette for more flavor and crunch. You’ll find the recipe and the cookbook that inspired it here.

Simple, authentic, delicious: Burmese Green Tomato Salad (kayan chin thi thoke)

Green tomatoes, and some kind of pepper and onion are at the heart of this crisp, tart, easy-to-make traditional Burmese salad. Recipe below.

Burmese Green Tomato Salad
Burmese Green Tomato Salad

IT’S OCTOBER. THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER, the nights crisp (well, sometimes). The bees are fewer in number and acting kind of drowsy. But the tomato plants, ever cheerful, are still optimistically generating loads of tomatoes. Continue reading “Simple, authentic, delicious: Burmese Green Tomato Salad (kayan chin thi thoke)” →

Inspirations from Detroit and Mexico: Beet Elote Salad

Based on two words from a restaurant menu and Mexican street food, Beet Elote Salad replaces corn with diced beets. Recipe below.

Beet Elote Salad
Beet Elote Salad

THE OTHER NIGHT I WAS POKING AROUND ON VARIOUS DETROIT WEBSITES and I thought to check out the website of Selden Standard. Several years ago, when we were spending most of our time in Detroit, Selden Standard became a place where I would go when I had a free evening and an appetite for a well-made, kind of rustic, kind of wonderful Midwestern-American dinner. Continue reading “Inspirations from Detroit and Mexico: Beet Elote Salad” →

What are you cooking for the 4th? 15 surprising recipe ideas

Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange
Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange

ANOTHER MAJOR FOOD HOLIDAY IS UPON US. Everywhere, magazines, emails, friends and online food sources are sharing recipes. Seemed like a good idea to us too. So good that when we checked our archives, we found we’d done a pretty bang up job a few years ago. Unexpected dishes, like this one, chicken tea-smoked with star anise and orange, then grilled. You’ll find this and 14 other surprising recipes, from grilling to appetizers, sides (including three potato salads) and desserts, right here. Have a great, delicious 4th.

Fresh fruit and an iconic Iowa blue cheese: Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese

Watermelon, mango, blue cheese and cayenne pepper create a sweet, savory spicy, colorful summer salad.

Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese

BLUE CHEESE—AND BLUE CHEESE DRESSING—HAVE BEEN STARRING IN MOST OF OUR SALADS LATELY. That got me thinking about one of our favorite blue cheeses, Maytag, made by heirs to the Maytag appliance makers on their farm in Newton, Iowa. And that got me thinking about this summery, tangy, spicy fruit salad we made after an Iowa road trip. Continue reading “Fresh fruit and an iconic Iowa blue cheese: Watermelon Mango Salad with Blue Cheese” →

Mixing it up, keeping it cool: five salad recipes

The sudden onslaught of full-on summer has us thinking salads. Here are five recipes—traditional and otherwise—for flavorful summer salads.

Berry Blue Cheese Watercress Salad

I THINK WE SLEPT THROUGH SPRING THIS YEAR IN CHICAGO. We went from comforters on the bed well into May to 98º this past weekend. From braises and stews to salads. These are some of our favorites. Continue reading “Mixing it up, keeping it cool: five salad recipes” →

Not just for breakfast: a half dozen recipes made with (or made better with) eggs

Salade Frisée aux Lardons

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]E[/su_dropcap]ggs—quick-cooking, affordable, versatile sources of protein—show they can go beyond the breakfast table in these six recipes. Continue reading “Not just for breakfast: a half dozen recipes made with (or made better with) eggs” →

The need for farmers markets: Potato Salad with Garlic Scapes and Bacon

Garlic scapes replace green onions in this potato salad, adding a mild garlicky kick. Bacon and lemon juice also play key roles. Recipe below.

Potato Salad with Garlic Scapes and Bacon

For being such a great food town, Chicago comes up short in the farmers market department. Yes, we’ve got neighborhood farmers markets that pop up in parks and plazas every weekend from mid-May to late October, full of organic, locally sourced produce, eggs, meats and more. But as exciting as these are, there’s still something missing. Continue reading “The need for farmers markets: Potato Salad with Garlic Scapes and Bacon” →