salad

the green and not so green.

DaVinci Wine Cookbook: page 5 [of 10] ZUPPA & INSALATA

10/05/2011 | Leave a comment! | Topics: DaVinci Wine, Italian food, salad, soups

Zuppa e Insalata. The soup and salad course is not to be missed: salads are home to seasonal greens plus seafood and all the trimmings—or simply lettuces with high quality olive oil, salt and pepper. A quintessential soup of Tuscany—and born out of a peasant’s kitchen—is called ribollita. Ribollita can take on many forms, from thin and broth-like to thick like stew. Its signature ingredients include day old bread,… [more]

feta beet salad with fig sherry vinaigrette.

06/14/2011 | 8 Comments | Topics: salad

I love having a go-to salad. What is yours? For the last year mine has been: tuna with arugula, olive oil and balsamic glaze, Parmesan and a few good grinds of pepper. Why I love it: it’s a combination of my favorite greens and healthy tuna—and a reminder of our year abroad in Florence, Italy. The tuna arugula salad has Tuscany written all over it… [more]

Pesto Pasta Salad & Pesto Spinach Salad.

05/12/2011 | 5 Comments | Topics: salad, starch

I hope you had a lovely Easter, Mother’s Day and my oh my: are you gearing up for graduation like we are? My son Caleb is on the cusp of exiting the 8th grade, crossing off each of these last days as ‘mission accomplished.’ It’s almost mid-May! I think May and October might be my two favorite months. October is the thick of fall, full of crisp days and… [more]

marinated zucchini

06/02/2010 | 4 Comments | Topics: salad, vegetables

New favorite vegetable: grilled, marinated zucchini. It is because of this recipe, that my sons fell in love with zucchini. Francesco was a tad bit envious the other day, when I snagged some of these zucchini from the fridge, piled them on a plate and topped them with a poached egg… he even went so far as to sneak a few bites. Every time they add a vegetable to… [more]

What to do with a jar of fig spread.

05/05/2010 | 8 Comments | Topics: food spotlight, salad, starters

(No, this is not a photo of a jar of fig spread. But it is involved with what to do with a jar of fig spread, so keep reading). I finally bought a jar of fig spread. I have seen jars of fig spread, staring me down from the store shelf, daring me to try it. Daring me to see if I was as clever as it was poised. Could… [more]

arugula, white bean and tuna salad

01/19/2010 | 10 Comments | Topics: Italian food, salad

I could just call this ‘resolute salad,’ since it is my quick version of a New Year’s resolution. It is that time of year again to reverse the results of holiday eating and imbibing, to go lighter on the bread, cut down portion size and drink water like it is going out of style. But one need not suffer. In fact, this salad is a preferable choice for lunch.… [more]

some baked-in science, and a little mustard magic.

04/25/2008 | 7 Comments | Topics: culinary school, dip, sauce & syrup, food spotlight, food., salad

Baked goods are best fresh, right out of the oven and the same day they are made. Why is that anyway? Because after they come out of the oven, they continue to lose moisture. And moreover, when you see the day-old pastries for sale at your corner coffee shop, they are usually individually wrapped in saran wrap. Do you know why? Because it helps keep that same moisture in just… [more]

question: what do a salad, a wedding and my son have in common?

01/06/2008 | 7 Comments | Topics: food., recipes, salad

Answer: they are all a wrapped in Greek. My latest favorite salad is this Greek salad, pictured here. One of our favorite family movies is: My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And my sixth grade son just started a new social studies unit on Greek culture. My son is learning everything from Greek religion to dress, history and geography. The ‘dress’ part of which added a twin size white sheet… [more]

Walnut Pear Endive Salad

06/11/2007 | 8 Comments | Topics: food., salad

It is amazing to me that I haven’t yet shared this salad with you. Don’t you love unusual salads? Don’t you get a smidgen tired of serving the same salad over and over? How about when you look in your fridge and the green leaves shout out little to no inspiration? I am always so happy to have a few good salad options. What to serve guests to tickle… [more]

coleslaw resurrected: crispy, pungeant, healthy.

05/03/2007 | 10 Comments | Topics: food., salad, vegetables

If you serve my son a burger, he will say to you: “I cannot imagine a burger without blue cheese.” And then, while shaking his head from side to side, he will say: “it is soooooooo good.” He captures my heart; I am equally a fan of the pungent, pervasive, personalitied blue. And I always am on the search for a quality coleslaw to resurrect the bad reputation sliced… [more]