Salads for our Labor Day Eve BBQ

We had a great time with some friends last evening. Warren cooked chicken and steaks on the grill and I made salads to accompany.

I am a purist when it comes to my potato salad. But I also do not like huge chunks of egg. If you prefer your egg chunky, just coarsely chop instead of getting out the food processor.

Potato Salad
adapted from Bon Appétit July 1995
1 1/2  lbs potatoes
1 1/2 Tbsp  white wine vinegar
1 hard-boiled egg
3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 Tbsp chopped scallion, green part only
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/6 cup chopped Italian parsley
6 Tbsp mayonnaise
5 oz plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp Dijon mustard 
Herbed Kosher Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water just until tender. Drain, cool slightly, peel and cut into 3/4 inch dice. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Drizzle with the vinegar over the warm potatoes. Mix the onion, scallion, celery and parsley into potatoes. 

Very finely mince the egg in a small food processor getting it very small but being careful not to turn it into a paste.until 

Whisk mayonnaise, yogurt and mustard in small bowl. Fold in the minced egg. Season dressing with herbed salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Mix into potato mixture.

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Unlike my preference for very traditional potato salad, I like unusual pasta salads without very heavy dressings. Although this dressing is made with mayonnaise, thinning it out with some milk makes it much lighter.

Macaroni Salad with Peas and Ham
adapted from Gourmet August 1997
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
4-ounce piece cooked ham, chopped
1 celery ribs, minced
6 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup frozen tiny peas
1/4 cup mayonnaise
 fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp low-fat milk
Herbed kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper 

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions, adding the peas to cook for last 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Make sure the macaroni and peas are well drained.
In a large bowl toss together the macaroni, peas, ham, celery, and parsley. In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice and milk. Season the dressing to taste with the salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss well to combine.

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Many coleslaw recipes are way to sweet for me. This one remains crunchy and has a little zip! It can be made with red or green cabbage. I just happened to have red from my farm share on hand.

Red Cabbage Coleslaw
adapted from Gourmet June 2008 
1 lb red cabbage, cored finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt & Freshly ground pepper

Toss all vegetables in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise and vinegar. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper then toss with slaw. Allow to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Saving Some of Summer's Bounty - Broccoli, Snap Peas and Fennel

A farm share is not cheap but it is much cheaper than purchasing organic vegetables in the supermarket. The farm I have my share with is not certified organic but uses organic methods. The difference is paying a large sum of money for the government to certify you as organic. Back in Massachusetts I was quite successful at freezing corn, peppers, onions and green beans. Not such a good job with the zucchini. I am branching out this year to see how I do with broccoli, snap peas and fennel.

To Freeze Snap Peas
Wash the snap peas and pull off strings. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in the snap peas, cover and cook for exactly 2 minutes. Transfer to a water bath to stop the cooking immediately. Pat dry and place in bags for freezing.

To Freeze Fennel
Wash the fennel and chop into desired sizes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in the fennel, cover and cook for exactly 3 minutes. Transfer to a water bath to stop the cooking immediately. Pat dry and place in bags for freezing.

To Freeze Broccoli
Wash the broccoli and cut into florets. I like to keep the stalks. Soak on a brine of 5 tsp salt to 1 gallon of water for 30 minutes. Place a plate on top of the broccoli to make sure it stays submerged.
Drain, rinse and pat dry.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in the broccoli, cover and cook for exactly 4 minutes. Transfer to a water bath to stop the cooking immediately. Pat dry and place in bags for freezing.

Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed Pea Salad & Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with Grape Tomatoes

Here is a yummy Sunday night dinner (although a little heavy on the ctarchy vegetables.) that I adapted from recipes in the April 1997 issue of Bon Appétit Magazine and MarthaStewart.com. There was a lot of black eyed pea salad left over which we included in green salads for lunches over th next few days.

Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed Pea Salad & Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with Grape Tomatoes
PORK:
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloins (10 to 12 ounces each)
1 tsp olive oil
BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD:
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 can (15 ounces) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 ounces) corn kernels
1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
SUGAR SNAP PEAS & GRAPE TOMATOES
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 ounces sugar snap peas, stems and strings removed
5 grape tomatoes (The recipe for more but since Warren is not crazy about tomatoes I decreased the amount)
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar                       
To make the pork:
Preheat oven to 450°.
In a small bowl, combine paprika, thyme, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; set spice mixture aside.
Place pork on a rimmed baking sheet; rub with oil. Sprinkle all over with spice mixture, patting in gently.
Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of meat registers 150°, 20 to 25 minutes;  cool.
To make black-eyed pea salad:
In a medium container, whisk mustard, vinegar, and oil. Add all vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper; toss to combine.
To make the sugar snap peas
Heat the oil in the skillet. Add peas, tomatoes and shallot. Stir-fry until peas are bright green and tomatoes are heated through, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with vinegar and toss to coat. Season with salt an pepper and serve.

Thinly slice pork; serve with black-eyed pea salad and sugar snap peas.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps with Sauteed Pea Tendrils

Warren, Nick and his buddy Teddy dove in before I could get a picture!

The kids were not thrilled with the pea tendrils but I love them.

Grilled Turkey Lettuce Wraps

For the marinade

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 ½ tablespoons Chinese rice wine

1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

1 1/2 pounds turkey cutlets (each about 1/3 inch thick)

For the sauce

½ cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 heads of Boston or Romaine lettuce, cored and the leaves separated

14-16 10-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in water to cover for 1 hour

Make the marinade: In a bowl stir together the soy sauce,sesame oil,rice wine, the ginger,sugar,garlic, and red pepper flakes until the sugar is dissolved.

Cut the cutlets into 1-inch wide strips. Add the turkey pieces to the marinade, toss them to coat them, and let them marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for hours or overnight.

Make the sauce: In a small saucepan simmer the hoisin sauce, the water, and the soy sauce for5 minutes, let the sauce cool, and transfer it lo a serving bowl.

Preheat the grill. Thread the turkey pieces lengthwise on the skewers, spreading them so that they lie flat. Discard the marinate. Grill the turkey skewers turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until they are just cooked through.Serve with the sauce and lettuce.

To assemble a serving: Spread some sauce on a lettuce leaf, transfer the turkey from a skewer to the leaf, and wrap the leaf loosely around it.

Sauteed Pea Tendrils

Cooking Spray

1 Tbsp Boyajian garlic oil

1 tablespoons butter

1/2 pound pea tendrils

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt then butter, and add the pea tendrils. Cover; cook just until wilted, stirring often, about 5 minutes for pea tendril. Season to taste with

salt and pepper.

Veggie Stir Fry

Thanks to the farm share and my friend Judy who not only gave me vegetables from her garden but delivered them to me at Shriners, I had vegetable stir fry for dinner. needless to say Nick would not come near it with a 10 foot pole but that just means more for me!

Very unlike me I did not measure any of  the veggies. It was sort of a dump combination looking at what I had more of and what would go bad quickest. I used a combination of eggplant, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, okra, baby bok choy, carrot, yellow beans, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, pea tendrils, beet greens and a previously steamed sweet potato. I started the stir fry with 1/2 Tbsp Ming Tsai's Curry Ginger Oil and added a little vegetable stock when the pan was looking dry. I finished it with a sauce made of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part oyster sauce and 1/2 part chile-garlic sauce.