Cornbread Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

I made cornbread the other night. Fresh cornbread, right out of the oven with the butter still slightly bubbly and drizzled with honey is simply a transcendent experience for the taste buds. However, once cornbread is 3 days old, it looses it's excitement. So, the other night I went looking around for what to do with leftover cornbread that wasn't a dessert. I found my answer at smittenkitchen.com (my favorite foodblog that I'm a little scared to share, since it is so incredible and well done). She made croutons out of cornbread and paired it with a buttermilk-lime dressing over a salad. I did my own salad base, but followed her notes on how to crisp the cornbread and dressing. And it turned out as one of the best salads I've ever had.

Ingredients
(for 2)

For the salad:
2 large slices of cornbread, cut into 1 inch cubes.
1 small head green leaf lettuce, washed and ripped into bite size pieces
1 handful dandelion greens, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 small zucchini or summer squash
1 roasted red bell pepper, thinly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
Juice of two limes
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp finely minced fresh basil
2 tbsp finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp cup finely minced green onions
1/2 teaspoon salt


Directions

Make the croutons:

Preheat the oven to 450F. Spread out the cut pieces of cornbread on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Make the dressing:
Mix together all of these ingredients. Shake well. Refrigerate until use.

Make the salad:

Over medium high heat, saute the yellow squash, stirring frequently, until the sides are golden, about 10 minutes. While sauteing, assemble the rest of the salad. Add squash on top of the other vegetables. Add croutons. Dress as you like. I used a lot more dressing than normal here. But at the same time, I was so flavor satisfied at the end, that I didn't need to each anything more.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

Another vegetable that I get too much of in my vegetable box in the summer are fresh beets. But roasted every so simply and paired with goat cheese, these are delicious little critters.

Ingredients:

3 beets
olive oil
salt
pepper
walnuts
honey
1 log goat cheese
lettuce (mix baby is the best)
avocado oil


Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Scrub beets. Do not peel, but simply slice them into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the surfaces of the beets begin to wrinkle and absorb the oil. (make sure they are soft enough that you can slice on with a fork before you call them done). Remove and let cool.

While the beets are baking, make some candied walnuts. At least, this is the cheat that I use. In a pan, toast the walnuts on medium high heat until you begin to smell the oils. Pour just enough honey over the walnuts to lightly coat them. Stir for another couple minutes until the honey begins to harden. Put aside to let cool.

Assemble the salad with the remaining ingredients. I dressed it simply with avocado oil, but you can use any oil or very simply oil and vinegar dressing (there is enough flavor in the iingredients that you don't want to complicate the palate.

Summer Vegetables, French Tian Style

Summer means lots of zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. Lots. Bags and bags of them. They make for a great challenge as I try to figure out what to do with them beyond the typical marinate and roast or zucchini bread. Here's one idea I had. This is a baked summer dish. It does require kitchen heat, sadly. I ended up baking it late at night once the day's heat had subsided. But it is worth it. The layered yumminess of vegetables flavors mixed together is good hot right out of the oven or cold the next day for lunch.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 onion or 2 leeks (including greens), sliced into very thin rounds
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smooshed
1/4 cup walnuts
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Grated parmesan
Herbs de provence (fresh is best, but there is enough moisture to use dried)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Lay the eggplant on it. Generously drizzle with salt and vinegar. Bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, heat enough oil over low heat in a thick skillet to cover the base. Slowly saute the onions with the garlic until their sugars start to turn brown. If you've got time to properly caramelize, that would be even better.

Take a bread pan and spread the onions along the base. Now, layer the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes on top of each other. With each set of 3, sprinkle walnuts, herbs, and grated parmesan. For the top layer, alternate everything to make stripes of color. After it has baked for 25 minutes, top with a little more parmesan, herbs, and walnuts. Continue to bake until the cheese begins to become golden.

Bake for a total of 30-40 minutes.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I don't know when it happened, but I love brussel sprouts. Nowadays I can't seem to get enough of them. Any excuse. My favorite way to make them is super simple. It's all by eye and taste. And goes with so many things.

Ingredients:

Brussel Sprouts - cut in half
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan, grated finely
chile pepper flakes (optional)
garlic, finely chopped (optional)
balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F

Toss the brussel sprouts in oil, salt and pepper and any of the optional ingredients you want.
Spread onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until crispy on the outside (but not burnt) but soft enough on the inside to be easily pierced by a fork.

Chard with Cherries and Lemon

I never used to cook chard or collard greens. I knew they were good for me, but didn't like their bitter taste. But as soon as I began subscribing to a vegetable CSA, I started to get a ton of these in my boxes, so I had to figure out something to do. I finally figured this recipe for a side dish out, and I love it. It's very flexible, any jam or dried fruit will do. But the key is lemon and garlic along with the sweetness of the jam.

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil (or even better, avocado oil)
1/2 red onion or 2 shallots
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch chard (stems removed and thinly chopped, leaves thickly chopped)
Juice (no more than 2 Tbsp) and zest of 1 lemon
a quarter cup (really a handful) of dried cherries or cranberries
1 tablespoon berry jam

Directions:
Heat oil in small wok over medium heat.
Saute the onion and garlic until garlic begins to become golden.
Add chard and stir occasionally until it wilts and becoems bright green.
Stir in lemon juice and zest, dried cherries and jam. Cook for 1 more minute so flavors can mix.

Sweet Potatoes with Lime Reduction

I think this is going to become one of the staple side dishes in my house. I made it for a friend who came to dinner paired with a greek lemon-marinated grilled chicken, and a basic marinated roasted vegetable salad. I found the inspiration for this recipe on epicurious.com, and I will say, the core: the sweet potatoes, the lime, and the chives are a threesome that made a very solid base - the sweet, the sour, and the bitter/savory.

The funny thing is that this dish has lead to three separate conversations on the difference between chives and green onions (including one with my dentist!). The answer (I had to look it up) is this: they are both of the onion family, but difference species. a good explanation is here at The New Cook.

Ingredients:
for potatoes:
3 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1 to 1/2-inch cubes
3 Tbsps olive oil
salt
black pepper

for reduction:
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
juice and zest from two limes

2 Tbps chopped fresh chives

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss potatoes with oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl until coated well, then spread in 1 layer on a

shallow baking pans. Roast until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
While potatoes are roasting, mix water, sugar, and lime juice and zest to a simmer in a very small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves (about 30 seconds). Reduce to a simmer and let cook until the liquid is reduced to half (about 3-4 Tbps), which will take about 3-4 minutes.
Toss potatoes with syrup and zest in a large bowl, then sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.