Dress for Success

  Your salad, that is.  Salads are extremely popular in the summer months, as there is no need to heat up the kitchen to make one.  Me, personally?  I love 'em any time I can get my fork in one.  But that said, not every salad is fantastic, but a few things to keep in mind will circumvent a soggy, wilty mess.

  Perk up lettuce with cold water.  That lettuce in the crisper not quite so crisp?  Fill up your clean sink with cold water and give the leaves a soak.  It'll wake up your greens.  But...

  Dry lettuce is happy lettuce.  Make sure your lettuce is dry before making the salad.  Salad dressing sticks best to dry leaves, leaving you with a better coating with less dressing.  Excess water will also water down any dressing you add.  If you are a serious green grazer, consider investing in a salad spinner.

  Don't stash your tomatoes in the fridge.  The tomatoes will get a mushy texture that is less than appetizing.  But...

  Do consider stashing salad plates in the refrigerator.  It'll help lettuce, especially the delicate types, retain the crispness.

  Now that we can build a good proper salad, how about making some dressing?  Homemade dressings are easy, fresh, and tasty.  This one is from the Tupelo Honey Cafe, based out of Asheville, North Carolina.  The hardest part is simply waiting on the pecans to toast.  I love it on a spinach salad!

Pecan Vinaigrette

Yields 2 cups of dressing, about 16 servings

Ingredients
1/4 cup pecan pieces or halves
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

   First we're going to prep the pecans.  Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Spread the pecans out on a baking sheet, and roast the nuts for about 20 minutes, or until the pecans are toasted and slightly browned.  You will smell the pecans when they are ready - watch them carefully close to the end, because you can burn them.  Set them aside to cool.  Once they are cool, grind the pecans in a food processor until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs.  Empty the ground pecans into a small bowl.

  Next, to the food processor, add the vinegar, garlic, both mustards, honey, sugar, salt and pepper.  Puree the ingredients.  While the processor is running, drizzle in the canola and olive oils slowly.  Pour into a container, and stir in the ground pecans.  You can stash this in your refrigerator for up to 30 days.

Note: I put my dressing in a Mason jar.  I dump the ground nuts in the bottom, pour the dressing over it, seal and shake.  I'm all about the easy.  *winks*

Spinach-Basil Pesto

  Summertime, especially here in the south, brings the hot, sunny days, slows the blood in our veins, and brings on a hunger for lighter, brighter flavors.  Pesto hits the spot with its fragrant herbs, toasted nuts, and luscious olive oil.  You can serve this versatile sauce on pasta, as a spread, or mix with mayo for sandwiches.  This recipe takes advantage of both spinach and basil for this particular version of pesto.   

Spinach-Basil Pesto

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
3/4 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped into 3-4 pieces each
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Special equipment - food processor

  To begin, toast the walnut pieces.  This is an easy process that really brings out the flavor of the nuts.  Take a small skillet and bring the heat up to medium.  Toss in the nuts.  No oil, no cooking spray - just the nuts.  Give them an occasional shake and take them off the heat as soon as you smell the walnuts. This will only take a couple of minutes.  Toasting brings the oils to the forefront and brings a much more complex taste to the nuts. 

  Set up the food processor and dump in the spinach, basil, toasted walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Pulse until the mixture is nearly smooth, taking the time to stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula a time or two. At this point, drizzle the rest of the olive oil in as the processor is churning.  Once all the oil is added, stop the processor, stir in the grated cheese and serve.

  When I serve it on pasta, I normally use a thin spaghetti or angel hair.  The pesto will loosen up a bit when you add it to hot noodles, but if you want the sauce a tad more loose, add a little olive oil when you are stirring the sauce together with the pasta.  Of course, extra cheese on top isn't going to hurt anything, either.

  To store the leftovers, there are a couple of options.  If you plan on using all the pesto in the next few days, drizzle a little olive oil on the top, cover and stash in the refrigerator.  If you plan on more long term storage in the freezer, skip adding in the Parmesan before freezing.  Spoon into an ice cube tray and into a heavy-duty freezer bag once the cubes are solid.  Add in the cheese when you thaw the sauce for use.