Dinner was over, but my big brother George and I sat at the table for what seemed like forever. I stared at the green salad on the plate adorned with hand-painted apples. George had been asked to talk to me, his little 5-year-old sister, about a particularly important subject: Mom’s salad.
George, in his mid-teens, was (and is) no slouch when it comes to the fine art of persuasion; as an adult, his strategies would be used to elect political candidates. From Congressional wannabees to White House hopefuls, his advice tallied up votes.
I think that he honed his skills with mixed greens and me. At the start of our session, I thought salad was awful. But I ended up thinking that I’d misjudged the tangle of green stuff.
He explained that Mom’s salads were revered in the Young family. Our relatives called our mother the “Salad Queen” and without exception asked her to bring her salads to gatherings.
In our childhood home, without exception, salad was served at every dinner. In calm words, George told me that eating it every day was just part of being a Young, something unchangeable like eye color. And I grew to love those salads. Mom’s delicious Blue Cheese Vinaigrette was the first thing I learned to make in her kitchen, probably not long after my salad chat with George. The recipe is included here, among other salads that would be delicious served on a summer evening.
Harriett’s Blue Cheese Vinaigreette Salad Dressing
Yield: about 2 cups
INGREDIENTS
1 cup safflower oil or extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese, divided use
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Cook’s notes: If desired, just before serving, remove the amount of dressing you think you’ll be using and add some minced fresh tarragon or basil. If you add the herbs to the entire mixture and then store in the refrigerator, the herbs lose their fresh taste and texture after a day or two.
PROCEDURE
1. Combine oil and blue cheese in small bowl or measuring cup with a handle. Using the tines of a fork, mash about 1/2 of the blue cheese into the oil (notice that the oil turns a grayish blue – this is the “secret”). Stir in the remaining cheese, vinegar, garlic salt and ground black pepper.
2. Can be stored for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, well-sealed in a non-reactive container.
Before use, stir dressing. Add just enough dressing to lightly coat the lettuce leaves.
Source: Harriett Young
Beet and Carrot Salad With Labneh
In this tasty dish, a vegetable slaw sits atop a smear of labneh, that deliciously tart cheese made by straining yogurt. Imagine sour cream if it were much thicker and much more scrumptious. I make it using coffee filters. I put the plain full-fat yogurt in the filters and position them in a colander in the sink. Let sit for about 6 hours. At that point I can use it or refrigerate it for up to three days. For this salad, if time is a problem, substitute plain full-fat Greek yogurt for the labneh.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 cup labneh (or plain full-fat Greek-style yogurt)
1 small garlic clove, minced
4 peeled medium-sized carrots
4 to 5 small cooked and peeled beets, see cook’s notes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely minced lemon zest (final garnish), plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided use
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar or rice vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 cup salted roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
Cook’s notes: Nowadays, I rarely roast beets because most markets sell them (cooked and peeled) ready-to-use. It saves so much time and they taste good. Generally, find them in the produce section packaged in a 6- to 8-inch box; inside the smallish orbs are sealed airtight.
PROCEDURE
1. Stir labneh or Greek-style yogurt with garlic in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Grate carrots in food processor fitted with grating attachment and place in bowl. Grate beets using same attachment and place in a separate bowl. (To keep beets from “bleeding” into carrots keep them separate until just before serving time.)
3. Prepare vinaigrette: Whisk together oil, juice, vinegar, honey, salt, pepper in small bowl until combined. Drizzle half of the vinaigrette over carrots and toss. Let stand 5 minutes.
4. Spread labneh mixture over serving platter. Top with carrot mixture and scatter beets on top. Stir remaining vinaigrette and drizzle on top. Sprinkle with pistachios, mint and lemon zest.
Source: Adapted from Food and Wine magazine
Skirt Steak Salad With Grilled Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Bell Pepper
This delicious salad can easily serve as a warm weather one-dish dinner. The grilled corn and red onions add sweetness and provide a luscious counterpoint to the strips of grilled skirt steak that are drizzled with vinaigrette. If this is all I’m serving for a dinner for four diners, I use a pound of skirt steak rather than 12 ounces. It’s such a tasty cut that is prized for its alluring flavor rather than its tenderness.
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces beef skirt steak
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ears corn, shucked
1 large red onion, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
Vegetable oil, for prepping grill
Basic Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste, pinch of sugar, 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 head romaine, washed, well drained, coarsely chopped
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, stem removed, seeded, cut into matchsticks
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 ounces feta, crumbled (2/3 cup)
Cook’s notes: Two of grilling guru Steven Raichlen’s tips are important here. Clean the grate — a long-handled, stiff wire brush works well. Brush when grate has heated. To keep food from sticking, grease the grate before grilling. Fold a paper towel into a small pad and grip it with long-handled tongs. Dip it in a small bowl of vegetable oil and rub over bars of grate.
PROCEDURE
1. Heat a grill to medium-high (see Cook’s notes). Season steak with salt and pepper (if steak is a long piece, cut into 6-inch long pieces). Brush corn and onion with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Lightly brush grates with vegetable oil.
2. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until lightly charred, 10 to 12 minutes. Grill onion until lightly charred and tender, 6 to 8 minutes a side (use thin metal spatula to turn). Transfer vegetables to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cobs and coarsely chop onion. Combine ingredients for vinaigrette (I like to make it in a handled glass measuring cup with a spout).
3. Grill steak medium-rare, about 3 to 5 minutes a side; place on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette. Let stand 10 minutes, then transfer to cutting board and cut into thin crosswise strips.
4. On a serving platter, layer romaine, bell pepper, tomatoes, corn, and onion. Drizzle with half of remaining vinaigrette. Top with steak and feta. Serve with remaining dressing on the side for optional topping.
Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Living magazine
Have a cooking question? Contact Cathy Thomas at cathythomascooks@gmail.com.
