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Some of My Favorite Things
Caramel Apple-Almond CrepesA great dish for dessert or breakfast, these filled crepes are quick and easy to make, full of wonderful flavor, and make any occasion special.
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Summer Salads
 To me, summer just begs for simple salads for side dishes or as the main attraction. Most salads require little or no cooking - or if they do require cooking it can be done well ahead of time when it is cooler outside. The wide range of fresh produce that is available is never better - and the prices are their lowest while the quality is usually at its highest. Here are a few of our favorite salad tips along with links to recipes for great salads on this site and our other websites.
Tips
- When making a salad, check what is on sale and what looks best when you are out shopping. Almost all salad recipes can be modified to incorporate different ingredients so don't be afraid to mix and match ingredients.
- Consider blanching raw vegetables for 30 seconds to a minute before adding to the salad. Everything from carrots to broccoli really benefits from this. The vegetables are still crisp, but have more color and moisture and seem to absorb the flavors of the dressing better when they have been blanched. Peas, snow peas, beans, cauliflower, and squash also are better when blanched slightly before adding to the salad. Make sure to place the blanched vegetables immediately in ice water to stop the cooking process once their color has brightened.
- For nicer presentation, always mix your salad in one bowl and then transfer it to a serving bowl. This allows you to have plenty of room to mix your salad, and if you are like me, to be messy, but still have a nice, neat compact bowl for serving.
- Consider placing your salad in a bowl that can easily be nested in another bowl or decorative container, especially for potlucks or outdoor dinners. Fill the larger bowl partway with ice and the salad will stay cool and safe for longer.
- Even a simple garnish helps make a salad special. Consider sprinkling on some paprika, chopped parsley, chervil, chives or other fresh herbs, diced red onions, diced olives, diced meats, diced peppers, toasted chopped nuts, sliced mushrooms, or other ingredients. Don't forget the stand-bys of sliced pepper rings, hardboiled egg slices, or sliced pickles.
- If you are making a pasta or potato salad ahead of time and it seems like the amount of dressing is perfect, thin it with a little milk, water, oil or other liquid ingredient used in the dressing or add another 1/4 recipe of the dressing to the salad. Potato salads especially are notorious for soaking up dressing and drying out when stored for any length of time.
- Add some crunch to your salad with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cooked bacon, toasted nuts, ramen noodles, chow mein noodles, crumbled tortilla or potato chips, crushed croutons, or French fried onions. To make sure these ingredients stay crunchy, add them right before serving.
- The plated salad is back! I have been seeing more references to the plated salad in publications and at parties. They are easy on the hostess and make a distinctive course for more formal dinners. Any salad can be served on a plate, either by serving the salad directly on the plate or in a slice of melon, half of a pear or peach, in a decorative lettuce leaf, on half of a muffin, in a tortilla cup, in a hollowed out pepper or halved cucumber, or any of a variety of decorative touches that you think will blend well with your salad.
- Don't be afraid to substitute low fat ingredients in most salad recipes. Low fat sour cream and mayonnaise can be substituted for the full fat versions, and fat free plain yogurt can also be used for either in most recipes with excellent results. Consider using half regular and half low fat ingredients for the perfect balance of taste and health. For oil based dressings, consider using mild rice vinegar in place of all or part of the vinegar in the dressing and half of the oil. Chicken or vegetable broth also makes a great substitute for part or all of the oil in many dressings. Also don't be afraid to use your favorite fat free or low fat bottled dressing in place of a homemade dressing on a salad if you think it will taste good.
Summer Salad Recipes
Artichoke and Orichetti Salad
Baked Potato Salad
Basic French Dressing
Basic Make Ahead Potato Salad
Bev's Crunchy Chicken Salad
Black Bean and Avocado Salad
Boiled Dressing
Broccoli Delight Salad
Calamari Salad
Cantaloupe, Bacon, Raisin, and Port Salad
Carrot & Ginger Salad
Cheddar and Pea Salad
Cheddary Fresh Spinach Salad
Chicken and Artichoke Salad
Chicken and Pear Salad on Arugula
Chicken 'N Corn Tostada Salad
Classic Cole Slaw
Creamy and Crunchy Melon Salad
Creamy Fruit Salad
Creamy Seafood, Pea, and Pepper Salad
Crisp Spinach Salad
Crunchy Chicken and Broccoli Salad
Crunchy Chicken Salad
Crunchy Melon and Smoked Turkey Salad
Cucumber Chive Salad
Curried Shrimp and Pea Salad
Curried Shrimp Salad
Deep Kimchee Salad
Fantasy Salad
Favorite Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Fennel, Lemon, and Mushroom Salad
Fresh Fruit In Watermelon Basket
Fresh Green Bean and Tomato Salad
Fruited Coleslaw
Gelatin Dump Salad
Gingered Melon Compote
Greek Pasta Salad
Green Papaya Salad
Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Salad
Hearts Of Palm Salad
Homemade Restaurant Style Caesar Dressing
Honey Lime Fruit Salad
Italian Bread and Meat Salad
Italian-Style Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta Salad
Lemon and Garlic Potato Salad
Light Potato Salad
Light Spinach, Tomato, and Orange Salad
Linda's Potato Salad
Marinated Cucumber Salad
Melon, Chicken and Arugula Salad
Melon Salad Supreme
Mexican Lemon and Pasta Salad
Minted Cucumber Salad
Old Fashioned French Dressing
Patriotic Tossed Salad
Pepper and Cabbage Salad
Perfect Potato Salad
Pesto Pasta Salad
Pesto Potato Salad
Pineapple-Cherry Fruit Salad
Poppy Seed Dressing
Quick Cold Vegetable Salad
Ramen Cole Slaw
Ramen Noodle Salad
Raw Veggie Salad
Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Spinach Salad
Roasted Potato and Green Bean Salad
Salmon and Pea Pasta Salad
Shiitake Mushrom-Hazelnut Salad
Shrimp and Rice Salad
South of the Border Salad
Spaghetti Salad
Spiced Grape Salad
Spicy Beef Salad (Laab Nuea)
Spinach and Arugula Salad with Tomatoes and Oranges
Strawberry-Cantaloupe Salad with Marshmallow Dressing
Sunset Salad
Thai Cucumber Salad
Thai Shrimp and Rice Salad
Tomato Basil Pasta Salad
Tomato Mango Salad
Tomato, Mint and Lime Salad
Tomato and Onion Salad
Tossed Salad Mexicali
Traditional Tabbouleh
Tropical Grilled Corn Salad
Tuna, Tomato, and Cannellini Bean Salad
Turkey Salad with Raspberry Mint Dressing
Tuscan Bean Salad
Tuscan Potato Salad
Tuscan White Bean Salad with Salami and Red Onion
Tuscan White Bean Salad with Tuna and Red Onion
Twinkie's Ambrosia Salad
Ultimate Potato Salad
Vanilla Scented Honeydew and Blueberry Salad
Vitamin Salad
Watercress and Belgian Endive Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Wilted Bacon and Arugula Salad
Wilted Lettuce
Yum Nuea (Spicy Beef Salad)
Zesty Italian Herb Salad Dressing
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