You couldn’t pay me a gazillion bucks to eat this! Well, that would have been my response to coleslaw as a kid. First, I hated Brussels sprouts (what kid doesn’t). Secondly, I had a visceral dislike of coleslaw. The cabbage. The gloppy-thick mayo dressing. No thanks.

But recipes like this make me thankful that I’ve let go of many of my childhood food prejudices. This salad has instantly become one of my favorite, “make to impress,” dishes. It’s light, refreshing and full of flavor. Unlike the mayo-soup that you find in many coleslaw recipes, the flavors of each component really shine through: the slightly peppery Brussels sprouts, the extra peppery radicchio, the spicy Dijon, the honey’s sweetness, the brightness of the lemon juice and the toasted flavor and textural crunch of the candied almonds. It’s an amazing balance.

Served ice-cold, it’s a refreshing side paired with a hearty meat dish. I served it with a Roasted-Brined Chicken and Root Veggies. Know someone who professes a dislike for coleslaw? Spring this dish on them – like me, they’ll be converted.

DIJON-BRUSSELS SPROUT SLAW WITH CANDIED ALMONDS

Slaw adapted from Williams-Sonoma and Candied Almonds adapted from Simply Recipes

(MAKE THE ALMONDS FIRST. THEY NEED TO COOL BEFORE USING. This will also make a little more of the almonds than you’ll need for the slaw. No problem. They’re addictive and you’ll want to eat them on their own.)

½ cup almonds, coarsely chopped

1 egg white

1 TBL water

¼ TSP vanilla extract

8 oz almonds – about 2 cups

½ cup sugar

1 TSP cinnamon

¾ TSP salt

¼ TSP ground cloves

¼ TSP ground nutmeg

2 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and fibrous stems removed

1 small head radicchio, quartered and cored

3 TBL apple cider vinegar

1.5 TBL fresh lemon juice

3 TBL whole-grain mustard

4.5 TBL honey

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat an oven to 300°F.

Put sugar, cinnamon, salt, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg in a small bowl. Thoroughly mix. Put egg, water, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat until slightly foamy, add almonds and coat well. Lift almonds out of bowl with a slotted spoon and put them into the sugar and spice bowl. Stir almonds until they are well coated.

Bake 20-30 minutes on a lightly greased baking pan. Halfway into the baking, stir up the almonds with a fork to break them apart and prevent burning. When done, set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, cut the Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise. Cut the halves into julienne strips. Do the same for the radicchio. Alternatively, you can shred each with a food processor (grater attachment). Transfer to a large bowl and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and maple syrup. Slowly whisk in the ¼ cup olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.

Add half of the dressing to the Brussels sprout-radicchio mixture and toss well to combine, adding more dressing as needed. Let stand for 15 minutes to slightly wilt the Brussels sprouts. Top with the cooled almonds and serve.

Serves 6 to 8.

Don Quixote has left the building – kicking and screaming but he has left.

As I sit here writing this entry, I am huddled up on the coach with a blanket across my lap and sipping on a warm mug of my favorite tea (Harvey Nichols’ Black Vanilla). It’s at this point I realize that it’s over. No matter how much I protest, it’s still over.

So despite my Don Quixote-esque pledge to never give up on summer in last week’s yummy Ode to Summer Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie recipe, I’m now calling in the troops. I’m waving the white flag. For heaven’s sakes, last weekend I wore a corduroy blazer to dinner. And when you start wearing corduroy, like it or not, you’re subconsciously admitting to yourself that deep down you know summer is over.

Evidently, this process of Autumn acceptance is an annual rite of passage for me. I remember going through the exact same thing last year when I posted this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Granola Bars.

But here’s the good news. With autumn comes autumn produce. At the top of my list this year are beets.

Since having it a few weeks back at one of my favorite restaurants, I’ve been obsessed with finding the perfect beet salad. I can’t seem to get it out of my head. I’ve made Beet, Avocado & Roasted Chicken…I loved it. Then I conjured up a Beet, Avocado and Salmon Salad….that was a disaster. I’m not even sure what I was thinking…I mean, like Lady Gaga’s meat dress, some ideas just don’t need to be acted upon. Seriously, what was she thinking?

Back to the salad…last week, I stumbled onto a version that I really liked. As a matter of fact I liked it so much that I couldn’t wait to share the recipe with you.

As dishes go this recipe for Roasted Beet & Avocado Salad with Goat Cheese and Danelion Greens has a full range of flavors: sweet and earthy beets; creamy freshness of the avocados; peppery spice of the dandelion greens, hint of bite and salty brine from the goat cheese and the tangy flavor of the balsamic dressing kind of hangs out in the background, adding a little spike of flavor to each bite.

This is one of those “recipes” that’s less about following exact measurements and more about building a dish flavor by flavor until it suits your tastes. Love your salads sweet? Then pump up the amount of beets. Prefer to have a little bit of bite and peppery flavor? Dial up the amount of dandelion greens. Can’t live without avocados…. Well, you get the point. It’s a very forgiving and beautiful combination of ingredients.

One thing. Dandelion greens can be a little tough (and you would be too if everyone despised you so much that they constantly sprayed you in the face with chemical herbicides…Can you imagine? That would suck.) But if you let the salad sit for a bit, the acid in the vinegar should help to breakdown the greens.

And if you can’t find or just hate dandelion greens, no worries, I think the salad is still uber-delicious without them or better yet, toss in some spicy arugula).

Cheers!

Roasted Beet & Avocado Salad with Goat Cheese & Dandelion Greens

4 medium sized red beets

3 TBL balsamic vinegar

2 TBL extra virgin olive oil

1 TBL granulated sugar

1/8 TSP kosher salt

1/8 TSP freshly ground black pepper

1 cup dandelion greens, shredded

2 ripe avocados

Goat cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Trim beet roots of their stems and scrub under warm water to remove any soil. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast them in oven for 1 hour or until beets are cooked (when a knife easily pierces through the center of the largest beet).

When beets are done, unwrap and submerge them in ice water until they are completely cooled.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper until the mixture has emulsified.

Halve the avocado, remove pit, criss-cross cut the avocado’s flesh (see above photos) and scoop out flesh into a large bowl.

Once beets have cooled, peel and gently cut them lengthwise into ¼” discs. Cut the discs into ¼” batons. Add the beets and shredded dandelion green to the large bowl with the avocados.

Pour balsamic vinegar over beet-avocado mixture, and gently toss salad being careful not to break the beet batons. Let salad sit in refrigerator for up to an hour (allowing time for the vinegar to breakdown and tenderize the dandelion greens).

Put salad in a serving bowl.

Dot the salad with pats of goat cheese.

Serves 4.

It’s been some time since I’ve added anything to these pages but I’m back. After all, you didn’t think you’d be lucky enough to get through the entire summer without my virtual smiling face on your computer screens, did you?

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. It’s been a busy one on this side of the internet with lots of things happening all at once. (On that note, thank you for the emails checking in during my absence. It was great to hear from everyone and I sincerely appreciate the sentiments and concern. Thank you.)

Not only has it been a busy summer but it’s been a very hot one too! So, I can’t wait to tell you about the salad in today’s post – it’s cool and refreshing, the perfect foil to steamy summer days – but first a little detour…

As I mentioned, there is a lot going on. Chief among them is that I am now a gypsy. A number of months ago, I moved out of my home and started the process of purchasing a new home. Sounds great? Well, hold off on any congratulations, cause there’s a wrinkle (why are there always wrinkles?).

Although I went into contract on the seemingly complete place in December of last year, it is still not ready to be occupied. Evidently, we’re waiting on final approval from the NYC Building Department. It’s been a long, grueling process. Frankly, the whole things makes me long for the days when a strategically placed envelope stuffed with cash could magically open the doors to passing a city inspection. Evidently, New York City government and inspectors are now corruption-free (just my luck).

So, now I’m a nomad – roaming from one short-term place to another, waiting for the day that I can move into my new home (and get back to keeping these pages regularly updated). So, if you are walking around NYC and you see a visibly lost man wandering around with suitcases, a white Kitchen Aide mixer and a cooler filled with homemade smoked meats, don’t be afraid stop and say hi.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the Green Bean-Citrus Salad with Dill Pesto. This dish was kind of an accidental discovery. It was Sunday. It was a hot hot New York summer day. No one wanted to leave the comfort (and AC) of home. So, Robert (my talented, best BF in the world, BF) cobbled together this dish from remnants that were in the kitchen.

There was dill and parsley in the fridge and cashews in the pantry…the idea of a pesto was born. There were green beans from the previous night’s dinner. There was ricotta salata for creaminess and salt. There were oranges– which is all we needed to add a little brightness and acid to the dish.

And shock beyond shock, we absolutely loved it! It’s a great balance of flavors. And especially delish when served ice cold. Refreshing, light and bright.

NOTE: Since first making this dish, we’ve tested out a variation using diced roasted beets. It was even better. The beets added a layer of yummy sweetness that helped to round out the sharpness of the oranges. And it was pretty!

GREEN BEAN-CITRUS SALAD & DILL PESTO

1 TSP salt

½ pound fresh green beans, washed with stem ends removed

½ cup fresh dill, roughly chopped

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

2 TBL fresh chives, roughly chopped

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup walnut halves

1 clove garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 large oranges

½ cup (or more) ricotta salata, crumbled with your fingers

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 7-8 minutes. Drain well; cool immediately in iced water to stop the cooking process. Once, beans are chilled drain well, pat dry with a paper towel and set aside in a large bowl.

In the bowl of a food processor, add dill, parsley, chives, cheese, walnut halves and garlic and process until all ingredients are finely chopped. With motor running, add oil and blend until incorporated. Set aside.

Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Carefully, remove individual orange segments with a knife. Cut each segment in half. Before discarding the orange membranes, squeeze them over the bowl of green beans to extract their juice.

In large bowl containing green beans, add half of the dill pesto, orange segments and ricotta salata. Toss to incorporate. To suit your taste, add more dill pesto and/or crumbled ricotta salata.

Chill salad to allow the flavors to meld together.

Serves 4 (as a side).

Ok guys, you gotta be honest with me. Does this bright orange make my backside look big?

Notice anything different? The Ceramic Canvas is trying on a new outfit, a new look, a complete redesign of the website. Although it keeps the old sharp orange color scheme (what can I say, me likes bright shiny colors), the new site is more user friendly with a stronger emphasis on the food and photos.

I’ll be honest – reprogramming the site was often painful. I mean, I’m no html, css.layout data pro. At one point I thought I had lost all of my old content. I responded the only way I knew how – I curled up on the floor in the fetal position. And nothing good can come from a grown man on the floor in the fetal position. Well, except that I realized that I really need to dust my floors more often.

But here we are – a new look. I hope you like it. What do you think? What better way to kick off this new bright and shiny web design then with a bright and shiny dish.

I love pomegranates. In particular, I like that as I bite into the pomegranate seeds they release this tart burst of juice that wakes up my taste buds. It reminds me of summers growing up in Alabama (by the way, I’ve always thought of pomegranates as summertime fruits but evidently, they’re not. Who knew?).

So, I was raring to go when I came across this recipe for Pomegranate & Walnut Salad thumbing through one of my favorite cookbooks, Turquoise: A Chef’s Travels in Turkey by Greg & Lucy Malouf. It’s a beautiful book filled with amazing recipes and photographs of food and the Turkish land/cityscape that make you long to hop on a plane and eat your way through this amazing country.

I bought the book after my good friend (and soon to be neighbor) Rasha gave me a copy of its companion book, Saha: A Chef’s Journey through Lebanon and Syria, for my birthday. I highly recommend both books.

Back to the salad. While the tartness of the pomegranate is the undisputed star of the show, what makes this salad standout is the way the other flavors and textures, lingering around in the background, round out the dish: the crunch and slightness of the pistachios, the smokiness of the toasted walnuts, the sharp brininess of the green olives, the occasional heat from the Serrano chile.

While on their own none of these ingredients are shirking violets, the flavors really play well together.

I’ve made this salad a few times – tweaking it along the way. I’ve always envisioned this salad being fresh and bright. So, I have significantly increased the amount of pomegranate to amp up the flavor. I’ve also decreased the amount of nuts and green olives – they tend to overwhelm the other elements of the dish.

Lastly, the original recipe calls for pomegranate molasses. That’s way too complicated and specialized for me (translation, I’m too lazy to go out and find it). I’ve modified the recipe by using honey and fresh pomegranate juice instead.

The great thing about composed salads is the ease in which you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste. So, give it a try and increase and/or decrease the ingredients as the mood strikes you.

Cheers!

POMEGRANATE & WEALNUT SALAD

Adapted from Turquoise: A Chef’s Travels in Turkey by Greg & Lucy Malouf

½ cup walnuts

¼ cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped

¼ cup unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 cup pomegranate seeds, finely chopped

2 small shallots, peeled and finely diced

1 red Serrano chile, seeded and finely diced

2 TBL shredded flat-leaf parsley

1 TBL extra virgin olive oil

1 TBL walnut oil

2 TBL of pomegranate juice

1 TSP of honey (feel free to add more to suit your taste)

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Scatter the walnuts onto a cookie sheet pan and roast for 5-10 minutes, until deep golden brown. Pour the nuts into a dish towel and rub well to remove as much skin as possible. Chop the walnuts coarsely and toss in a fine-mesh strainer to remove any remaining skin or dust.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently.

Leave to stand for 5 minutes or so before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Serves 4

Wilted Tomato-Basil Salad with Grilled Chicken

I am not a big fan of overly written writing – writing that is packed with lofty or misplaced adjectives in an attempt at being artful. For instance, sentences like, “The heirloom tomato was so ripe that it tasted of the summer.”

Admittedly, I am not a meteorologist but I bet if you walked outside in the middle of July and stuck your tongue out into the air that you would taste absolutely nothing….because summer has no taste.

With all of that said, there are always exceptions to the rule. And this recipe for Wilted Tomato-Basil Salad with Grilled Chicken could be the exception – cause, it tastes just like summer, yall! What? I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s bright, flavorful and has the ease of a lazy summer day.

It’s not a complicated dish. There’s tomatoes, basil, garlic, onion and chicken. That’s it. The trick to the salad is in mixing the ingredients in the proper order. The garlic, onion and basil go in the bowl first, followed by a little salt, followed by the salted tomatoes. And then you just let the whole thing hangout on the countertop.

Here’s the theory behind my madness. The salt breaks down the onion and garlic – which in turn helps them release their juices. The salt on the tomatoes pulls out their moisture. As it drips on the onion and garlic, the acid of the tomato juice continues breaking down the garlic and onion. At the bottom of the bowl your left with this delicious mixture of garlicky tomato juice – just stir in some olive oil and you got yourself a beautiful vinaigrette.

At the heart of this dish are the fresh, ripe tomatoes – which makes it the perfect dish for closing out the first week of the Westchester Farmers’ Market Blog-a-Thon. If you are new to the blog, here’s the scoop on the ‘Blog-a-Thon.”

Some of Westchester County’s coolest food bloggers are banding together to launch this week-long effort. Throughout the week, participating bloggers will publish delish recipes that are made primarily with ingredients purchased at one of Westchester’s many farmers’ markets. (Westchester is a suburb of New York City).

In addition to recipes, each blog will spotlight a local market by providing photographs of the market and the available produce, as well as provide details on the market’s location and hours of operation. The objective is twofold – first, enjoy and share delicious recipes with fresh and healthy ingredients; and secondly, to support local sustainable farmers.

The following Westchester bloggers are participating in the week-long effort (click the links and check them out):

Chick in the Kitchen

Cooking in Westchester

Culinary Comments by Cinnamon Girl

Small Bites

Somebody’s Mom

Sweet Paprika

On Sunday, I checked out the Rye New York farmer’s market.

It’s a great market with a mix of farmers/vendors: produce, breads, meats and diary among other things. The tomatoes in today’s salad come from Newgate Farm. If you get a chance to go to the Rye market, check them out. They have an amazing variety of fresh fruits, veggies and herbs. The address and hours of operation for the market is listed below.

WILTED TOMATO-BASIL SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN

1 garlic clove, thinly cut

¼ cup red onion, sliced paper thin

10 basil leaves

6 small yellow tomatoes, halved

8 grape tomatoes, halved

1 medium tomato cut into wedges

2 TBL extra virgin olive oil

1 split, chicken breast, pounded 1/2” thick

Place the garlic, sliced onion, half of the basil leaves in the bottom of a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Without stirring the onion mixture, add the tomatoes to the bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, grilled flattened chicken breast on a hot and oil grill (or on stovetop with a grilled pan). Grill until chicken is cooked through – about 4 minutes per side. Once cooked, set chicken aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add extra virgin olive oil to the bowl of sliced tomatoes and stir. Salt and pepper to taste.

Slice breast into 1” strips.

Plate chicken strips and tomatoes on two plates and serve.

Serves 2

Honey-Clementine Vinaigrette (Citronette)

I think this vinaigrette is “slap yo mamma good!”

Ok, let me explain. It’s a Southern saying.  The phrase’s basic meaning is that something is so good that you would commit the most unthinkable act to have it. (SIDEBAR: Just to be clear, please don’t take this phrase literally. The last thing I need is a mob of angry and bruised mothers chasing me down the street.)

Speaking of moms. My mother and teenage sister are visiting for a few weeks (yeah!). They’re staying with my aunt who recently had heart surgery – thankfully she’s doing great. So, about 3 times a week I cook dinner and take it over to them. They appreciate it and I love doing it for them. Tonight they’re having turkey lasagna, garlic bread, spiced broccoli rabe and key lime pie.

Last week, I was standing in my market’s produce section deciding what I would make for them and I spotted this beautiful box of clementines. They looked amazing (and dare I say, cute) in their little wood crate. I couldn’t resist the urge. I grabbed a crate.

I brought them home and realized that I didn’t know what I would do with them. Sure, I could leave them on the counter and snack on them but I wanted to use them in a dish. Maybe a marmalade? Or a cheesecake with a citrus frosting?

And then I remembered once seeing Mario Batali on television chatting up his new thing….a ‘broken citronette’ (an unemulsified, sans vinegar dressing).

My family is big on salads, so a vinaigrette seemed like a good idea. But I wouldn’t try Mario’s. I remembered seeing what looked like a creamier version of this dressing in The Summertime Anytime Cookbook by Dana Slatkin. That’s the one I would go with.

I loved the way it turned out. The flavor is bright and fruity. The mustard brings a nice balance – it kind of hangs out in the background giving the dressing complexity. Although I served the salad wit mixed greens, I can really see paring it with endives or radicchio. The bold, fruity flavor of the dressing would be a worthy counter to the bitterness of both these greens.

Oh, and my family enjoyed the dressing so much that they asked me to make them another batch.

I still have half a crate clementines….any ideas on how I can use them?

HONEY-CLEMENTINE VINAIGRETTE

Via The Summertime Anytime Cookbook

I prefer clementines/tangerines in this vinaigrette because they have a smoother and less acidic flavor than regular oranges. But if you can’t find clementines or tangerines, by all means use oranges.

¼ cup honey

¼ cup clementine juice, freshly squeezed

1 small shallot, minced

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 TSP Dijon mustard

¾ canola oil

¾ TSP kosher salt

1/8 TSP freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, juice, shallot, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil in a slow stream to emulsify – until the dressing becomes thick. Season with salt and pepper (if needed, add more to taste).

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes abut 1 ¼ cups

Black Olive Mayonnaise

Y’all, I barely made it out alive.

This weekend we saw the food documentary, Food Inc. It is an amazing movie that does an excellent job telling the story of the food we eat, where it comes from and what it is doing to our health and the earth. I loved the movie. But there was one little wrinkle.

Before the movie started, I walked into the theater carrying a large Pepsi and giant-sized popcorn with extra butter. Oppps. Not the proper venue for such guilty pleasures. My fellow movie going, good food advocates were not happy with me.

Reminiscent of the days when anti-fur protesters tossed red paint on people wearing fur coats, I half expected someone to march over to the concession stand, come back to my seat and dump a bucket of chemically engineered popcorn butter on my head, screaming “You’re killing yourself and the earth!”

So, I have two recommendations. First, go see the movie…it’s eye opening. Secondly, if you must have popcorn, put it in a bag marked “Organic Trail Mix.” They’ll never know the difference.

Let’s talk mayo.

I like mayo. What’s not to like. At its best, mayonnaise can be a fabulous and versatile condiment and at its worse (the bland engineered supermarket version), it can be totally forgettable.

It can be smooth, rich with a touch of acidity – the ideal match for a hearty burger, the final creamy touch for a fresh potato salad or the perfect topper to a mile-high BLT.

So, when I spotted this recipe for Black Olive Mayonnaise in ’wichcraft by Tom Colicchio, I was instantly down with the cause.

In technical terms…it’s yummy.

The black olives are obviously the ingredient that makes this mayo stand apart from your standard variety. The olives add a robust, briny flavor that would be perfect for today’s bold burger/sandwich combinations (think braised beef & blue cheese burger or a roasted pork, avocado sandwich on ciabatta…I just made myself hungry, again).

There are three main parts to any mayonnaise: egg, acid and oil. An egg is an egg. So, I’ll just touch on the other two components.

Instead of using lemon juice as the acid, this recipe calls for the more subtle white wine vinegar. This recipe is a ‘no lemon juice’ party. The olives are the star and they don’t want to share the stage with no stinking loud-mouth party crashing lemon juice.

Then there’s the choice of oils. Since olive oil has such a bold flavor that could easily overwhelm a mayo, it should be paired with a more neutral oil. This recipe calls for grapeseed oil – which adds a subtle flavor. You could also use walnut oil.

This time, I paired the mayo with a simple serving of blanched and chilled asparagus. The briny, creamy olive mayonnaise was a perfect match for the asparagus.

I hope you enjoy it.

BLACK OLIVE MAYONNAISE

Via the ’wichcraftby Tom Colicchio

NOTE: As in most mayonnaise, this recipe uses raw eggs, which should not be served to pregnant women, young children, the elderly or anyone whose health is compromised. Pasteurized eggs may be substituted.

1 large egg yolk

½ TSP Dijon mustard

½ TSP chopped garlic

2 TBL pitted and chopped Niçoise olives

1 TBL white wine vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup grapeseed oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, olives and vinegar in a food processor or blender. Start the blender and add 1 tablespoon of water.

With the blender running evenly at medium speed, slowly add the olive oil in a thin, even stream. Then add the grapeseed oil, season with pepper and blend until you have a smooth mayonnaise.

Use immediately or store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 or 3 days.

Makes about 1 cup

Micro-Diced Asparagus Salad

Ok, let me just say up front, this is my new favorite salad. I think it’s knock your socks, stockings and/or leg warmers off good! It has a unique blend of flavors: fresh, tangy, earthy and an occasional sharp bite (thanks to the red onion). I’ve been all about spring lately – which kinda explains the development process for the recipe in today’s post.

Last Sunday was a gorgeous day (not the manliest word but it’s true) in New York – a bright but cool sun, a slight breeze and me on relaxing on the deck reading my Sunday New York Times. A perfect day. The only thing missing was a nice, light meal to cap it off.

Thinking over my options, I remember seeing an asparagus recipe where the asparagus was diced into tiny cross sections. It was interesting. I filed it away in the ‘You gotta try that one day folder’ that’s in the back of my head. This folder is close to the ‘the next great screenplay that must be written’ folder which is right behind the too often forgotten ‘don’t forget these friends’ birthday’ file. Ok, enough rummaging around in my head – it tickles. Back to the asparagus.

Now that I’ve decided on the star and a cooking technique, I just needed a recipe. I wanted something that would match the day – light and breezy. A recipe started to take shape. I was in the mood for a salad. To keep the asparagus light, I would just blanch and chill it. I decided to jump start the salad with a tangy and sharp rice vinegar vinaigrette that was still light enough not to mask the asparagus. Then I needed to add a few bells and whistles: tarragon for a mild and fresh sweetness (for some odd reason I’m all about tarragon, lately), the fresh bite of red onion and chunks of creamy yellow potatoes to balance the flavors and provide a rest for the palette.

For the protein, I would go with my Juiciest Roasted Chicken recipe (to be posted in a few days). In my head, I thought this would be a perfect yin and yang marriage. The asparagus salad would be cool, fresh, light and tangy. The chicken hot, hearty and slightly spicy.

The real trick was nailing the vinaigrette. While I am pretty happy with the final product, I’m sure I will tweak it overtime. If you try it, go crazy and put your own unique twist on it and make it better.

MICRO-DICED ASPARAGUS SALAD
Don’t toss the vinaigrette with the salad too long before serving. The acid in the vinegar will dull the color of the asparagus. The sharp, bright green of the asparagus is what makes this salad stand out. Also, this is a bold vinaigrette, I would suggest stirring it in incrementally to achieve the flavor balance that works best for you.

One bunch asparagus
½ tsp salt (plus more to blanch the asparagus)
1/3 lb fingerling potatoes (about 5)
½ cup red onion, diced
3 tbl rice vinegar
4 tbl tsp olive oil
½ tsp dried tarragon
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Remove the tough base of the asparagus. Leaving the tips whole, cut the asparagus stalk crosswise into very thin discs (roughly ¼” wide). Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch asparagus discs and tips for 2-3 minutes. Immediately submerge asparagus in ice bath to stop the cooking and preserve the bright color. Once the asparagus is chilled, drain and blot dry with a paper towel. Set aside in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, boil the unpeeled potatoes until cooked through (about 12-15mins). Submerge potatoes in cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Cut the potatoes crosswise into discs (roughly 1/2″ wide) and add to the asparagus. Add diced red onion. Toss carefully to avoid breaking the potatoes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

In medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil,1/2 tsp of the salt and tarragon until it emulsifies and becomes ‘creamy.’ Season to taste with ground pepper and additional salt. Toss vinaigrette with salad just before serving.

Serves four.