It's a flop!

A note to readers - this entry is meant to encourage those of you who think "I'm a terrible cook". Sometimes, so am I.

Sometimes great things happen in my kitchen. This weekend alone, the Greek Fruit and Nut Pastries were a hit, homemade bagels (using a new recipe) turned out stupendously, a homemade pizza night with friends solicited a "this is the best homemade pizza I've ever had" from a person who works at a pizza place, and my first attempt at homemade yogurt was gobbled up by the kids and hubby. All recipes of aforementioned yummies to follow.

However, dinner tonight was a flop. I mean, fat man in a Speedo from the high dive flop. 100% splat.

I'm including this recipe as a warning - don't ever make this. Ok, if you love blue cheese, then you might like this. But otherwise, don't do it.

The quote from the husband after dinner (when I offered him the salad I hadn't eaten - which was about half of it) "that's ok, I'm full. It was good though." me: "oh, ok, do you want it in your lunch tomorrow?" Hubs: "no, it wasn't that good. I mean, I wouldn't ever want to eat this salad again in this form. Maybe if you changed some of the ingredients." (in which case it wouldn't be the same salad). Point made. Not a repeat.

Here's the salad to make if you don't like your dinner guests and don't want them to ever ask to come over again:

Roast Pear and Blue Cheese Salad 

1 pear, sliced 

2 tsp honey

2 tsp olive oil 

1/2 tsp coriander (this should've been my warning sign - coriander and blue cheese?)

salt & pepper to taste

4 oz blue cheese, crumbled

3 oz assorted lettuce 

1/8 c walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 450F. 

In a bowl, toss the sliced pear in the honey, olive oil, coriander, and salt and pepper. Pour on a baking sheet and bake until golden, approx 10 minutes.

While the pear is roasting, place the lettuce in salad bowls (or your serving mechanism of choice) and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp lime juice. Add the walnut pieces and toss lightly. 

Remove the roast pears from the oven, distribute evenly over the salad, sprinkle the salad with blue cheese and any remaining juices from the roast pear pan (terrible descriptor - too tired to change it). Serve immediately. 

I mean, march your arse to the table immediately - cause that lettuce is gonna wilt faster than you can take a bite. On second thought, don't waste time walking to the table. Eat immediately. 

There you have it, there you go - the worst salad I've ever made. And yes, I based it on a recipe in a great cookbook. I'm not taking full credit for this terrible idea, the blame is shared. 

A special thanks to my husband for finishing his salad, and for waiting a polite hour before telling me he was still hungry and would like a bagel...I hope all cooks have as gracious an eater around when their cooking flops.

Here's to hoping tomorrow nights soup is much, much better than tonight's salad.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette

Whew! Last nights post exhausted me, I mean - exhausted me. So, tonight's will be much shorter.

Tonight is salad night, and I picked a new salad recipe from The Rodale Wholefood Cookbook and made a few changes. It's an amazing cookbook, given to me a few years ago when I asked for cookbooks for Christmas (warning, if you ask for cookbooks for Christmas, they will come - I think I got 12 cookbooks that year. All great cookbooks, but still - 12 cookbooks.) If you're looking for one cookbook to round out your whole kitchen, Rodale Wholefood Cookbook is for you.

Alright - here's the recipe:

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad 

6 baby carrots, cut into matchsticks (2 grown up carrots)
1 russet potato, cubed
2 sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
4 shallots, halved (1/4 yellow onion, sliced thinly & separated)
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cups arugula (mixed greens - no arugula at the store, sad)
Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
Salt & Pepper
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 475F

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and shallots. Drizzle with the oil and toss well to coat. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. Let cool to room temperature.

In a salad bowl, toss the arugula and root vegetables with the dressing. Seasons with salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with feta.


Ok - before you say "ok, that is totally not the same recipe - almost every major ingredient was substituted with something else" - let me say, You're right, it is. And here's my point - I substituted with what I had on hand, what was most accessible at my nearest market, and what was closest to the original recipe out of those options. Now, if I had used green beans and beets in this salad, it would absolutely not be the same (though I think roast beets would be a great addition...).

Tips for Cooking! Part of being a great cook is being comfortable substituting in your available/preferred ingredients in lieu of an ingredient listed in the original recipe. Cooking exactly to the recipe is a great way to spend lots of extra money making that one dish with those 6 random, absurdly expensive ingredients, or a lot of extra time hunting down arugula when you live in Tinyville. A happy cook, a financially stable cook, is a good cook (or at least a better one than their alternative).

Alright - back to the Salad Dressing, recipe based on Rodale.

Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette

Makes generous 1/4 cup

2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp coarse salt
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil (I think my olive oil is less virgin than some...but, I'm not judging)

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil.

And there you have it, there you go. From the nibbles I've had (waiting for the kids to go to bed so the hubby and I can have an "in date night" after he put in a 12 hour work 'weekend' this past weekend) this salad is amazing! We'll probably repeat it later this year with some other roasted yummies on top (beets and walnuts, anyone?)

Alright, off to post this so I can tuck in my babies and be with the hubs. Enjoy!