Saturday Night Salad with American-French Dressing

Saturday Night Salad with American-French Dressing

You can make the salad however you like with whatever ingredients you have on hand. I am going to give you the recipe for the dressing and the ingredients that I put in this particular salad as I think they complement each other very well.

Amercian-French Dressing

1 Tbsp – Onion, finely diced or pureed
1 – Small Clove of Garlic, also finely diced or pureed
½ Cup – Vegetable or Canola Oil
3 ½ Tbsp – White Wine Vinegar (or Regular White Vinegar)
1/3 Cup – Catsup
1 Tbsp – Sugar
1 Tbsp – Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 Tsp – Paprika
Dash of Hot Sauce
Dash of White Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium glass or non-reactive metal bowl, except the oil. Once the ingredients are well combined, slowly add the oil and whisk continuously to emulsify.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

As for the salad – I just eyeball the amount of the ingredients I want to use. I base it solely on the portion size of the bowls. I usually like to toss the dressing with my leaves – but in this case – I like to have the salad put together, pour the dressing over (again as much or as little as you like) and then crumble the bacon on top.

Baby Spinach Leaves, washed and stemmed (discard any wilted leaves)
Onion, thinly sliced into 2-inch slivers
Radish, halved and thinly sliced
Kalamata Olives, quartered or halved
Roasted Red Pepper, thinly sliced into 2 inch strips
Egg, hard-boiled and quartered (I use 1 egg per salad)
Bacon, chopped into small pieces and fried, drained on a paper towel
(I use 1 to 2 pieces per salad)
Feta Cheese, diced into 1 inch cubes
Gruyere or Swiss Cheese, diced into 1 inch cubes

Assemble, Dress, Crumble and Enjoy!

I make a large salad as you see in the picture and drink with a nice glass of white wine. Fabulous Dinner! I think that a Riesling pairs up nicely with this salad. But as in anything – if you have a favorite white wine use that one instead.

Some Additional Pesto Information and Variations

First I wanted to add that if you are just making a pesto and tossing it with pasta - I wanted to add the following addendum to the Pesto Recipe in the previous post: 

Stir 2 Tbsp of the boiling pasta cooking water and 1 Tbsp of butter into the pesto to loosen it and then toss with the drained pasta.

I also often will make the pesto and mix with pasta and then slice some tomatoes and onions and pile on top of the pesto in the serving bowl and then I always shave or grate more Parmesan on top.  The picture below was earlier last week and I used Rigatoni Pasta as opposed to the classic Angel Hair or Spaghetti. 

One last thing I would like to add is that sometimes if you don't have quite enough Basil Leaves on hand - you can use other leaves to make up the difference.  Three that work very well are Watercress, Arugula and Baby Spinach.  I also don't always have Pine Nuts on hand - I have found that Cashews (not salted) work very well and change the flavor slightly - but still very delicious.

To me, Home-made Pesto is always better than store bought.  Unless a deli makes it - I just don't like buying things that are made to sit on a shelf for a long-time...if I can make them quickly at home...But that's just me!

Tips for making a Pot Roast

Michael wrote into me and asked for tips on making a Pot Roast and wanted to know the best cuts of meat.  Well let me start by addressing the meat question; everybody has their opinion and here's mine.  My favorite cut for Pot Roast is the Bottom Round - others you could use and in order of my preference is Rump Roast, Top Round, Chuck Roast or Brisket.

You should figure about 2 to 3 pounds per serving.  I always make more than I will need - because the leftovers are so yummy!

The cooking methods are Oven-Roasting, Crock-Pot (or slow cooker), or stove-top.  I personally do not like the stove-top method.  Now that I have an amazing slow cooker - I have been using that more often.  If you are roasting in the oven - do not add your vegetables until about the last hour.  If you are using a slow-cooker then put everything in at the beginning.  My sister cooks hers in the over in a roasting bag and it is very delicious.

As for the spices - I like to try different blends (i.e., Italian, Japanese, Mexican, etc.).  But there is nothing better than a Classic Pot Roast.  Once you get used to making a Pot Roast you will feel comfortable adding your favorite seasonings and vegetables.  So I am going to post a recipe using what I call the classic spices.  I don't have a picture - because I am not actually making it today...it is too hot outside for me to want a Pot Roast today plus I have plans and won't be in the kitchen.

Classic Pot Roast

3 to 4 lb. Roast
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Paprika
All-Purpose Flour (for dusting)
1/4 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
4 Cups of Beef Stock
1 Cup of Dry Red Wine (Merlot works very well)
5 Thyme Sprigs, 5 Parsley Sprigs and 2 Bay Leaves, tied (for ease of removal)
1/2 lb Mushrooms (whichever variety you like - White Buttons or Baby Bellas seem to hold up best)
1 lb Carrots (sliced in 1/2 inch pieces)
1 1/2 lbs of Yukon Gold Potatoes (peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks)
4 Large Stalks of Celery (cut into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces)
1 1/2 Tsp. Cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. Water

Preheat the oven to 325°.  Season the roast liberally with Salt, Pepper and Paprika.  (I didn't post amounts because I just liberally apply all over the roast and then make sure it is well coated with my hands.   Then I dust it in flour.  In a skillet, add the olive oil and heat on moderately high heat.  Once the pan is hot - sear the meat on all sides (approx 15 minutes).  Transfer the meat to your roasting pan (fat side up).

Carefully add the red wine to the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cook for about 3 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.  Add the wine, beef broth and cornstarch/water mixture to the roasting pan.  Add the herb bundle, onions and garlic to the pan.  Braise for approximately 2 1/2 hours.  (Remember to use a roasting pan with a lid or cover tightly with tin foil.) 

Remove roast from oven and put your potatoes, carrots and celery into the pan and return to the oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes add the mushrooms and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.  (Or until all of the vegetables are tender).

*Note if you are using a slow-cooker - everything would be added to the pot at the beginning and you would cook it on low for 4 to 6 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.*

Remove the herb-bundle prior to serving.  Also most recipes note for the meat to be tied with cooking twine, I personally do not do this as I like the fact that as the roast cooks longer - it breaks apart and gets very tender.  If you do tie it up - obviously remove the twine prior to serving.  If the meat has not fallen apart - it will need to be cut into slices and then put back in with the vegetables prior to serving.

Enjoy!

Michael, I hope this helps you make a roast...please let me know how it turns out!