Easy Summer Salads
Rodney Smiley
Friday, May 27, 2005
(as published on www.outinamerica.com)
If you’re like me, there’s nothing better than sitting around with your friends over a meal, talking, feasting and enjoying the summertime. Whether outside or inside, it’s always a treat to share food, stories and laughter. It’s such an easy recipe for having a great time.
But if you’re in charge of preparing the meal, cooking over a hot stove or tending to a grill outside in the summer sun probably aren’t at the top of your to-do list. All that sweat and smoke hardly allow you any time to enjoy your company, much less your meal.
Summertime salads are a wonderful alternative to a cooked meal. Traditionally served as a side dish, many people are now finding summer salads also make for a great main course. With a little chilled wine and some fresh bread, you’ve prepared a great warm-weather meal without breaking a sweat.
Below are several of my favorite summertime salads. Whether served alone or with a bit of protein (such as fish, chicken, or even good sausage) these salads are original, easy to prepare, and guaranteed to please.
Even though you’re not serving hamburgers or grilled chicken, there’s no reason you can’t serve one hell of a beefed-up salad. And it makes a fantastic substitution for chips.
Papaya and Avocado Salad
1 Florida avocado, peeled and cut into large dice
1 ripe papaya, peeled and cut into large dice
1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch baby arugula
2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
Orange and Vanilla Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Layer salad with arugula and tarragon, then avocado, papaya and onions. Finally drizzle with vinaigrette.
Vinaigrette: 1 cup orange juice 1 vanilla bean, split 1 garlic clove, pureed with knife 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt, to taste Fresh ground black pepper
To a saucepan add orange juice, split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into juice. Add vanilla bean to juice, bring to a simmer and reduce liquid by 2/3. Meanwhile, smash garlic clove with a pinch of salt using flat side of a knife. Allow orange juice reduction to cool, remove vanilla bean, then add garlic puree, rice wine vinegar and olive oil. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.
Panzanella Salad
1/2 pound day old chewy farm style bread, cubed
Water, to cover
4 small vine ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn or shredded
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place bread in a medium mixing bowl and cover with water. Soak bread 3-5 minutes. In small batches, remove bread in handfuls from the water and wring out without mashing or tearing. You don’t want wet bread, so wring it carefully. Combine tomatoes with onions and basil in a second bowl and dress with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Add bread to tomato salad and combine. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Parsley Walnut Salad
2 bunches fresh parsley
1 cup pitted kalamata, Greek, or nicoise olives (about 1 1/4 cups with pits)
1 cup walnuts, toasted*
1 bunch green onions
2 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1/3 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt Freshly ground coarse black pepper
Remove stems from parsley and mince either by hand or with quick pulses in a food processor. Parsley should be finely chopped, but if you use a food processor be careful not to puree it. Parsley should form a fluffy base for other textures. Chop the olives, walnuts, and green onions by hand into a rough dice. Dice the prepared tomatoes and drain. Combine all of the chopped ingredients in a large wooden bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and red pepper flakes and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
*To toast nuts: Place nuts in a dry sauté pan over medium heat. Toast, while shaking pan to avoid overheating in one spot. Remove from the heat after 3-5 minutes when nuts have achieved a pale golden color.
Cucumber Papaya Salad
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon minced Hawaiian chiles or chile paste
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 large papaya, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 lettuce leaves
Sprinkle cucumber with salt and let drain in a colander for 20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, oil, chiles and ginger. Add cucumber, papaya, and cilantro and toss. Line a serving platter or 4 individual plates with lettuce leaves, and top each with about 1/2 cup of salad.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Friday, May 13, 2005
Collard Green Cafe, 05-13-2005
Good for the soul food
What strip mall eatery lacks in size, it makes up to diners by being big on homestyle goodness.
(as printed in The Southern Voice, www.southernvoice.com)
Collard Green Café
2566 Shallowford Road, Suite 112
404-634-9440
By RODNEY SMILEY Friday, May 13, 2005
MANY HOME GROWN Southerners consider themselves soul food experts. Growing up in south Georgia, I was served buckets and platters of soul food, or country cooking, including everything from turnip greens to fried fish to black-eyed peas. I know this food and know it well.
It’s been hard to find a worthy substitute for Grandma’s cornbread and lima beans, but it’s right here in Atlanta. The Collard Green Café, a six-table, take-out optional restaurant at the end of a Publix shopping center on Shallowford Road has a shot at becoming the place to get a local soul food fix.
Owner-chef James Paige obviously knows and loves his food. His place hasn’t received a lot of public attention, but what has been said is overwhelmingly positive. I decided to find out for myself what the hubbub is all about.
First, don’t expect table linens or silverware. A service window with a clear view of the kitchen backs a cramped dining area. The cafeteria-style warming trays are packed with sumptuous soul food staples.
Ox tails, pork chops, barbecue ribs and on request, fried catfish and chicken, are paired with lima beans, black-eyed peas, broccoli-rice casserole and of course, collard greens.
Prices are fixed depending on the entree, which includes sides and bread. The fresh fried catfish ($8.99) comes hot and crispy in a Styrofoam container with macaroni and cheese, lima beans and a slab of fist-sized cornbread. Ample, to say the least.
Two catfish filets are cornmeal-coated with a good bit of pepper. The lima beans, thick and nearly creamy, are cooked with onion, salt and pepper. Traditional macaroni noodles swim in thick cheddar cheese that is baked just perfectly. The cornbread is savory, not sweet, and works especially well when dipped in lima bean juice.
Two pork chops ($6.99) are floured and fried. Paired with black-eyed peas, they feel, well, like home.
One whiff of the mildly spicy sauce that coats a great slab of barbecue ribs ($8.99) should be more than enough to start most diners salivating. Hot, moist and tender, they’re as messy as they are tasty. Plenty of necessary napkins are provided.
Other meats and sides include roast beef, chicken livers, candied yams, green beans, squash and corn. There’s something for everyone.
As if the MAIN feast isn’t enough, it’s time for dessert. Homemade red velvet cake and peach cobbler are the choices on a recent night. The cake is so red it’s nearly burgundy, with two layers and a sweet cream cheese icing. The cobbler is a savory, cinnamon treat dusted with granulated sugar. Not my favorite cobbler, but a worthy substitute.
A dozen or so “pick-up order” patrons show up, which is a slow night for the place, according to the woman who serves as greeter, waitress, cashier and beverage grabber all in one.
The cafe also serves lunch, offering a meat with two sides from $5.99 to $9.99 and a daily $4.99 special. According to employees, long lunch lines and a diverse crowd from business people and construction workers to retirees arrives every day for one of Atlanta’s best soul food experiences.
Collard Green Cafe is definitely well worth a visit. The fare is nearly as good as home.
Just don’t let Grandma know. She might be a little bit miffed.
What strip mall eatery lacks in size, it makes up to diners by being big on homestyle goodness.
(as printed in The Southern Voice, www.southernvoice.com)
Collard Green Café
2566 Shallowford Road, Suite 112
404-634-9440
By RODNEY SMILEY Friday, May 13, 2005
MANY HOME GROWN Southerners consider themselves soul food experts. Growing up in south Georgia, I was served buckets and platters of soul food, or country cooking, including everything from turnip greens to fried fish to black-eyed peas. I know this food and know it well.
It’s been hard to find a worthy substitute for Grandma’s cornbread and lima beans, but it’s right here in Atlanta. The Collard Green Café, a six-table, take-out optional restaurant at the end of a Publix shopping center on Shallowford Road has a shot at becoming the place to get a local soul food fix.
Owner-chef James Paige obviously knows and loves his food. His place hasn’t received a lot of public attention, but what has been said is overwhelmingly positive. I decided to find out for myself what the hubbub is all about.
First, don’t expect table linens or silverware. A service window with a clear view of the kitchen backs a cramped dining area. The cafeteria-style warming trays are packed with sumptuous soul food staples.
Ox tails, pork chops, barbecue ribs and on request, fried catfish and chicken, are paired with lima beans, black-eyed peas, broccoli-rice casserole and of course, collard greens.
Prices are fixed depending on the entree, which includes sides and bread. The fresh fried catfish ($8.99) comes hot and crispy in a Styrofoam container with macaroni and cheese, lima beans and a slab of fist-sized cornbread. Ample, to say the least.
Two catfish filets are cornmeal-coated with a good bit of pepper. The lima beans, thick and nearly creamy, are cooked with onion, salt and pepper. Traditional macaroni noodles swim in thick cheddar cheese that is baked just perfectly. The cornbread is savory, not sweet, and works especially well when dipped in lima bean juice.
Two pork chops ($6.99) are floured and fried. Paired with black-eyed peas, they feel, well, like home.
One whiff of the mildly spicy sauce that coats a great slab of barbecue ribs ($8.99) should be more than enough to start most diners salivating. Hot, moist and tender, they’re as messy as they are tasty. Plenty of necessary napkins are provided.
Other meats and sides include roast beef, chicken livers, candied yams, green beans, squash and corn. There’s something for everyone.
As if the MAIN feast isn’t enough, it’s time for dessert. Homemade red velvet cake and peach cobbler are the choices on a recent night. The cake is so red it’s nearly burgundy, with two layers and a sweet cream cheese icing. The cobbler is a savory, cinnamon treat dusted with granulated sugar. Not my favorite cobbler, but a worthy substitute.
A dozen or so “pick-up order” patrons show up, which is a slow night for the place, according to the woman who serves as greeter, waitress, cashier and beverage grabber all in one.
The cafe also serves lunch, offering a meat with two sides from $5.99 to $9.99 and a daily $4.99 special. According to employees, long lunch lines and a diverse crowd from business people and construction workers to retirees arrives every day for one of Atlanta’s best soul food experiences.
Collard Green Cafe is definitely well worth a visit. The fare is nearly as good as home.
Just don’t let Grandma know. She might be a little bit miffed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)