Ultimate Summer Salad with Gorgonzola Yogurt Herb Dressing

September 07, 2020

September 7, 2020

It’s finally Labor Day weekend (and also a much needed long weekend). The start of September means the start of fall weather, flavors, and fashion very soon. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love when the weather switches from scorching heat to cool crisp. The leaves on trees transform from deep greens to a spectrum of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. Restaurants all around begin to shift from seasonal summer produce to sturdier vegetables and fruits. Warm spices, comfort foods, warming drinks are just some of the parts of Fall I absolutely love. The shift from summer to fall also means a shift from lighter summer meals to comforting fall dishes. Lightly tossed salads and pastas are replaced with heartier, comforting casseroles and baked goods. While Fall is just around the corner, I’m working even harder to stretch out the bountiful summer produce as long as possible before making way for squashes, apples, and pears. I’ve centered many of my meals throughout the days on the bounties of summer including tomatoes, corn, cucumber, stone fruits, and herbs. Ripe tomatoes and fresh basil have starred a major role in my tomato pesto tart. Sweet corn and cool cucumber have been featured many times in my summer garden salad. Juicy peaches (and sometimes nectarines) have made their way into my barbecue peach, arugula, and basil pizza. Herbs have been the perfect ingredients to liven up salad dressings. My latest kitchen craze has been tossing up a variety of salads and dressings for lunch and dinner. I’ve even tested out versions for brunch. One of my favorite versions of a hearty summer salad emerged from multiple experiments combining bits and pieces of fruits and vegetables at their peak of ripeness. My ultimate summer salad generously dressed with gorgonzola yogurt herb dressing was the result of those experiments. The salad features a bed of spring greens, arugula, and kale topped with assorted seasonal summer produce. Crunchy cucumber, sweet peaches, toasted walnuts, bright green peas, seasoned cubed chicken, and crispy crumbled bacon all work their way into the salad. A generous drizzle of my gorgonzola herb dressing livens up the salad and adds a creamy, tangy element to the rest of the salad. The flavors of my gorgonzola yogurt herb dressing are reminiscent of ranch dressing balanced with the distinct savory sharp flavor of crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Once my ultimate summer salad with gorgonzola yogurt herb dressing was complete, I was ready to soak in some sunshine as I enjoyed a good book outdoors. My perfect relaxing long weekend was finally complete.

Summer Cooking, Chicken Satay, Refreshing Salad, and S'mores Pastry Pockets

May 29, 2020

May 29, 2020

Summer weather is finally here. After a full week of rain, I’m excited to see some sunshine. I have been going for walks daily to soak in some sun (and to get in some exercise). When I lived in New York, summertime was my favorite time of the year to head to the beach and enjoy a picnic with friends on the hot sand. We would pack some not so perishable foods with us, hop onto the bus or train and ride for as long as it takes us to get to the nearest beach. Most of the time, we would end up at Brighton Beach or Rockaway Beach. Sometimes, we would venture even further out to get to more remote areas. I always looked forward to those days where I could relax by the beach and get lost in a good book. A few summers ago, I visited my close friend, Ada, in Maine. She showed me around all of the picturesque beaches in Portland. The trip brought back fond memories of the days in our childhood where we would spend countless hours eating, chatting, and laughing while enjoying the crowded beaches in Brooklyn. I wouldn’t notice how much time has passed until I feel a slight burning sensation on my skin. The emerging sunburn would remind me to lather on more sunscreen and head back home. When I moved to Ohio, picnics at the beach were replaced with backyard cook outs. Since we’ve been restricted from nonessential gatherings, hangouts have become google hangouts. I still stay in touch with family and friends over video apps, but have been eagerly awaiting the days when I can dine out with family and friends. For now, I have continued to dine in with Kevin. Dining in has helped me challenge myself in the kitchen by cooking using only the ingredients I have on hand. One food I enjoy quite a bit during the summer is skewered veggies, fruits, and meats. My chicken satay is one of those super simple, but ultra-delicious ways to cook up some flavorful chicken. Marinating the chicken for at least 30 minutes before cooking over high heat helps impart a deep flavor into the meat. The secret to the most visually appealing chicken satay reminiscent of the ones served throughout Asia is turmeric. Turmeric imparts an earthy note and gives the satay a distinctive yellow hue. Skewered meat tastes wonderful with a refreshing salad, so I took a note from little bro’s book and tossed together a simple, refreshing middle east inspired salad. To complete the meal, I put a spin on my favorite pastry pockets and made a version featuring some of my favorite elements of s’mores. My s’mores pastry pockets were the perfect sweet treat for a summer meal. Kevin and I enjoyed the chicken satay, middle east inspired salad, and s’mores pastry pockets as we started the weekend off on a positive note.

Meal Planning and Arugula and Sundried Tomatoes Pasta Salad

February 22, 2020

I first discovered a truly fantastic pasta salad on a stop through Detroit Metro airport while waiting for a connecting flight back to Ohio. I was on my way back from visiting family in California and had about an hour until my connecting flight. As I made my way to my gate, I came across Plum Market, a hybrid specialty foods store and restaurant. The storefront was large and inviting and there were a lot of people coming in and out of the store. I hadn’t intended to stop by the store, but when I caught a glimpse of the Zingerman’s sign from the corner of my eye, I knew I just had to make a stop at the shop. Zingerman’s holds a special place in my heart. It was one of my favorite shops to take a stroll to whenever I had some free time back in my college days. Zingerman’s was a must stop for anyone who attended college at Michigan. Even if I didn’t buy anything, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to check out the inventory of specialty foods. The shop in Ann Arbor had a wide selection of vinegars, breads, and specialty foods. The hybrid shop at the airport also did not disappoint. With my heavy bags weighing on my shoulders, I still made an effort to check out all of the aisles at the Zingerman’s within Plum Market at DTW airport. When I stepped foot into Plum Market, I was immediately drawn to the specialty food items. The store was the perfect place for foodies. On the right was a Zingerman’s bakery. In the center was a restaurant. On the left was a fresh prepared food counter. I browsed through the selection of baked treats from Zingerman’s, zoomed past the restaurant area, and headed straight for the prepared foods. There was a wide selection of prepared pastas, salads, and entrees. Everything looked great, but the cavatappi pasta salad caught my eye. I was starving by the time I walked into the store and committed to ordering the cavatappi pasta salad. The pasta salad featured small bits of sun-dried tomatoes, peppadew peppers, and cheese. It was a simple pasta salad, but it was just what I needed to satisfy my hunger. I made a note to recreate the pasta salad the moment I took a bite. It took me months to get to it, but last weekend, I finally made my own version of the pasta salad I fell in love with. My version features peppery arugula, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, spicy peppadew peppers, creamy Ciliegine mozzarella, and salty Parmigiano Reggiano all tossed together with a cavatappi pasta. The cavatappi pasta is dressed in an Italian dressing. The pasta salad turned out so good, I made another batch of this pasta salad again just today.

Repurposing Leftover Roast Chicken and Curried Chicken Salad

January 23, 2020

Whenever I roast a whole chicken, I always have some pieces of leftover chicken. Most of the time, I pack away the leftover chicken for another meal during the week. Other times, I try to find creative ways to use up the leftover chicken. I love having leftovers because it forces me to find creative ways to use up or repurpose the leftovers. When I made my garlic, lemon, and rosemary roast chicken dish, Kevin and I ate all we can, but we still managed to have some leftover chicken. Most of the time, I use the leftover chicken and bones to make a hearty chicken soup. Chicken soup is the easiest way to use up leftover chicken since many of the components of the roast chicken dish can easily be combined into a soup. I usually toss in the roasted carrots and onion from the roast chicken dish directly into the soup. Other times, I use the leftover chicken to make a variation of my favorite chicken salad. I would toss in some mayo, dried and fresh fruits, and some crunchy celery and/or nuts. Those were the components of a basic chicken salad. Another variation of chicken salad I have been making is curried chicken salad. It features only a few staple ingredients, but when combined all together, the curried chicken salad is truly spectacular. The seasoned chicken and scallions lend a savory element to the dish. The apricot jam and dried cranberries add a delightful sweetness. The curry and cumin powder add a fragrant, unmistakably earthy spice to the dish. The mayo lends a creaminess to the overall dish. Other than curry powder and cumin, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper are the only other seasonings added to deepen the flavor of the chicken salad. Despite the simplicity of the ingredients, the end result is always remarkable. I’ve experimented with versions of my curried chicken salad over the years including adding diced apples, quartered grapes, diced celery, and sometimes crushed nuts. Yet, I keep coming back to my simplest version of curried chicken salad featuring just cubed chicken, thinly sliced scallions, and dried cranberries blended with a simple curry-cumin-apricot mayo. It’s very easy to pull together and always turns out great. My favorite way to serve curried chicken salad is to toast two slices of bread, layer on some baby arugula and baby kale, and scoop large scoops of curried chicken salad directly onto the bread and greens. It’s a great option for a simple lunch or afternoon tea. Kevin prefers a chicken salad over a bed of greens rather than a sandwich. The best part about chicken salad is it gets better the longer you chill the chicken salad in the refrigerator. I usually like to chill my curried chicken salad overnight to allow all of the flavors within the chicken salad to meld together.

Lunar New Year Preparations and Asian Vegetable Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

January 05, 2020

It’s the new year! I still can’t believe we entered a new decade. Kevin has been recovering from a mild case of post-holiday blues. I’ve been busy setting new professional and personal goals while menu planning for Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year is in just a few short weeks, which means it is almost time for the mad dash to clean the home in preparation for the holiday. Growing up, mom was super particular about making sure the home was as clean as possible in the days leading up to new year. Her definition of clean meant each and every surface of each and every furniture had to be free from dust. Dad was usually in charge of the decorations. He would pick out the most eye catching red and gold décor to plaster all over the home. The brighter the colors, the more auspicious it seems in their eyes. My brothers would look forward to collecting the red envelopes filled with cash. They always seemed more excited in anticipation of Lunar New Year than any other holidays throughout the year. I would always look forward to the tables filled with the widest selection of foods. It always amazes me how bountiful the meals are during the days leading up to and after the holiday. Lunar New Year meant longevity noodles, prosperous fish, fortune cupcakes, tons of lucky fruit and candy, and endless assortment of cooked meats. It’s also a day about togetherness and joining of families. On the eve before new year, I always loved gathering around the table with family to enjoy a bountiful meal before New Year’s Day. We always spent countless hours chatting and laughing into the late evening. Since moving to the Midwest, I haven’t been able to celebrate Lunar New Year with my family as much as I would like to. First, the lunar calendar doesn’t quite align with the western calendar, which means Lunar New Year can fall on any day of the week. Second, it is not yet a holiday observed across the entire United States. This makes it difficult for me to take off time to celebrate Lunar New Year with family. In the more recent years, Kevin and I have been celebrating the holiday with a variety of auspicious foods. Last year, we celebrated with a menu featuring sweet and sour pork, chicken and cashew lettuce wraps, spicy boiled fish, almond cookies, and orange milkshakes. In preparation for Lunar New Year this year, I’ve been testing a few recipes featuring some of my favorite foods. This year, I’ve included a twist on sweet and sour chicken by making chicken skewers with a sweet and sour dip. To round out the meal, I also whipped up an Asian vegetable salad with sesame ginger dressing, and a brown sugar bubble tea (inspired by the brown sugar bubble tea I had at Tiger Sugar over the holidays). My Asian vegetable salad with sesame ginger dressing is one of my favorite (and super easy) dishes to whip together when I want a light, crunchy salad packed with flavor.

Strawberry and Chicken Salad with Balsamic Olive Oil Dressing

May 24, 2019

Kevin and I just returned back from our honeymoon in Italy. We spent a wonderful week indulging in our share of pizza, pasta, gelato, and cappuccino while soaking in all of the historical sites in the cities we visited during our trip. Read more about our adventures exploring the culture, history, and food of Rome, Venice, Pisa, and Florence here. With all of the delicious carb heavy meals we’ve been indulging in, we didn’t eat as many vegetables as we would like. In an attempt to pack more vegetables into our diets, we purchased some fruits during the first day of our trip and ordered a side salad with our meals wherever we can. The blood oranges we purchased at Eataly were especially sweet and juicy and lasted us for the first few days of our trip. For our meals, we tried to order a salad as a side dish with our lunch or dinner. If there were entrées with vegetables, we would order those. Otherwise, we would ask for a side salad or pizza topped with fresh vegetables. Each time we ordered a salad at a restaurant in Italy, the waiter or waitress would bring us a bottle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and jar of salt to serve alongside our salad. I’ve tossed all of my salads (and dipped some of my breads) into the simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing at almost every meal. The sweet and acidic vinegar worked well with the smooth and mild flavored olive oil. Adding a pinch of salt into the dressing brought a savory element to the dressing. After a week of mostly carb heavy meals, I was especially craving a salad once we got back to Ohio. Today, I made a salad filled with lightly toasted almonds, cooked and cubed chicken, freshly sliced strawberries, freshly quartered rainbow tomatoes, raisins, and Gorgonzola cheese served over a bed of red and green lettuce, arugula, and spinach.

Garden Cobb Salad

April 08, 2019

Easter is around the corner. Just this weekend, it felt as if spring had officially begun. I can usually tell when spring has begun because my nose tends to flare up. Just today, I was overcome with an urge to sneeze multiple times throughout the day. I’m not at the point where I sneeze a couple times a day yet, but once spring is in full swing, my daily sneezing will begin again. The start of spring means a shift from eating warm, comforting, and heavy foods to eating more light, colorful, and healthy meals. My favorite meals to prepare during warmer months usually require less cooking. I made a salad over the weekend inspired by the colors of spring and Easter. In preparation for Easter Sunday only a couple of weeks away, I began planning my brunch menu. This year, Kevin and I celebrated Easter early with an Easter brunch. When I think of Easter, I think of beautiful colors in all of my foods. For Saturday’s brunch menu, I prepared colorful dishes including a garden Cobb salad, strawberry and orange scones, asparagus, ham, and mushroom frittata, and fresh watermelon juice. This was definitely a lot of food for two people, but I was already planning to pack some for lunch throughout the week. The star of the menu was my garden Cobb salad. I named it a garden Cobb salad because it featured mainly vegetables in different shades of the rainbow. I topped my salad with bright tomatoes, crunchy carrots, savory chicken, creamy avocado, crispy bacon, and sweet red onion. The only real cooking involved is cooking the chicken and bacon.

Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing

March 24, 2019

This week has been an incredibly busy week for me. Typically, I have evenings off to meal plan, complete assignments, and study for my classes, but this week, I was short on time. I officially started a third class this Wednesday as part of my baking certificate program. I was excited for this particular class because the course focused on food safety and sanitation. In between work and classes, I also had doctor and dentist appointments. While the upcoming week should be better, I still took some time out over the weekend to meal prep for the upcoming week. One of my favorite bulk meals to prep around this time of the year is pasta salads. With the longer days and weather become warmer in the next few weeks, I started craving lighter, healthier meals. My pasta salad with a homemade Italian dressing was the perfect dish to serve for a light lunch (and save for lunch throughout the week). Whenever I make pasta salads, I like to add a lot of colors and textures. I prefer to use crunchy vegetables to add another textural element to the salad. I started out by cooking an entire box of tricolor rotini pasta following the instructions on the pasta package. While the pasta was cooking, I diced up some carrots, red pepper, green pepper, celery, and cherry tomatoes. I also prepared a simple Italian dressing by combining some vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Not only was this pasta salad extremely easy to put together, there was enough pasta salad left over for five additional servings after Kevin and I each had a serving. The best part of the pasta salad is how delicious the pasta salad tasted the longer it chilled in the refrigerator.

Cobb Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

February 20, 2019

Some days, I just crave a big bowl of fresh salad mixed with some hearty protein and salad dressing. This week, I had one of those days where I really wanted a Cobb salad with my favorite salad dressing, honey mustard dressing. I didn’t eat Cobb salads a lot growing up. In fact, my favorite salad growing up was usually the classic chicken Caesar salad, which I almost always ordered whenever I wanted a salad at a restaurant. Occasionally, I would order a Cobb salad when I want a heartier, more filling salad. Cobb salads are packed with tons of protein and fresh vegetables. Kevin typically doesn’t crave salads, but this salad had everything he wanted in a salad. It has crispy grilled chicken, smoky bacon, hearty hard-boiled eggs, creamy avocado, crunchy onions, and sweet and tangy tomatoes. All of these hearty ingredients are arranged over a bed of salad greens. Traditional Cobb salad also has Roquefort cheese, but I decided to omit the cheese since Kevin isn’t a huge fan of blue cheese tossed into his salad. Cobb salads are a good compromise for both Kevin and I when it comes to a dinner both of us would want to eat. He gets to have a variety of meats. I get to mix in some healthy greens.

Berry Chicken Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing

February 10, 2019

The snow has started falling again in Ohio. Earlier this week, we actually had nice spring-like weather. The temperature dropped again during the weekend. Today, the snow and slush began to pick up in the afternoon. I went for my usual Sunday morning run. Other than going to the gym in the morning, I stayed inside for most of today to avoid the snow. To continue on the early Valentine’s Day celebration, I’m sharing my recipe for berry chicken salad with lemon Dijon dressing. I made this salad as part of an early Valentine’s Day celebration dinner with Kevin yesterday. We had a simple dinner of homemade garlic knots with marinara sauce, hearty pepperoni cast iron pizza, and a berry chicken salad with lemon Dijon dressing. Whenever I have a carbohydrate heavy meal, I like to serve the meal with a side salad. I like the balance of a fresh, light salad with the hearty pizza and garlic knots. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I wanted my salad to have redness. Thus, in addition to blueberries and blackberries, I also added some strawberries and raspberries. To round out the rest of my salad, I grilled some chicken, crumbled some blue cheese, and served all of the fresh ingredients over a bed of spinach, lettuce, and arugula blend.