Salad Lyonnaise – A Super Salad from a City of Meat

How great is Salad Lyonnaise? Lyon is considered the meat capital of France, and yet the city’s most famous, and reproduced dish is probably this simple frisee salad. Now that’s some delicious irony.

Don’t worry…this salad is far from vegan. The mildly bitter greens are dressed in a shallot and Dijon dressing, it’s spiked with a generous handful of crispy lardons, or bacon in my case, and topped with a runny egg.

By the way, unless you’re some kind of crazy person, you’re going to need some crispy croutons or crostini to finish this masterpiece off. Here’s a link to the ones I used for this, sans Parmigiano-Reggiano. You’ll also want to taste and adjust the dressing to your liking. I use a 2-to-1, oil to vinegar ratio, as I think you need some acidity to cut the richness of the bacon and egg yolk, but you may not want it as sharp.

As I joked about in the video, this is so tasty, it may be the only salad that has a chance to be picked as someone’s last meal. There’s good, and then there’s death row good. Anyway, I’ve been dying to film this old favorite, and I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

For 4 generous portions:

2 heads frisee lettuce, aka curly endive, or use arugula

8 oz bacon (or pancetta if you want to experience something closer to real lardons)

4 large eggs

1 tbsp chives

For the dressing (makes extra, about 3/4 cup total):

1 generous tbsp minced shallots

1 generous tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 cup lightly flavored olive oil

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A Tomato and “Dirt” Salad You’ll Really Dig

It’s not unusual for me to steal a recipe idea from a local restaurant, but it’s not everyday that I’m inspired by something I eat at a bowling alley. This happened recently at the Mission Bowling Club, a fun and funky, six-lane bowling alley located just a few blocks from our home, which despite the cacophony, features some of the City’s best bites.

In addition to an otherworldly fried chicken appetizer, and a “granulated,” aged beef burger some (including my wife Michele) consider the best in the City, the MBC also features daily specials, and one such offering was described as an “heirloom tomato salad topped with a crispy rye crumble.”

That sounded great to us, and our server vouched for its excellence, so we happily included it among our starters. What we didn’t know at the time, was that our server had defied the kitchen and refused to use the dish’s official name, “tomatoes and dirt.”

She made this stunning admission as we raved about its deliciousness, and admitted to going rogue and changing the name because she just didn’t think that “dirt” sounded appetizing. What?! I thought this plate of tomatoes and “dirt” was just about the most creative thing I’d heard/seen/tasted in a while.

I was this close to going into that kitchen, ratting her out, and maybe getting a free dessert for my trouble, but thought better of it, and decided to quietly finish the salad, knowing that I would share it here, dirty name and all.  Anyway, this is my version, and I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Small Portions:

8 oz burrata cheese, or fresh ricotta

Enough freshly sliced tomatoes for 4 portions

Wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Fresh sliced basil leaves

For the crumbs:

2 tbsp olive oil, more if needed

3 large brown mushrooms, minced fine

big pinch of salt

3 slices of dark rye, made into crumbs

1 rounded tablespoon ground almonds (aka almond meal, almond flour, or just crush your own)

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The Old Empty Mayo Jar Dressing Trick – Scrap the Scrape!

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade; but what about when life gives you empty mayonnaise jars? Mayonade? No, of course not. We’re going to make salad dressing instead, and “scrape the scrape.”

I’ll often add a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise when I make a vinaigrette, to help emulsify things, as well as provide a little extra creaminess to the dressing. With that in mind, when I get down to the end of a jar, I don’t scrape, I shake.

I’m posting the ingredients I used below just in case you’re curious, but this post isn’t really about a recipe, but simply a tip for using up the last of that mayo without all that annoying butterknifing. Now, I just need to work on a recipe for using up the last of the dressing clinging to the inside of the jar. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 1 1/2 cups of dressing:

1 empty mayo jar, with at least 1 tbsp of mayo inside

1 clove minced garlic

1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, thyme, and chives)

1/2 cup wine vinegar

1 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

pinch of Herbes de Provence

View the complete recipe

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Spicy Peach Coleslaw – An Apple Is an Excellent Thing – Until You’ve Tried a Peach

You may remember this peach coleslaw from such video recipes as, Grilled Coffee and Cola Skirt Steak. It was a beautiful match, and as I ate, I couldn’t help but wonder why you don’t see peaches used in these cold cabbage salads more often.

People have no problem loading up their ‘slaws with grated apple and diced pineapple, so it can’t be an anti-fruit bias. I think the real reason is that a perfectly ripe peach is such an incredible experience, that it seems almost criminal to consume it any other way.

I think George du Maurier put it best when he said, “An apple is an excellent thing – until you have tried a peach.” So, is that it? Just too good to not eat as is? That could explain some of it, but just in case the real reason is that you simply hadn’t thought of it before, I’m posting this. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6-8 portions:

1 pound thinly sliced cabbage

2 diced peaches

1 tbsp thinly sliced chives

for the dressing (everything is “to taste”):

2 generous tablespoons mayo

1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon sambal chili sauce

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt and cayenne to taste

View the complete recipe

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Shrimp & Pasta Shells Salad – And They (incorrectly) Called It Macaroni

I really wanted to call this a "macaroni salad," since that’s what people sitting around picnic tables call it, but I decided to be technically correct (for once) and call it a shrimp and pasta shells salad. Hey, I'm no slave to Google's algorithm.

Macaroni is a specific type of elbow-shaped pasta, so while all macaroni is pasta, not all pasta is macaroni. Raise your hand if you missed that one on your SAT. Anyway, now that I have enough “macaroni’s” in here for the search engines, we can move on.

Actually, there’s not a lot left to discuss. This is a very straightforward, and quite adaptable recipe. I list a few potential additions in the video, but this is the kind of thing you can really make your own. Hey, you could even do it with macaroni. I hope you give this easy, and crowd-pleasing summer salad a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 portions:

For the dressing:

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp ketchup

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp salt, or to taste

cayenne to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

The rest:

12-oz package pasta shells

1 pound bay shrimp, or other small cooked shrimp, drained well

1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper

3/4 cup diced celery

salt and pepper to taste

View the complete recipe

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Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing – Chicken Wings Sold Separately

Some of you might think I’m posting this creamy blue cheese dressing recipe while on vacation, just so I don’t have to answer questions as to why it took five years for this popular food wish to appear. And, while I don’t have a great answer for that, I do have a “grate” answer.

That’s right, a cheese grater and a wedge of frozen blue cheese is real the secret behind a perfect creamy blue cheese dressing. Not only is crumbling blue cheese a messy operation, but those larger chunks sink to the bottom, and don’t become one with sauce. 

Using this technique produces a dressing exploding with the funky goodness of whichever blue-veined cheese you decide to use. I used a Maytag blue cheese, but any of the World’s great blues, like Roquefort or Stilton, will work beautifully. I hope you give this great method a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes about 3 1/4 cups Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing:
 *Please note: everything in this recipe is “to taste,” so adjust to your liking!
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
cayenne to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces frozen blue cheese, grated

View the complete recipe

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Orange Cumin Vinaigrette featuring the Old "Make-n-Shake" Salad Dressing Method

One of the first things you’re taught at culinary school is how to make an emulsified salad dressing. Of course, we were no longer allowed to call them “dressings,” and had to refer to them by the proper French name, “vinaigrette,” but I knew deep down they were the same thing.

After learning how to spell “vinaigrette,” which I’m still working on to this day, we were set up with bowls and whisks, and shown how to properly achieve the celebrated emulsification. The chefs demonstrated that by slowly dripping oil into vinegar while whisking like crazy, one could magically bond the two elements together.

It took quite a while, and despite a burning shoulder, and cramping forearm, the method did work beautifully. The dressing was perfectly emulsified, and stayed that way. I was impressed. Of course, the next day they showed us how to do the same thing in a blender in 10 seconds, which really annoyed everybody. Why not show us the easy way first?

Well, little did I know there was even an easier way, than the easier way. That’s right, I’m talking about the old “make-n-shake” salad dressing method. By simply shaking vigorously in a small jar, you can create a temporary emulsification that should stay blended more than long enough to dress a salad.

Now let’s be clear, this method should only be used if you are going to eat your salad right away. The good news is, this accounts for roughly 95% of salad-related scenarios. For the rest of the time, when you need the dressing to stay perfectly blended for hours, like on a buffet, you should use the classic method instead.

Anyway, I'd promised to show you the very tasty orange and cumin vinaigrette that we used on our raw kale salad, and I figured it was the perfect excuse to demo this simple salad dressing trick. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes about 3/4 cup):

1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard           

1 rounded teaspoon orange zest

1 tsp cumin, or to taste

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1/4 cup rice vinegar (or white wine or sherry vinegar)

1/3 cup olive oil, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

View the complete recipe

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Raw Kale Salad – Mmmm…Tough and Bitter

I realized after watching the finished video for this raw kale salad that I used the words “tough” and “bitter” about a dozen times. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I used those words because kale is tough and bitter, but when properly prepared, those are valuable assets, not liabilities.

If you slice it thin, and toss it with other tasty treats, the kale mellows out, and serves as a perfect foil for other vegetation. The sweet, wet crunch of raw apple counters the bitterness, and the texture of the leaves elevated from opposite directions by juicy orange and crunchy nuts. It’s quite a scene.

I’m going to do a video for the orange cumin vinaigrette, but in the meantime, the ingredients are listed below. Feel free to copy my salad formula, but this is more of an idea video than an actual recipe. You know what you like, so whatever that is, add it to some raw kale, and see what happens. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 big or 4 small Raw Kale Salads:

1 head green kale

1 persimmon, sliced

1 apple, sliced thin or matchstick cut

2 seedless oranges, cut into segments aka “supremes” (click here for video)

handful of chopped nuts

For the dressing:

1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard           

1 rounded teaspoon orange zest

1 tsp cumin, or to taste

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tbsp orange juice

1/4 cup rice vinegar (or white wine or sherry vinegar)

1/3 cup olive oil, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

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