2-24-2011 Fancy Din-Din and Salad Recipes

I am going to keep this post on the short side because it is late and I am tired and stuffed. We just returned from having a lovely dinner at a nice fancy restaurant. We were there to celebrate my husband's birthday with his mother.
This restaurant has a cool atmosphere, you will feel like you just stepped in to a restaurant in New York City. We started our night at the bar, it has live music every night. The music has a jazzy feel to it, perfect for winding down after a long day.
We then made our way to our table to have dinner. They brought us hot crusty bread immediately, love it! Then we started with a tuna tartare with citrus fruits, it was great. Next, hubby and I split a salad that had warm goat cheese, mushrooms, and arugula. The salad was ok, not my favorite. I will post some good salad recipes below. After that we had a Hawaiian sea bass, that had been seared. It was light and very good. After that, we had a parmesan crusted lemon sole, this was extremly rich, but delicious. We all shared sides which included roasted beets and truffled macaroni and cheese, also good. Finally, we ended the meal with a spectacular bananas foster cake. The cake was a dense almost underbaked carmelized rum pound cake, covered in bananas foster, served with whipped cream and praline ice cream. When they brought it to the table they lit it on fire. Here is a picture of it:

I am a true salad lover. I'm always looking for great salad recipes. When I find a good one, it permanently becomes part of my repetoire.
Here are some salad recipes I have made a time or 2 (really many times):

Spinach Salad with almonds and apples

• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1/2 cup almonds,  slivered
• 1 pound spinach
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds- can buy already toasted, or toast at 350, until a little bit browned, must watch carefully so they don't get burnt
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Apple or pear, peeled and diced

Place the margarine in a saute pan and melt over medium heat, add the almonds. Stir constantly until fragrant and toasted. Remove from pan onto a piece of foil, and set aside to cool.

In a blender (can use immersion blender) Put sugar, onion, paprika, vinegars, and oil. Blend until emulsified. Stir in poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

In a large salad bowl, put spinach, cranberries, apple, and toasted almonds.Toss with dressing to coat. Serve immeadiately.

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Chop Salad Recipe from Kosher by Design Entertains by Susie Fishbein

This salad is an interesting combo of flavors. In the original recipe, I found the dressing to be bland, I added more salt, she calls for only a pinch.

• Lettuce,  any type, I prefer chopped iceberg or romaine
• Handful of Craisins
• 2 small cucumbers, peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 12 graped tomatoes, halved

Dressing:

1/4 C. mayo

1/4 C. honey

1/4 C. canola oil

2 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. spicy brown mustard

3/4 t. salt

pepper

Mix the dressing in a jar until it is all emulsified. Pour dressing on just before serving, you may have extra. Toss the salad together.

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Cucumber Salad

This is a good ole stand by recipe, and it's fat free! It goes with any dish, and is refreshing. I always have a cucumber on hand, and will make this in a pinch. It is very easy to make. One of my pregnant friends, not going to name any names, has an obsession with it!

• 1-2 Cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced (English hothouse cucumbers are great for this)
• 1/4 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 C. Sugar
• 1/2 C. distilled vinegar
• 1/2 C. water
• pinch salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, vingear, and water until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sliced cucumber and onion, salt and pepper. Place into the refrigerator and let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Hope you try some of these salad recipes, you will not be disappointed. Talk to you soon.

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