Asian citrus vinaigrette

In my first foray into the kitchen in a *very* long time (my first time teaching + a four month old + a husband on paternity leave = no cooking for me) I made Soy Glazed Salmon with Lemon (in a earlier post) and also whipped up this great salad dressing that I found on the Earthbound Farm site.

Asian Citrus Vinaigrette

1/4 cup fresh tangerine or orange juice

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (unseasoned)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients and stir vigorously.

I didn't have any fresh ginger so I skipped it and it was still great. I served over baby spinach with some slivered almonds on top.

A triumphant return to the kitchen!

Napa Cabbage, Chicken and Thai Peanut Sauce Salad

We inherited our friends' CSA haul for two weeks while they're out of town, which has literally been a life changing experience. My mom jokes about her "balanced lifetime" philosophy towards vegetable eating, developed to avoid guilt over my picky eating in childhood; the idea was that over the course of a whole lifetime, I'd eat enough vegetables. Well, this week has certainly made up for those early years - I probably have had more servings of vegetables than I did for the first decade of my life.

Today I chose to use the giant, gorgeous Napa cabbage from Tantre farms and made this delicious, hearty, healthy protein-filled salad, with an absolutely delectable homemade peanut sauce I found on the internet from a great site called shesimmers.com. This is my new favorite thing, and the chef/blog author says it keeps for weeks in the fridge. I can imagine a lot of other uses besides salad dressing too, like stir frys (fries?) or satays.

For salad:
1 head Napa cabbage
1 chopped green onion, mostly white parts
Black sesame seeds
Toasted sesame seeds
Unsalted peanuts
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

Cut up green leafy parts of Napa cabbage into bite size pieces and put in bowls. Garnish with unsalted peanuts, black and toasted sesame seeds, and chopped green onion. Meanwhile, cook the cubed chicken pieces in a nonstick skillet with some olive oil. Put chicken on top of prepared salads and top with Thai peanut sauce, add sea salt and pepper to taste.

For Thai peanut sauce dressing:
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
About 1/4 cup of Thai red curry sauce
3/4 cup peanut butter (I used chunky but the original recipe says creamy)
1/2 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup sugar (I used a little less)
2 tablespoons white vinegar (can use cider too, just not red)
1/2 cup water

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Serve over salad.

Salad adapted from shesimmers.com, peanut sauce recipe at http://www.shesimmers.com/2009/03/how-to-make-thai-peanut-sauce-my-moms.html

Salad with Breaded Chicken, Peaches and Citrus Vinaigrette with Yogurt-Balsamic Dip

So, I haven't posted here in several months not because I'm through with cooking - but because I'm pregnant and had morning sickness so severe that there was no way I could even get near a kitchen, much less cook in one. My sweet husband fended for us for several months, and I had a triumphant return today, although I kept forgetting where things were kept and banging my head on our hanging pots - out of practice!

I made this delicious salad, which we've had before: It was originally called "Almond-Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing" (available at http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/almond-crusted-chicken-nectarine-salad-buttermilk-chive-dressing.aspx) but I modified based on what I had on hand to the below. I also added a lighter citrus vinaigrette to replace the buttermilk-chive dressing, and made a yogurt dip instead for the chicken tenders.

Salad:
* 6 cups torn tender lettuce (I like butter lettuce)
* 2 small to medium ripe nectarines (I used peaches), halved, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
* 1-1/2 cups fresh orange juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Yogurt dip:
* About 1/4 cup regular plain or Greek style yogurt
* 1 Tbs. sour cream
* 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar (original recipe says white but I prefer regular)
* 1/2 tsp. honey
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:
* 2 large eggs
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* About 1 cup bread crumbs (original recipe says to use almonds but I find these harder to cook with)
* 1-1/2 lb. chicken breast or tenders, sliced thin into 2-inch pieces
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2-3 Tbs. vegetable oil

*To make chicken:*

Lightly beat the eggs in a wide, shallow dish. Stir the bread crumbs and flour together in another dish. Season the chicken on all sides with 1 tsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. pepper. Dip one piece of chicken at a time in the eggs. Shake off the excess and dredge in the bread crumb mixture, pressing lightly to help it adhere. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering hot. Working in batches, cook the chicken until light golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate when done. Between batches, remove any stray crumbs from the pan and add more oil if necessary.

*To make the citrus vinaigrette dressing:*

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk.

*To make the yogurt dip:*

In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the yogurt, sour cream, vinegar, and honey. Slowly whisk in the oil to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

*To assemble the salad:*

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce and peaches with about half of the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among 4 dinner plates. Divide the chicken among the plates, overlapping the pieces on top of the salad. Drizzle additional dressing over the chicken and serve with yogurt dip as a side for each plate (or you can put the dip on top of the salad at the very end before serving).

I find the yogurt dip really makes it, although it's too heavy as a dressing; it works great in complement with the citrus vinaigrette, since both have balsamic notes.

Maureen’s Curried Spinach Salad

Maureen is my mom's best friend, and we've had this *incomparable* salad every year on Christmas Eve for the past 25 years. Lately I've been craving it and indulging in making it even on non-special occasions. Luckily, it's easy.

2 lb. fresh spinach (I used baby spinach)
2 green apples, unpeeled
2/3 c dry roasted peanuts
1/2 c. dried fruit (cranberries or cherries)
1/3 c thinly sliced scallion (green onions)
2 T. toasted sesame seeds

For dressing:

1/3 c. white vinegar
3/4 c vegetable oil (I substituted olive oil and it was fine)
1/4 c finely chopped chutney (I used an apple-cranberry one but you can use most any kind)
2 T. sugar
1 t. curry powder
1 t. salt
1 t. dry mustard
3 drops tabasco sauce

To prepare salad, trim stems from spinach and chill (or, if no time and you don't mind stems, don't worry about it). When ready to assemble, tear spinach into bite sized pieces (not an issue if using baby spinach). Core and dice apples. Place spinach, apples, peanuts, dried fruit, green obions and sesame seeds in a salad bowl.

To prepare dressing: combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Toss with salad immediately before serving.