Chopped Salad with Raspberry Vinegarette Dressing

Yesterday evening, my allergies were totally bothering me, and I was not feeling like cooking dinner.  A funny thing happened, though...I went to Publix and encountered their surprisingly delicious Apron Simple Meals sample.  What got me was the chopped salad.  I had most of the ingredients at home and I did a little substituting (Rick hates blue cheese) and came up with this healthy addition to our steak and potatoes night!

Chopped Salad with Raspberry Vinegarette Dressing

Ingredients

1 romaine lettuce heart, finely chopped

1 cup shredded cabbage (I used it from a cole slaw bag)

2 green onions slicesd,

Crumbled Goat Cheese

1/4 cup flavored, sliced almonds

Fat Free Raspberry Walnut Vinegarette

Directions

Place all ingredients (except dressing) in a bowl.  Toss with desired amount of dressing and serve.

Enjoy!

Warm Scallop Salad with Prosciutto Chips

I have to admit that I was disappointed a few weeks ago when Rick finally admitted to me that he wasn't a fan of this recipe...or as he put it, it wasn't one of his favorites. He said that it was too lemony which sent me into the kitchen to try to make it something that he loves as much as I do! Adding a pinch of sugar definitely takes care of the tartness from the lemon, and I like to add a couple of tablespoons of white wine to the lemon juice to make a more complex.

I've been making this recipe for years, and I've been known to add thinly sliced onions and tomatoes to the salad. I serve it as a main course and use 10-12 sea scallops when I'm making it for two.

Here is the recipe with my adaptations.

Ingredients

4 paper-thin slices prosciutto
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Romaine Lettuce
1/2 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
10 sea scallops
All purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons white wine
Parmesan cheese (shredded)


Directions
Brush each prosciutto slice on 1 side lightly with some of oil. Heat heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 slices prosciutto, oiled side down. Cook until bottom is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Turn prosciutto over and cook until bottom is browned, flattening with spatula, about 1 minute longer. Using tongs, transfer prosciutto to paper towels to crisp. Repeat with remaining 2 slices prosciutto. Reserve skillet.

Place lettuce and basil in large bowl and mix together. Set aside.

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper; dust lightly with flour. Heat remaining oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops and cook until brown and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

Saute garlic in pan. Add white wine, lemon juice and lemon peel to drippings in skillet. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Pour pan juices over greens and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide salad among 2 plates and top with scallops. Garnish with prosciutto chips and serve. I like to tent them around the center of the salad and surround them with the scallops. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

Tailgatin' at home

College football season is upon us, but unfortunately, neither Rick nor I live close to where our teams playing this weekend. The Heels played at noon, but since the game was on ESPNU, I didn't get to watch it. Rick's game, however, was on Saturday night so we watched it here. I decided to do appetizer/hor d'oeuvre type dishes for dinner to give us a kinda tailgating feeling.

For our finger food feast, I made Bratwurst Bites with Beer and Mustard Sauce and Mini Provolone Popovers. Once again, I didn't make homemade bratwurst but instead picked some up at Publix. I did have an amusing conversation with the checkout guy about the difference between hot dogs and bratwurst. The poor kid thought that they were just expensive hot dogs while his friend who was working in the checkout lane beside of him and I just shook our heads at him. Ahh, to be young and clueless again! I also cheated on the beer and horseradish mustard sauce and used the test kitchen's tip at the bottom of the recipe to save some time and energy. I didn't have the whole grain Dijon mustard so I used 1/2 cup of stone ground mustard and 1 cup of regular Dijon mustard. The mini-provolone popovers were featured as the recipe of the day on epicurious.com, and being the cheese lover that I am, they definitely caught my eye. Rick suggested that I make some in the Tar Heel muffin pan that he got me so some of them were done in the mini-muffin pan and six in the larger Tar Heel pan. The ones in the mini-muffin pan got a little overdone, but they were all yummy. How can you go wrong with all that cheese?

Here are the recipes that I used:

Bratwurst with Beer and Mustard Horseradish sauce

Ingredients
Bratwurst
1/2 cup beer

Directions
Cut Bratwurst into 1to 1 1/2 inch thick pieces. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add Bratwurst to skillet and cook until browned on bottom, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup beer to skillet; cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until beer evaporates, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn patties over and cook until brown on bottom and cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.

Serve with:

Beer and Horseradish Mustard Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 cup stone ground mustard
1 cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup beer
1/4 cup prepared horseradish

Directions
Mix all four ingredients in a small bowl and chill for one hour before serving.



Mini Provolone Popovers

Ingredients

• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup finely chopped provolone
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

Whisk together milk, eggs, flour, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and pepper until smooth, then stir in cheeses and chives. Chill 1 hour to allow batter to rest.

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third.

Butter muffin pan with remaining tablespoon butter, then heat in oven until butter sizzles, about 2 minutes.

Gently stir batter, then divide among muffin cups (they will be about two-thirds full). Bake until puffed and golden-brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.