Seattle Cooking Club

(posted by Ashley H.)

This is the perfect salad (pg.156) to bring to a party. Or, if you make it and miss the party like I did, you will have endless amounts of pasta salad to consume. Thank goodness it’s yummy. I will say though, like Kelli mentioned in her last salad blog. . .something was missing from this salad. . .and I’m pretty sure it was salt. I’m not sure if some mozzarella cheeses are saltier than others, I’m guessing mine wasn’t a very salty version. I passed along some of this salad to my mom and she said she ended up adding some kalamata olives. She apparently thought it needed a little extra salt, too.

In your bowl goes some fresh tomatoes.

While your pasta is cooking, get your corn kernels (from 3 ears of fresh corn) ready.

Add together the tomatoes, corn, fresh mozzarella, and zest from one lemon.

Your dressing is a simple combo of: lemon juice, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, olive oil, and salt. Once your pasta has cooled, throw it in your bowl with the veggies and cheese, add your dressing and combine. Last, but not least, your ribboned basil leaves get gently stirred in.

(posted by Ashley H.)

This salad (pg.113) is definitely my favorite one from the book, so far. I think it will be hard to beat.

The recipe calls for 1 pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined. I cheated and brought home these yummy baby shrimps from Costco.

Add some seafood seasoning to your shrimp (Old Bay) and then mix in diced cucumber, fresh dill, and fresh chives.

For your dressing: whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, mayonnaise, and salt & pepper.

Assemble your salad by drizzling a little dressing over your greens. The rest of the dressing gets mixed into the shrimp salad. Then take your half avocado and place the shrimp salad inside the scooped out cavity. You will have plenty of shrimp salad so feel free to put generous amounts on each plate. . .you won’t be disappointed.

(posted by Ashley H.)

Another yummy and simple recipe (pg.83)! The honey-dijon vinaigrette definitely makes this salad. (I may or may not have been sneaking little finger tastes of this dressing while preparing the rest of the dinner.)

First, your chicken breasts marinate with lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs of your choice. . .then season with salt & pepper and grill ’em on up.

Chop up your veggies: celery, red & yellow peppers, and red onion.

Make your amazing salad dressing: apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, minced garlic, olive oil, and salt & pepper. Whisk until creamy.

Enjoy. (And do your best not to lick your bowl for any remaining drops of dressing).

(posted by Ashley H.)

This is another easy and yummy salad to toss together at the end of a busy day (pg.102). I will admit, I wasn’t sure about the homemade blue cheese dressing. . .I have a slight addiction to the blue cheese dressing that Metropolitan Market makes and this dressing was not similar at all. But, when combined with the flavors of the salad and drizzled over the mini burgers it was actually really tasty. I would make this salad again.

First, your pound of beef is combined with chopped scallions, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, panko breadcrumbs, and salt & pepper, and then formed into eight mini patties.

While husband is grilling up the burgers go ahead and prep the rest of your ingredients: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, blue cheese crumbles. Oh, and if you have a ripe avocado on hand throw it into the salad, too. . .tasty! The dressing is a combo of: blue cheese, heavy cream, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper.

Enjoy!

(posted by Ashley H.)

This salad (pg.60) is a good go-to salad on a warm summer evening when you don’t have any energy or time to make a complicated dinner. It is light and refreshing but the goat cheese along with grilled bread make it filling enough to count as a main course.

Your goat cheese rounds get drizzled with a combination of lemon zest, olive oil, minced garlic, and salt & pepper. Add your ribboned basil leaves when you are ready to serve.

A quick balsamic vinaigrette.

A yummy dinner in no time!

(posted by Ashley H.)

Make this salad. Make this salad as soon as you can. Treat yourself to a nice piece of halibut. . .I promise you won’t regret it.

The vinaigrette that goes with this salad is easy and amazing. A handful of ingredients get mixed together: red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, chopped tomatoes, kalamata olives, fresh parsley, and salt & pepper. Simply toss your baby greens with a couple of spoonfuls, place your halibut on top, and then generously spoon the remaining dressing on top of the fish. The dressing was the perfect complement to the fish, it didn’t overpower it at all.

I’ll let the photo speak for itself. Enjoy!

(Posted by Ashley H.)

I think the beautiful photo on the back cover of the cookbook drew me to making this salad. It was wonderful. I’ve already made it a second time!

Zest two lemons to use in your dressing.

Whisk in fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper.

Prepare your bowtie pasta, al dente.

Quartered artichoke hearts get mixed with minced garlic, and more lemon juice and olive oil. Then baked in the oven until edges are crispy.

Asparagus is cooked in a heavy skillet with some olive oil until crisp-tender.

Mix everything together for your finished product. Do not forget your chunks of feta!