Tag: salad

Valentine’s Recipe Roundup

Valentine’s Day is coming up.  Are you wanting to stay home and cook something special?  I have some ideas for you!

Well Dined | Beef Wellington

I consider Beef Wellington to be very romantic – it’s decadent and it takes a lot of work, so it’s definitely a special occasion food.  Check out this post for the recipe.

Well Dined | Steak, Spinach Souffle, Panna Cotta with Berry Compote

Steak is a quintessential Valentine’s dish.  I have long used a method of quick aging with salt to tenderize and season even cheaper cuts.  Find the method in this post, along with recipes for Spinach and Gruyere Souffle and Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Mixed Berry Compote.  I used a compound butter to top the steak in that post, but since then have more often made a pan sauce by deglazing with sherry, then adding butter.

Well Dined | Chopped Salad, Rib Roast

For one of our earliest Valentine’s, I made an herb crusted standing rib roast; along with a chopped salad, heart shaped roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, and Yorkshire pudding.  All of the recipes are in this post, along with some pretty decorations. (more…)

Halloween Recipe Round-up

If you are in need of festive dishes, look no further!  I have collected my most relevant recipes onto one page for you.

Halloween Candy

Well Dined | Halloween Round-up

Halloween Candy Bark
Candy Corn Jello Shots

Apple Desserts

Well Dined | Halloween Round-up

Apple Oat Muffins
Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies
Cheddar Apple Hand Pies

Black and Orange
More like green and orange, but you get the idea.

Well Dined | Halloween Round-up

Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese
Sweet Potato and Chard Gratin
Butternut Squash and Kale Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella and Bacon
Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna with Homemade Spinach Whole Wheat Noodles (more…)

Broccoli and Potato Gribiche

Well Dined | Broccoli and Potato Gribiche

When I was assigned Melissa’s blog last month for SRC, I was reminded of all the recipes of hers that I had been wanting to make.  And I couldn’t get my mind off of this warm potato salad with roasted broccoli and an egg vinaigrette.  That vinaigrette is called “sauce gribiche”, which I had never heard of before.  Melissa says, “It’s an eggy French vinaigrette, apparently friends with mayonnaise, that is made from hardboiled eggs, oil, vinegar, capers, and fresh herbs.”  Sign me up!

Well Dined | Broccoli and Potato Gribiche

First step – roast the potatoes and the broccoli.  Why do I only have a photo of the potatoes?  I don’t know.  Melissa used purple potatoes, which looked gorgeous.  I couldn’t find any, though, so I used red.

Well Dined | Broccoli and Potato Gribiche

Meanwhile, boil the eggs.  Hello, lovelies! (more…)

SRC – Memorial Day Meal from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Well Dined | BBQ Beef and BLT Pasta Salad

May has five Mondays this year, which means – themed Secret Recipe Club post!  Falling on Memorial Day, the theme for this reveal is Picnic/BBQ and my assigned blog was A Day in the Life on the Farm.  Wendy and her husband are former police officers who moved out to the country and became farmers.  They treat their animals humanely, are part of an organic CSA, trade with other farmers, and live sustainably as much as possible – I am so jealous!  I dream of being a radical homemaker, but don’t have the commitment.  I was on a specific mission this month, but I look forward to perusing the blog more thoroughly.

Well Dined | Black Forest Trifle

I actually made three recipes from Wendy’s blog this weekend, in order to have a full meal for the holiday.  She had tons of recipes that are appropriate for the challenge, and I chose BBQ Beef Sandwiches, BLT Pasta Salad, and Black Forest Trifle.  Each of these was easy to make with the help of store-bought ingredients, so that I didn’t have to spend a full day in the kitchen.  And each of them was a big hit! (more…)

Rye Spaetzle with Spring Vegetables and Gruyere

Well Dined | Rye Spaetzle with Spring Vegetables and Gruyere

I love Spring. I love the flowers, and the weather (sometimes), and the resurgence of vegetables.  Spring vegetables are here and gone so quickly (if you are buying seasonally, that is), so take advantage of them while you can!  Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) and I decided to make this Spring vegetable dish because it uses spaetzle, which is a bit more fun than your standard pasta, and gruyere, which pairs so well with these veggies.

Well Dined | Spaetzle with Mushrooms, Herbs, and Duck Egg

Spaetzle is a chewy German egg noodle.  Melissa is familiar with it because she studied German.  I’ve eaten it in restaurants many times, but only made it once before this past fall.  And by made it, I mean that my friend made it with her Grandmother’s (I think) recipe and her spaetzle press.  Meanwhile, I made a vegetarian ragu with mushrooms, butter, onion, thyme, and oregano and poached some duck eggs (thank you, gorgeous Portland farmer’s market). (more…)

SRC – Lemon and Basil Chicken Salad from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures

Well Dined | Creamy Lemon and Fresh Basil Chicken Salad

It’s my first Secret Recipe Club post!!!  I had been wanting to join the SRC for a while, but wasn’t sure that I met the posting requirements, because I don’t always post every week.  I also didn’t have a recipe index for a long time, so that is something that I have been working on.  I finally felt like the time was right and asked to join, and here I am with my first post!  Yay!

My assigned blog was Renee’s Kitchen Adventures, and I had such a great time looking through it.  Renee is a stay-at-home mom and former nurse (labor and delivery – what a special unit!), and her story reminded me a lot of my mother.  She talks about trying to be healthy and lose weight, and posts healthy recipes based on Weight Watchers points.  I, too, am trying to be healthy and lose weight, so I loved that about this blog.  Even though our ideas of what constitute healthy food are a bit different (I think fat is healthy), I think this blog will be a great resource and inspiration for me.  I also love how accessible and family friendly Renee’s recipes are.  I think I tend to only post about the really complicated stuff, which maybe isn’t so great.

As I was reading through Renee’s most recent recipes, I saw a lot that I wanted to try.  I love that she has a lot of s’mores recipes, and especially that she made s’mores krispy treats – because I did the same thing! I also really liked the sound of this Almond Joy Poke Cake made with coconut oil, coconut oil is the best!  She writes that she isn’t ashamed to use boxed cake mix as a shortcut, and I feel the same way!  I don’t post about them much, but I love to make poke cakes or dress up cake mix in other ways (pro tip: use 1 extra egg, milk instead of water, melted butter instead of oil).

Well Dined | Creamy Lemon and Fresh Basil Chicken Salad

I’ve been baking way more than usual lately, though, and what jumped out at me the most was this Creamy Lemon and Fresh Basil Chicken Salad.  It has been super hot and humid lately, so this is exactly the kind of thing I want to be eating right now. (more…)

Crab Quinoa Salad with Lemon Butter and Avocado

Well Dined | Crab Quinoa Salad with Lemon Butter and Avocado

Everyone knows that crab legs go perfectly with drawn (melted) butter, especially if it had lemon and garlic in it.  But what do you do if you are craving that combo in a lighter dish?  Melissa and I decided to make a quinoa salad incorporating those flavors, along with fresh avocado, to keep things nice and light.  Yum.

Well Dined | Crab Quinoa Salad with Lemon Butter and Avocado

Step 1 – acquire crab legs.  I got a pretty good deal on pre-cooked king crab legs at Costco.

Well Dined | Crab Quinoa Salad with Lemon Butter and Avocado

Step 2 – remove crab meat.  This was both thrilling and frustrating.  I felt compelled to extract every last shred of meat from those suckers – not an easy task, but very rewarding.  This will take a while, so start cooking your quinoa in the meantime (Step 1.5? 2.5? I give up).  We used a 3:1 mixture of white and black quinoa because we thought it would look pretty (we were right), you can use whatever you like.  (more…)

Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

Well Dined | Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

I have made this salad multiple times in the past two years, but never managed to photograph it or blog about it – until now!  Which is a shame, because it is so delicious and satisfying, and you could have been making it, too.  I’m so sorry!  But I’m sharing it with you now, and I hope that you know how serious I am about loving this salad, because I rarely ever make things more than once.  I even bought pomegranate molasses for my parents so that I could make this for them!

Special thanks to Melissa at Smells Like Brownies, for making it with me again two years after our first time making it together so that we could photograph it.

Well Dined | Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

First thing is first, you must cook some lentils! I use French lentils for pretty much everything because they retain their shape and texture.  Plus, they are a pretty green.

Well Dined | Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

Meanwhile – prep your other ingredients.  Chop your vegetables: onion, garlic, bell peppers.  I love how colorful the bell peppers are, and how pretty they make the salad.  So buy one of those 3 packs that has red, yellow, and orange.  It will make you so happy.  We also had a little bit of a green pepper left over, so we threw that in.

Also use this time to rehydrate some sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water.  The water will become infused with tomato flavor, and will later become part of the dressing – neat!  Not pictured – toast some walnuts.  It releases the oils and makes them so much more flavorful. (more…)

Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Tomatoes, and Grilled Artichoke Hearts

Well Dined | Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Tomatoes, and Grilled Artichoke Hearts
Last month, I signed up to bring pasta salad to a potluck.  In typical me fashion, I decided that I had to make it myself.  After cruising the internet for a bit, I came across a recipe with smoked gouda, which was all I needed to be sold.  Roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts?  Total bonus.
Well Dined | Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Tomatoes, and Grilled Artichoke Hearts
I choose to use gemelli for my pasta because it is my favorite and it is really structurally sound – it holds up to anything.  While that was boiling, I diced up my roasted peppers and artichoke hearts (I was lucky to find grilled ones at the store).  I had a couple of tomatoes hanging around, so I chopped those up and threw them in too.  After I rinsed the pasta in cold water (normally a big no-no, but good for pasta salads), I tossed it with the veggies and the cubed gouda.
Well Dined | Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Tomatoes, and Grilled Artichoke Hearts
Then came the dressing, where I inexplicably decided to take the opposite route and go quick and easy.  I used mayonnaise and bottled Italian dressing and it came out just right – light and flavorful.  You are of course welcome to make your own dressing from scratch.  Top with fresh herbs and go!  This is hearty and fresh and super yummy – it was very popular at the potluck, thank goodness! (more…)