Tomato Salad

Summer, summer where did you go? It just seemed like yesterday that we had snow! Summer, summer please don't leave. Why can't you wait until Christmas Eve?

Since I want to hold onto summer just a little longer, I decided to make a tomato salad. If you like tomatoes, you will like this dish.

Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp oregano
1 shallot, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, add the cherry tomatoes,
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, oregano, and shallot.
3. Pour the buttermilk dressing over the tomatoes. 
4. Salt and pepper.
5. Gently toss to coat the tomatoes.
6. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Pat and Gina Neely.

One year ago..........................I made German Pancakes.
Two years ago.......................I made Apple Strudel.

Did you already know............
-This year the first day of fall was on Sept. 22nd.
-The first day of fall is decided by the Autumnal Equinox.
-The Equinox happens twice a year when day and night are roughly equal in time.

Olive Garden Salad

If you ask my youngest daughter what her favorite restaurant is, she will reply the Olive Garden. Sometimes when I make an Italian meal, she will pretend to be the waitress. I will tell her the menu and she will take everyone's order. She even carries around a pen and paper. The only person to give her a hard time is my husband. He will tell her he doesn't want what is on the menu and ask for crazy items. She will inform him that she is going to go talk to the chef about this. At first, he will reply that he doesn't care. When she starts to walk away, he calls her back and tells her he is afraid of the chef. 

 I have made this salad dressing a lot of times. It is suppose to be a copy cat recipe for the Olive Garden Salad dressing. I think it actually taste better and my family likes it a lot. When I first made this recipe, I misread the amount for the parsley. It should have been 1/2 tsp but I added a lot more. I like the looks of the dressing with the additional parsley so I have kept it.

Copy Cat Olive Garden Salad Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp agave syrup
4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp of salt
pinch of pepper

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients in a bowl or a mason jar.
2. Mix the ingredients well until all incorporated.
3. Serve the dressing over salad.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Cooks It Up!.

Our salad included Romaine lettuce, cup of baby spinach leaves, plum tomatoes, croutons, and mushrooms.

Did you already know...
-Parsley belongs to the same family as dill, celery, and carrots.
-Italian parsley is flat leaf parsley.
-Parsley is rich in Vitamin A, C, and K.
-Parsley is a natural breath freshener.

Nuevo Texas Waldorf Salad

Today's Project Pastry Queen is a salad. No dessert today. I may make one later since it is Sunday. This recipe was picked by Emily of She Makes and Bakes. I really liked it. My family (not including my husband) liked it. My husband does not eat mixed greens and believe me I have tried. If it isn't iceberg lettuce, he will go make something else.

When I was in the Air Force, I was fortunate to be assigned to photography the 50th Anniversary dinner. It was held at the Broadmoor. (It was the only way I was able to eat there even if my cousin interned at the hotel.) We were served a similar salad. It had pears and blue cheese. Pears could easily be substituted for this recipe. When I make this again, I'm going to purchase the one on sale. It just may be pears. Also, the vinaigrette is suppose to be made with white balsamic vinegar but I used aged balsamic vinegar. I didn't realize my mistake until later which is why my vinaigrette appears dark. I really liked the dressing. It is a versatile recipe. It is fancy but simple.

Nuevo Texas Waldorf Salad
4 cups organic mixed greens
3 Braeburn, Medina, or Granny Smith apples, core and sliced
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese/Gorgonzola crumbles
Rosemary Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Fried Wonton Strips

Directions:

1. Add the mixed greens, apples, pecans, blue cheese. Toss gently.
2. Pour half the Rosemary Vinaigrette over the greens and toss to coat.
3. Add more salad dressing to taste.
4. Top with the fried wonton strips. Serve immediately.

Rosemary Vinaigrette
1/3 cup rosemary leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 medium onion
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Blend the rosemary, garlic, onion, mustard, honey, vinegar, salt, and pepper for 20 seconds in a food processor. 
2. Add the oil oil through the feed tube in a slow stream until the mixture emulsifies. 
3. Taste and season appropriate if needed.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen cookbook.

Did you already know...
-In May 1917, the Broadmoor was completed. 
- The owner of the Broadmoor, Spencer Penrose, also established the Cheyanne Mountain Zoo and the Will Rogers Shrine.  
-The hotel has received the Forbes five star award for over 50 years.

Ides of March

The other day while I was cleaning, I noticed our toothbrushes seemed to be multiplying. I didn't know how this was possible but there were twice as many toothbrushes as people living in this house. (Maybe our friends are slowly moving in and we didn't realize it. First, they leave a toothbrush then next they will want a part of a closet.)

So, I called everyone to grab their toothbrush. My son comes into the bathroom and grabs 4, yes let me repeat 4, toothbrushes. I ask him why he needed so many toothbrushes especially since he is losing his teeth. He shrugged and said he just needed them. I asked him to retire two of them and he could still keep two. The question I have is where did he get the toothbrushes?

Since it is the Ides of March, I decided to make a Caesar Salad.This salad was great. All my children loved it. My husband happened to be in the kitchen when I add the anchovy so he was reluctant to have any. He did however eat the croutons and loved them. So did my son who was very disappointed that I hadn't made more.

Caesar Salad
Homemade croutons (see below)
Caesar Dressing (see below)
Romaine Lettuce
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Clean and dry the lettuce.
2. Add the lettuce to a bowl.
3. Top the lettuce with the dressing and Parmesan Cheese. Toss.
4. Add the croutons and serve.

Homemade Croutons
1/2 loaf of Italian bread, cubed
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried parsley/oregano
salt for seasoning to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Add the cubed bread to a bowl.
3. Top with the olive oil, garlic powder, and the oregano. Toss.
4. Spread the cubed bread evenly onto a baking sheet.
5. Season with salt.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or golden brown.

Caesar Salad Dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
3 cloves garlic
1 cup lite mayonnaise
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 anchovie, raw and chopped
black pepper for seasoning to taste

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.
2. Store in a sealed container until ready to use.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

Did you already know.........
-Julius Caesar married three times.
-Julius Caesar was romantically involved with Cleopatra but could not married because Roman law.
-The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar and the month of July is named for him.
-Julius Caesar was born around July 12th, 100 B.C.