Roasted Corn Salad

Gourmet Guy here.We had a couple of ears of fresh corn and didn't use them right away. Needed to find a way to use them, so I winged it and this is what happened!

Ingredients

2 ears fresh corn
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium bell pepper
2 slices yellow onion, 1/4 inch
1/2 small jicama
3 Roma toamtoes
1 Anaheim chili
1/2 small jalapeno
1 scallion
Cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Honey lime dressing

Coat corn with olive oil and grill over high heat until corn begins to char. Slice corn off cob and place in bowl. Cut sides off bell pepper core. Grill two sides and dice the other two. Remove skin from the grilled pepper and dice. Grill onion slices until browned and dice. Peel and dice jicama. Dice tomatoes. Dice scallion and chilies. Add all ingredients to the corn, stir, salt and pepper to taste.

Honey lime dressing
1 Tbsp honey
1 lime, juiced
3 Tbsp oil
2 small cloves garlic, pressed

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well.

Roasted Beet Salad (My Copy Cat)

While visiting Seattle in March the "Gourmet Guy" and I went to Ivar's on the wharf.  We of course had some delicious fresh seafood that night but we also shared a salad the we both talked about for a couple of days.  For a few weeks I tried to find a recipe and then I finally broke it down and found or made up my own version of, here is my Roasted Beet Salad

Roasted Beets

1 gold beet
1 red beet  

Remove the greens and wash thoroughly, cover in foil separately so that the red color doesn't bleed into the pretty color of the yellow.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 50-55 mins. depending on the size of the beets.  Cool, remove the skin, and cut into 3/4 inch cubes.

Vanilla Vinaigrette

1/3 c. olive oil
3 T white vinegar
1 T sugar
1/4 t ground pepper
2 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 t. salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Chill.  Shake vigorously before serving

Candied Cashews

1/4 c. sugar
2 T water
1 1/4 c lightly toasted cashews

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil.  Add the nuts and coat evenly place on parchment and let stand.


Add the above recipes to a bed of mixed greens and slivers of white cheddar cheese, serve. 

(On the spring salad menu we noticed the same vinaigrette with strawberries instead of beets and  candied almonds instead of cashews.  Oh the possibilities.)

Buttermilk Dressing (mix)Shrimp Salad- Mo's Style (a good repeat)

I have talked about Mo's before when I posted my Clam Chowder recipe. It is a place in Newport Oregon that "Gourmet Guy" and I have loved for years and years. In fact it is past time to go there again. Newport is a place we like to go to get away from everyday... there are Mo's in other parts of Oregon but this one, the orginal, is our favorite. Of course the Clam Chowder is the best ever but they have other menu items that we love as well. Because it is on the coast the seafood is fresh and tasty. They make a Shrimp Salad that is very enjoyable with a bowl of chowder and garlic toast. The key is the ranch dressing that they make is simply the best. We were told that they were going to market it but we haven't seen it yet. Here is our version! So simple yet so good.

Green cabbage, cut into small pieces

Fresh salad shrimp, cooked and clean

Ranch Dressing, (Mo's would be the best of course but here is a mix recipe that we like with it.)

Ranch Dressing

1/2 c. buttermilk powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. dried minced onion
1 t. MSG
1 t. salt
1 T. dried parsley
1/4 t. ground pepper
2 c. mayonnaise
1 c. water

This is a great mix, I have often made it and given as gifts. I have given each of my married daughters a combination of my mixes as a gift to start them off when they are setting up as Newlyweds. One of my friends asked for my Dill Dip mix every year for Christmas.

Vegetable Pizza

This is one of our families favorite things to fix for things like showers and parties. This is a recipe that I almost always have the ingredients on hand to make this.

The crust is so simple and quick to make. Simply pinch the crescent roll dough together and bake to a golden brown. Cool.

Mix the dressing mix, cream cheese, and mayonnaise together and top the crust. Add the vegetables of your choice and chill. The more color from the vegetables the better.

Vegetable Pizza

2 pkg. Crescent Roll dough
Ranch dressing mix
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ c. mayonnaise
vegetables of choice, diced into small pieces
(red onion, radishes, carrots, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes…the more color the better)

Roll the dough out on a jelly roll pan, cover the bottom, pinch the seams together to make a flat crust. Bake at 400 until golden brown, approximately 10 minutes. Let cool. Mix the dressing mix with the cream cheese and mayonnaise, blend until smooth, spread on top of the baked and cooled crust. Top with the vegetables of your choice. It is best if it has a couple of hours to chill before serving.

Rosie's Mock Cafe Rio Salad

Here in Utah there is a place called Cafe Rio with a great salad that many have tried to copy. A friend of mine made this version.

Cut the corn tortillas and fry them up in hot oil. If you want to make it a little more healthy you can sray just a small amount of cooking spray on the tortilla and cut them into sections. Simply bake them at 350 until they are crisp.

After frying drain on a paper towel and sprinkle coarse salt on the strips.

Ater marinating the chickenanywhere from 30-mintues to 4 hours grill, and cool.

Rosie's Mock Cafe Rio Salad

Romaine lettuce, broken up
Iceberg lettuce, broken up
½ bunch fresh cilantro chopped
1 ½ c. Romano cheese
Zatarains black bean rice mix (prepared as directed)
2 cans black beans, rinsed
Grilled chicken breasts
Avocado
Deep fried tortilla strips
Tomatillo dressing

Marinade (Garlic Lime)

¼ c. olive oil
6 T. soy sauce
¼ c. red wine vinegar
Juice from 2 fresh limes
1 t salt
1½ t black pepper
Cloves of fresh garlic, minced
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In reseal able bag make marinade add chicken to bag, shake and refrigerate. Marinade for at least 1 hour but not more than seven. Rotate often to cover all sides of the chicken.

Tomatillo Dressing (my favorite)

1 jalapeño pepper, minced finely
2 tomatillios, cut into pieces
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 fresh lime
¾ jar of Ranch Dressing with peppercorns (Kraft)
Salt to taste

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing (my daughter's favorite)

3 tomatillos, husked, washed and cut into quarters
1 pkg. buttermilk dressing mix
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
½ t. cayenne pepper
2 sprinkles cumin
1/3-1/2 c. buttermilk
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice of one lime (1-3 T.)
2-4 drops green Tobasco sauce
1-4 T. sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Buttermilk affects thickness of dressing. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2 sun-dried tomato halves
1-1/2 T balsamic vinegar
1-1/2 T red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 t salt
1/3 c olive oil
1 T fresh basil leaves, minced
In a saucepan simmer the sun dried tomatoes in water for 3 minutes until tender, drain and mince.Whisk together the tomatoes, the vinegar, and the garlic paste. Add the olive oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the vinaigrette until it is emulsified. Stir in the basil.