Heirloom Tomato and Pickled Walnut Salad

By this time, I’m pretty sure that summer is in full swing for most areas in the northern hemisphere. And I don’t know what summertime produce gets your juices flowing, but for me it is all about the watermelon and the heirloom tomatoes.

As soon as the season starts watermelon is my go to snack. I basically purchase a watermelon every time I head to the store. Which I’m sure you can imagine is often.

While I probably consume more watermelon in the summer than I do anything else all year, heirloom tomatoes are the true summer star.

They usually end up being the inspiration for most of my summer dishes.

Here they are enhanced with some extra crunch and tang for warm weather perfection.

You will need…

2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces

3 celery ribs, thinly sliced

½ cup candied walnuts, roughly chopped

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining the vinegar and the walnuts in a small bowl. Set them aside and let them pickle for 20 to 30 minutes.

In a large bowl or on a platter, combine the tomatoes, blue cheese and celery.

When the nuts are tangy and pickled, add the oil and mustard to the nuts and vinegar.

Season well with salt and whisk until completely combined.

Drizzle the tomatoes with the dressed walnuts and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Heirloom Tomato and Pickled Walnut Salad

2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces

3 celery ribs, thinly sliced

½ cup candied walnuts, roughly chopped

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining the vinegar and the walnuts in a small bowl. Set them aside and let them pickle for 20 to 30 minutes.

In a large bowl or on a platter, combine the tomatoes, blue cheese and celery.

When the nuts are tangy and pickled, add the oil and mustard to the nuts and vinegar.

Season well with salt and whisk until completely combined.

Drizzle the tomatoes with the dressed walnuts and serve.

Spring Lettuce Salad

Happy Saint Patrick Day my friends!!

I hope you all indulged in some yummy Irish snacks and green beer!

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day in southern California. I know all of you that don’t live here think it is stunning every day, but some days are on another level.

It truly felt like the first day of spring. And even though there are a couple of days left of winter, some of my favorite spring produce items are starting to hit the shelves.

Which means extra yummy salad ingredients.

Good for our taste buds, good for our waistlines.

You will need…

4 heads Belgian endive, chopped

1 head frisee lettuce, chopped

2 cups arugula

3 small carrots (rainbow if they are available), thinly sliced

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

½ cup chopped walnuts (candied if you want to get wild)

¾ cup red wine vinaigrette

Start by combining the endive, frisee and arugula in a bowl or on a large platter.

Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss well.

Top with carrots, blue cheese and walnuts and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela  

Spring Lettuce Salad

4 heads Belgian endive, chopped

1 head frisee lettuce, chopped

2 cups arugula

3 small carrots (rainbow if they are available), thinly sliced

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

½ cup chopped walnuts (candied if you want to get wild)

¾ cup red wine vinaigrette

Start by combining the endive, frisee and arugula in a bowl or on a large platter.

Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss well.

Top with carrots, blue cheese and walnuts and serve. 

Spinach and Apple Salad

A belated happy Thanksgiving to all the wannabe foodies!

I was blessed to have a beautiful, mellow, tasty holiday with my parents, my brother Albert and Wesley.

Mellow being my favorite part of the day.

This year my family decided that since it was a small, food loving group, instead of doing the traditional turkey feast, we would make a meal of all the things we never have time to cook. The highlights being the lobster ravioli in tomato cream sauce, duck and fig ragu and homemade pasta.

I was a little worried that since we wouldn’t be surrounded by all our friends and family this year that things wouldn’t feel very holidayish. But after six hours of fun in the kitchen with my boyfriend and my brother, I realized that I had so much to be thankful for whether I was with two or twenty of my nearest and dearest.

How lucky am I to have a job, and still have time to do what I really love. How blessed to have happy and healthy family and friends. How thankful to live in a beautiful place and have everything I need to get by.

It doesn’t matter how you celebrate your thankfulness, just that you are thankful.

This salad was like my Thanksgiving. Delicious and mellow. Nothing fancy. Just simple ingredients coming together to make something tasty. 

You will need…

6 cups baby spinach

2 green apples, chopped

¼ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

½ cup red wine vinaigrette

In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, apples, blue cheese and nuts.

Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette.

Toss and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Spinach and Green Apple Salad

6 cups baby spinach

2 green apples, chopped

¼ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

½ cup red wine vinaigrette

In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, apples, blue cheese and nuts.

Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette.

Toss and serve.

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

As I child, I always thought Halloween was a completely kid centric “holiday.”

My parents, like most of the parents I knew, never dressed up and didn’t get to go from door to door to acquire mass amounts of candy. How could they possibly be enjoying this as much as I was?

What I didn’t notice is that mom and dad were drinking adult beverages, stealing my candy when I wasn’t looking and were laughing their asses off at the ridiculous things we did, said and wore.

Trick-or-Treating as a child was cool, but doing it as an adult is down right fantastic.

We hit the mean streets of San Clemente last night with Wes’s sister and kids and oh what fun it was. But I am majorly feeling the candy hangover today.

So it’s time to health it up with natures candy. Beets.

Just beet it.

You will need…

2 red beets, peeled and chopped

2 yellow beets, peeled and chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

4 cups arugula

¼ cup goat cheese

¼ cup roughly chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt, divided in half

1 teaspoon pepper, divided in half

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, toss together the beets, ½ teaspoon of both salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Spread the beets out over a baking sheet and pop them in your preheated oven.

Roast the beets for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, combine the arugula, goat cheese and walnuts in a large salad bowl and set aside.

After the beets have roasted for 30 minutes, add in the chopped red onions, toss and roast for another 20 minutes, tossing twice.

While the beets and onions are roasting, combine the remaining oil, vinegar, honey and remaining salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Whisk until completely combined.

When the beets and onions are done roasting, remove from the oven and let them cool slightly.

After they have cooled, toss them with the vinaigrette and let them soak for 5 minutes.

Pour the dressing, beets and onions, over the salad.

Toss and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

2 red beets, peeled and chopped

2 yellow beets, peeled and chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

4 cups arugula

¼ cup goat cheese

¼ cup roughly chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt, divided in half

1 teaspoon pepper, divided in half

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, toss together the beets, ½ teaspoon of both salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Spread the beets out over a baking sheet and pop them in your preheated oven.

Roast the beets for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, combine the arugula, goat cheese and walnuts in a large salad bowl and set aside.

After the beets have roasted for 30 minutes, add in the chopped red onions, toss and roast for another 20 minutes, tossing twice.

While the beets and onions are roasting, combine the remaining oil, vinegar, honey and remaining salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Whisk until completely combined.

When the beets and onions are done roasting, remove from the oven and let them cool slightly.

After they have cooled, toss them with the vinaigrette and let them soak for 5 minutes.

Pour the dressing, beets and onions, over the salad.

Toss and serve. 

Pea Puree Crusted Rack of Lamb

Autumn is in full swing in sunny southern California. Meaning, the temperature finely dropped below eighty degrees, I can’t look at my summer wardrobe anymore so I’ve taken to wearing boots and scarves and somehow I’ve convinced myself that it’s too cold outside to barbeque.

So inside I go. To create warmer, heartier, homier food.

If I can pretend that the weather is cold outside, then so can my diners (my family members who live with me and are forced to eat my food).

So get read for some serious fall dishes.

You will need…

2 racks of lamb

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups thawed frozen peas

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 shallot, roughly chopped

¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, combine the peas, mint, garlic, mustard, shallot and walnuts in the bowl of food processor and blend until the mixture is pureed.

Taste the puree and season it with salt and pepper to taste.

Then, heat the oil in an oven safe pan over medium high heat.

When the oil is very hot, season the lamb well with salt and pepper and seer it till it is nice and browned. Start with the fatty side down.

As soon as the lamb has a nice seer, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Cover the lamb with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

After the lamb has rested, remove the foil and rub the puree all over the lamb.

When the lamb is rubbed down, place the pan in the oven and cook it for 12 minutes for medium rare.

Remove the pan from the oven, remove the lamb from the pan and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil, for another 5 minutes.

Slice and serve hot. 

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Pea Puree Crusted Rack of Lamb

2 racks of lamb

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups thawed frozen peas

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 shallot, roughly chopped

¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 450 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, combine the peas, mint, garlic, mustard, shallot and walnuts in the bowl of food processor and blend until the mixture is pureed.

Taste the puree and season it with salt and pepper to taste.

Then, heat the oil in an oven safe pan over medium high heat.

When the oil is very hot, season the lamb well with salt and pepper and seer it till it is nice and browned. Start with the fatty side down.

As soon as the lamb has a nice seer, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Cover the lamb with aluminum foil and let it rest for 5 minutes.

After the lamb has rested, remove the foil and rub the puree all over the lamb.

When the lamb is rubbed down, place the pan in the oven and cook it for 12 minutes for medium rare.

Remove the pan from the oven, remove the lamb from the pan and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil, for another 5 minutes.

Slice and serve hot. 

Basil Pesto

The truth is, most of the time it is easier to buy something than make it yourself.

Clothes.

Houses.

Condiments.

Read that one too fast did you?

All of the above are just easier to buy than make yourself.

But some things are worth the effort and much better when you make them yourselves.

Like thoughtful cards.

Or romantic dinners.

And this pesto.

There is something about deliciously fresh pesto that is extra special. Romantic dinners and thoughtful cards are great too.

But I was really just craving some pesto.

It’s one of those things that looks like it would be really hard, but you are just putting a bunch of sh*t in a blender and pressing a button.

It’s easy and delicious.

And pretty.

Which is totally the most important part.

 You will need…

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped garlic (about 9 cloves)

5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (this means pressed down)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 ½ cups olive oil

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Start by placing the walnuts, garlic and pine nuts in the bwol of a food processor or blender.

Process the mixture for 15 seconds.

Add in the basil leaves, salt and pepper and ½ cup of the olive oil.

Process for 30 seconds and then add another ½ cup of oil.

You want to add it slowly so the mixture doesn’t become too oily and the consistency can be to your liking.

Add in the Parmesan and the remaining oil (if you desire it be oilier) and puree the mixture for 1 minute.

Serve with your favorite pasta, on crackers or spread on a delicious piece of bread.

Or rub it all over your body if that’s your fancy.

I don’t judge.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

P.S. Yes oilier is a word. I looked up.