Two Salads: Horseradish Slaw & French Potato Salad

I went to a party last week and had the opportunity to bring two dishes. I actually like being asked to bring food to other people’s houses, because it gives me the opportunity to try out recipes on a wider audience as well as to cook for more than two people. This time, I was obliged to provide the vegetarian sides. Because the party was a cook-out, I wanted to bring traditional summer outdoors fare, but with a twist. I am happy to report that both dishes were a big hit, and I actually didn’t make enough, which is sad for the guests but flattering to the cook.

I got the recipe for Horseradish Slaw from Cookthink, so I won’t repeat it here. Please visit that great blog to find it and other wonderful recipes. The host of the party told me later that he ate the little bit that was left over for breakfast the next morning and loved it. He couldn’t identify the zingy ingredient; horseradish plus apple cider vinegar makes for a very interesting slaw. My notes: I substituted red onion for the sweet onion, used bagged, shredded slaw for convenience and upped the proportion of mayonnaise slightly. This recipe definitely elevates coleslaw to a whole new level.

I also brought a French Potato Salad. The original source of the recipe is Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe. While I appreciate potato salad in all its forms, I think this is my favorite version. It relies on vinegar and olive oil for flavor rather than mayonnaise, and it tastes good warm or at room temperature, perfect for cook-outs.

French Potato Salad

Time to make: ~20 minutes
Serves: 4-6

What you need:

• 1 lb. red potatoes (4 medium or 12 small), sliced thinly
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tbsp. fresh herbs (I used dill, basil and tarragon), minced
• pepper to taste

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot, add cold water and salt well
2. Bring the water to a boil, covered
3. Skewer the garlic cloves and submerge in the boiling water for 45 seconds; remove, let cool and mince
4. Simmer the potatoes until tender, about 5 minutes
5. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of the cooking water
6. Whisk together the reserved water, garlic, vinegar, oil, shallot, herbs and pepper
7. Drizzle the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently
8. Serve warm or at room temperature

Notes: This salad is very versatile. Optionally, you might add blue cheese, toasted walnuts, capers, sliced cornichons or similar ingredients that catch your fancy.

Best Buttermilk Biscuits

These are truly the best biscuits I have ever made. They epitomize what I look for in a good Southern-style biscuit. They are buttery, fluffy, golden in color and definitely not wimpy — equally able to pair with fried chicken for dinner or form the foundation of a scrambled egg sandwich for breakfast. I tell you, they are dangerous to have around the house. After my husband and I ate three each, I had to foist the rest off on co-workers in deference to our waistlines.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Yields: 12 biscuits
Time to make: ~45 minutes

What you need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. double-acting baking powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 4 tbsp. cold butter, cubed
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. butter, melted
• food processor
• 1 cup flour, distributed in rimmed baking sheet
• 9-inch round cake pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray
• ¼ cup dry measure, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees
2. In the food processor, pulse together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda just to combine
3. Scatter the butter cubes over the dry ingredients
4. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal
5. Transfer to a bowl, add the buttermilk and stir until just incorporated
6. Using the dry measure, scoop out a level amount of dough and drop it onto the baking sheet to form 12 evenly sized mounds
7. Dust the tops of the dough pieces with some flour
8. With floured hands, pick up each piece of dough and coat with flour
9. Gently shape into a ball
10. Shake off the excess flour and place the dough in the prepared cake pan
11. Repeat with the remaining pieces; arrange 9 balls around the outside of the cake pan and the 3 remaining balls in the center
12. Brush the tops with the melted butter
13. Bake 5 minutes
14. Reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees and bake until the biscuits are a deep golden brown, about 15 minutes more
15. Cool in the pan a couple of minutes, then invert onto a dish towel and break apart
16. Cool a few minutes more before serving, if you can wait

Note: This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, July-Aug. 2004.

One-Hour Marinara Sauce

Was it possible? Had I actually found a way to make a thick and hearty marinara sauce, reminiscent of the sauce in my favorite Italian restaurant, in just one hour? Now, I’m not going to claim that this sauce will ever surpass my husband’s slow-simmered, Sunday afternoon marinara. But it was so hearty, thick and delicious — and fast! — that I had to share the technique with you.

Marinara Sauce

Yields: 4 cups
Time to make: ~1 hour
Keeps: up to 6 months in the freezer

What you need:

• 2 cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 3 tbsp. basil
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 tsp. sugar to taste
• food processor

1. Strain the tomatoes, reserving 2½ cups of the juice
2. Crush the tomatoes, discarding cores, and set aside ¾ cup of the tomatoes
3. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium in a large skillet
4. Saute the onion until golden, 6-8 minutes
5. Add the garlic and oregano, and saute 30 seconds
6. Add the tomatoes (except for the reserve) and increase the heat to medium-high
7. Cook until the tomatoes begin to brown, 10-12 minutes
8. Add the red wine and cook 1 minute
9. Add the tomato juice, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring, until thick, 8-10 minutes
10. Remove to a food processor, add the reserved tomatoes and process until slightly chunky
11. Return to the skillet and add the remaining olive oil, basil, salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Source: Cook’s Illustrated magazine

Spanish-style Chicken Salad

I served this chicken salad at my tapas party last weekend, and it was a big hit. Not only was it a vibrant red color, but it tasted great too. Of course, the moment of embarassment came when one of my guests asked me how I had gotten the roasted chicken so moist. I had to confess that I hadn’t done it — the local grocery store had! Yes, I had used a store-bought roasted chicken breast to save time.

Well, why not? It cuts down on the stress of party prep. The roasted red pepper dressing added all the flavor punch I needed, and it made the dish really unique. It was a good shortcut, one I’ll use again (although next time, I may not confess to it).

Spanish-style Chicken Salad

Serves: 6 as an entree
Time to make: ~15 minutes with pre-cooked chicken

To make the dressing, puree together:

• ½ cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp. sherry vinegar
• 1 cup roasted red peppers
• 1 garlic clove
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Pull the chicken off a bone-in, roasted, whole chicken breast in shreds, removing the skin
2. Toss the chicken with the dressing and the rest of the salad ingredients:
   • 1 shallot, minced
   • 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
   • 2 tbsp. capers
   • ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted
   • minced parsley

Notes: This recipe was adapted from one published in Cook’s Illustrated magazine. All amounts are approximate and subject to the cook’s whim.

Oven-Barbecued Chicken

This is a simple technique for recreating barbecued chicken when grilling is not an option. I have tried this method with skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts and with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and while it works well with either, the bone-in chicken breasts definitely have more flavor. (Thanks to Cook’s Illustrated for the idea.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season well with salt and pepper
3. Brown the chicken on both sides in a little oil over medium-high heat
4. Remove the chicken pieces to a baking dish
5. Spread each side thickly with any barbecue sauce — your own or a bottled sauce
6. Bake until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 130 degrees — the time will vary depending on the thickness of the breasts and whether you are using bone-in or boneless, but start checking after 10 minutes
7. Turn on the broiler and broil the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, turning once — again the time will vary, but start checking after 5 minutes
8. Serve with more heated sauce on the side

Tortellini Soup

This is a very simple and basic soup, but also one that is really satisfying. Simmering the stock separately with some herbs enriches the flavor of store-bought chicken stock.

Tortellini Soup

Serves: 2
Time to make: ~15 minutes

What you need:

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp. Italian herb mix
• ½ onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 6 oz. cheese tortellini
• 2 cups fresh spinach

1. Bring to a simmer the stock, bay leaf and herbs, covered, over medium-low
2. In a separate saucepan, saute the onion until it begins to brown
3. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute
4. Add the warm stock, tortellini and spinach
5. Simmer until the tortellini are cooked and the spinach is wilted

Tortilla Soup

Finally, after much searching, I’ve found/adapted a good recipe for Tortilla Soup. For me, a good Tortilla Soup should be spicy but not overwhelmingly so, chock-full of good stuff so it can make a meal, and simple enough to make on a weeknight after work.

I prefer to make my own tortilla chips rather than buy chips as suggested by the recipe. They’re easy enough to make and healthier than deep-fried chips. These tortilla chips come in handy for all sorts of things, such as scrambled eggs with tortillas (migas) and, of course, salsas and other dips.

Tortilla Chips

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut 1 large flour tortilla into wedges or strips
3. Spread the strips on a baking sheet and bake 5-10 minutes, until crisped and browned (check frequently)

Tortilla Soup

Serves: 2
Time to make: ~20 minutes

What you need:

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/3 onion, minced
• ¼ lb. boneless chicken breast, cubed and seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo
• 1 tsp. tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tomato, diced
• ½ avocado, cubed
• lime juice to taste

1. Heat the stock in a covered pot over medium-low
2. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high
3. Saute the onion until it begins to brown
4. Add the chicken to the dutch oven and brown on all sides
5. Add the chipotle, tomato paste and garlic, and brown 1 minute
6. Add the warm broth and let the soup cook at a low simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes
7. Distribute among 2 soup bowls a few of the tortilla chips, tomato and avocado (reserve some of the chips for serving on the side)
8. Squeeze a little lime juice over the chips and avocado in each bowl
9. Ladle the soup over the chips in each bowl and serve with chips for dipping and lime wedges

Note: This recipe was adapted from The Best 30-Minute Recipe.

Chipotle Pasta Salad

This is a super-easy pasta salad that makes for a nice change of pace from the traditional macaroni salad. Use macaroni or any other small pasta shape. The recipe comes from The New Best Recipe.

Chipotle Pasta Salad

Serves: 2-4
Time to make: ~15 minutes

What you need:

• ¼ lb. macaroni or other small pasta, cooked
• 1 whole garlic clove
• ¼ cup frozen corn
• 2 scallions, minced
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. chipotle in adobo, minced
• ½ tbsp. lemon juice

1. In a dry nonstick skillet, toast the garlic clove and corn until the corn is spotty brown, about 5 minutes
2. Mince the garlic and combine with the corn, scallions, tomatoes and pasta
3. Mix the mayonnaise, chipotle and lemon juice
4. Toss the pasta with the mayonnaise mixture until well-combined

Pasta with Pesto-Cream Sauce

This is one of my favorite types of recipes: very simple and super-fast to make, but elegant and satisfying on the plate. It also takes well to variations, which I also like. Instead of using traditional basil pesto, you could substitute other herbs, or even use sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, reconstituted dried mushrooms or anything that packs a flavor punch to offset the silky smoothness of the cream. Also, you don’t have to just use this sauce on pasta. I think it would be equally good on polenta, vegetables, maybe even fish.

Pesto-Cream Sauce

Serves: 2
Time to make: ~15 minutes

What you need:

• ¾ cup half-and-half
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ tbsp. cornstarch
• ¼ cup pesto
• 1 tbsp. butter
• salt and pepper
• grated Parmesan
• fresh basil
• blender

1. In a blender, mix the half-and-half, stock, cornstarch and pesto
2. Melt the butter over medium
3. Stir in the half-and-half mixture
4. Simmer 2 minutes or so, until the sauce has thickened and warmed through
5. Season and garnish with Parmesan and fresh basil
6. Serve over cooked pasta

Note: Adapted from a recipe in The Best 30-Minute Recipe.

Chicken & Biscuits

This is like a poor man’s version of Chicken Pot Pie, for when you don’t have the time or inclination to make pie crust for dinner. (Personally, I prefer biscuits to pie on most days.) It’s homey, warming comfort food, great for a cold winter night, and quick enough to get on the table after work.

Any biscuit recipe would work for this recipe, including store-bought biscuit dough if you’re in a big hurry. Because you end up eating the biscuits in the stew, you don’t really need a fluffy, flaky biscuit for this, though. I prefer something a little more substantial, like the following cream biscuits adapted from The New Best Recipe.

Cream Biscuits

Yields: 8 biscuits
Time to make: ~25 minutes

What you need:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1½ cups heavy cream

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt
2. Stir in the cream until well mixed
3. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead briefly to form a sticky dough
4. Pat down into a thick circle
5. Use a water glass or biscuit cutter to cut out 8 rounds
6. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, until golden brown

Note: This dough is pretty sticky, so it pays to coat the inside of your biscuit cutter with nonstick cooking spray.

Chicken & Biscuits

Serves: 4
Time to make: ~30 minutes

What you need:

• 4 tbsp. butter
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper and cubed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups vegetables, diced into bite-sized pieces
• 4 tbsp. flour
• ½ cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1-2 biscuits per serving

Note: Peas and carrots are traditional for this dish. I prefer a nice mix of vegetables, though, so I also add broccoli, leeks and mushrooms. Feel free to vary the mix to suit your tastes.

1. Melt the butter over medium-high
2. Add the chicken and brown on all sides
3. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until translucent
4. Add the vegetables and brown
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low; add the flour and stir 1 minute
6. Whisk in the wine, stock and cream, and bring to a simmer
7. Cover and let cook until the chicken is cooked through, which shouldn’t take too long
8. Ladle into deep bowls and top each bowl with 1-2 biscuits to serve

(Adapted from a recipe in The Best 30-Minute Recipe.)