Caprese Salad

Melon Caprese Salad, originally uploaded by shannon_turlington.
A classic insalata caprese hardly needs a recipe. Just layer tomato slices, fresh mozzarella slices and basil leaves, and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. For me, this simple Italian salad is one of the best ways to enjoy the goodness of summer.
But what about when the tomatoes aren’t [...]

Variations on a Theme: Chicken Salad

One thing I’ve noticed, as I have cooked more and more, is that very few recipes are truly original. Most are just variations on a simple theme. Once I have learned the core recipe or technique, it then becomes a simple matter to vary the recipe to suit my tastes, the ingredients I have on [...]

What’s in Season? Tomatoes

There is nothing quite like the taste of a vine-ripened tomato picked out of your own garden. Supermarket tomatoes in any season are pale, watery imitations of what real tomato-y goodness can be, and therefore not worth buying, in my book. (Fortunately, canned tomatoes will get us through the winter.) Fresh-picked tomatoes are the essence [...]

Tomato & Bread Salad

Tomato and Bread Salad is a resourceful way to turn day-old bread and an abundance of summer tomatoes into something delicious. This is actually one of my favorite salads, one I could eat every day for lunch during the height of tomato season.

Although bread salad, called panzanella in Italy, is most often associated with Italian [...]

Mediterranean-Style Roasted Vegetable Salad

Are you overrun in garden goodness? Then try this salad. It was a big hit at our house and is chock full of delicious veggies. While I made it with eggplant and squash, I think it might also take well to additions or substitutions of tomatoes and sweet peppers. A little bit of roasted chile [...]

Two Salads: Horseradish Slaw (Cookthink) & French Potato Salad (The New Best Recipe)

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 [...]

My Favorite Spinach Salad

One of my problems with spinach salads is the raw spinach. No, seriously. I actually love spinach and feel very virtuous when I’m eating it because it’s so packed with iron and vitamins. But raw leafy spinach is daunting. With the exception of baby spinach, I find it too bulky, too much work for not [...]

How to Make a Simple Green Salad

Many of you will wonder why I am even bothering to post a recipe for a green salad. But I think those readers who are newly arrived in the kitchen will find these guidelines helpful. This recipe is easy to memorize and customize. Once you have it down, you will be able to bring a [...]

Carrot & Avocado Salad (Epicurious)

I made this salad as part of my contribution to our Easter dinner last Sunday. It was inspired by this recipe from Epicurious, as well as by the fact that I had bought carrots and avocado at the grocery store and needed to do something with them. It turned out to be a great spring [...]

Updated Classic: Carrot & Apple Salad

Even though I made up this salad this week, I think it would be best for fall, when both apples and carrots are in season. But I happened to have an apple on hand, plus some grated carrots, and the dish naturally came together. Perhaps you might recognize that the classic Waldorf Salad is in [...]