Hemmingway Salad

Margie Scanlon Dineen

  • l lb. vermicelli
  • l lb. shrimp
  • l cup minced celery
  • l cup minced white onion
  • 4 tabl. salad oil
  • 4 tabl. wine vinegar
  • l cup mayonnaise
  • 6 tabl. ketchup

Break up the vermicelli and cook per the package

Instructions.

Mix the oil and vinegar together and taste test before adding to the vermicelli. If it tastes too oily add a dab more of vinegar; or if too tart add a drop more oil. When it seems like a good blend, then add to the vermicelli and then add the shrimp, celery, and white onion . Refrigerate overnight or at least for several hours. Mix the mayonnaise and ketchup together and add to the salad before serving. Mix together really well.

This is a great salad for picnics, barbecues or hot summer nights. If you’re tired of making the standard potato or macaroni, then try this one. It’s got a good flavor.

by Tim Dineen

Chinese Chicken Salad

Mary Dineen Jankowski

  • 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
  • 3 green onions, including tops
  • 1 small pkg slivered almonds
  • ½ c sesame seeds
  • 1 T poppy seeds
  • 1 head lettuce, torn
  • 1 – 5oz can Chinese noodles

Dressing:

  • 1 t Accent
  • 4 T sugar
  • 1 t salt
  • 4 T vinegar
  • ½ t pepper
  • ½ c oil

Toss chicken, onions, almonds and seeds together. Toss with dressing. Add lettuce.

Just before serving, add noodles and toss again

by Tim Dineen

Cashew Pea Salad

Kathleen Dineen Kelly

  • 10-16 oz frozen baby peas, thawed
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped raw cauliflower
  • 1 cup cashew nuts or peanuts (dry roasted, chopped)
  • ½ cup crisp bacon, or ham, or even chicken
  • ½ cup minced green onions

Dressing:

  • 1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Toss all ingredients. Chill in lettuce-lined bowl or plate. Serves 8.

Chop the cauliflower quite fine. People never know what they’re eating. It’s fun to have them guess.

by Tim Dineen

Pineapple-Lime Salad

Peg McCaslin Dineen

  • 1 can crushed pineapple
  • 1 carton cottage cheese
  • 1 large box lime jell-o
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  • Cool Whip

Dissolve jell-o as directed. When slightly set, add drained pineapple, cottage cheese, nuts, and cool whip. Refrigerate for several hours until set. Cut in squares, if desired. Serve on lettuce, or alone.

by Tim Dineen

Turkey and Tuna

I was going to do something with pork tenderloin tonight.  Victor had another idea.

We were both thinking salads, but I liked his idea, better!  He makes a great Tuna and Cannelini salad based upon a recipe he got from one of Lidia's cookbooks (I think we have all of them - or at least most).

Tuna and Cannelini Salad

  • 1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can tuna in olive oil, drained
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 oz feta, crumbled
  • S&P
  • drizzle of olive oil

Mix all ingredients, chill or serve at room temperature.

It's great cold, great at room temperature, or great eating standing in front of the refrigerator when no one's looking.  It's good.

Tuna in olive oil may have more calories, but it is so far superior to tuna in water that there's really no comparison.  It's one of those areas where I'll take the hit on an extra 50 calories rather than compromise on quality.  I feel the same way about cheese.  I know there are many folks out there who swear by their lowfat cheeses.  I'm not one of them.  I'll just eat less of the real stuff.

But I digress...

Tonight's salad started with a base of mixed greens and then was topped with a hard-cooked egg, steamed broccoli, diced celery, diced zucchini, mushrooms, a stuffed Italian shooter pepper, and another sprinkling of feta.  I think the tuna salad was probably the biggest calorie-buster tonight at about 250 per serving.  But it comes with a lot of nutrients.  That shooter pepper had 80 calories all by itself!  Prosciutto wrapped around cheese and stuffed into a hot pepper soaking in oil.  Damn, they're good!

It was funny because 3/4 of the way through the salads, we simultaneously said we were getting stuffed.    It seems that when I actually wait until I'm hungry to eat, I find myself eating less.  What a concept!  And when I don't eat at work all day long  I actually enjoy what I'm eating more.

So it's been working.  In the last two weeks I've dropped 11 pounds.  That's rather more than I should lose in that time frame but I'll take it as my motivation to keep going.

Thirty-nine to go.

by Tim Dineen

Pre-Apple Pie Dinner

6-8-salad

Back when I was on staff at UCSF, I used to marvel at the number of people who would get huge salads for lunch - no dressing - and then a piece of cheesecake for dessert.  It makes perfect sense - lo-cal/high vitamin vegetables balanced that high-fat slice of velvety gastronomical delight.

I was thinking along those lines tonight when I was making dinner salads tonight.  Lots of greens, grilled vegetables, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (I was shopping at Gentile's today!)  When it came to the dressing, I was actually looking at something with lemon or lime juice (limes were 9/$1.00!!) or something fairly light.  Instead, I made a 1000 Island.  So much for the balancing act.

But it really was just what the doctor ordered.  It was rich, creamy, and flavorful.  A fresh loaf of Italian bread topped with Irish butter, and dinner was complete.

And there's that Apple Pie for dessert later on.

by Tim Dineen

The Tastes of Summer

5-3-steak-1

I'm hooked.  Even after my impatience with the chimney caused the fire to take even longer than it should have, I'm hooked.  (I just have to learn a bit of patience, that's all!)

I seasoned the steaks with a multi-purpose meat seasoning I'm working on for Christmas presents.  It's a combination of sage, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, thyme, black pepper, lemon peel...  It worked pretty well! It was fun, because I tend to go spicy/chipotle/southwestern-ish  with beef on the grill.  This was a nice change and it definitely added a new dimension to the grill.  I need to play with the spice mixture just a bit more, but it's definitely working!

Steak also means Baked Beans and the best ones around are the ones my sister Phoebe found a couple of years back...  They are seriously the only baked beans I ever make anymore.  I love 'em.

And then we had to have potato salad, because - we did.

I make a pretty close approximation to my mom's potato salad.  Here are the basics... Amounts vary constantly, but you'll get the idea:

Mom's Potato Salad

  • potatoes (russets, yukon gold, red bliss - I used a couple of red bliss and a couple of russets, today))
  • onions (red, green, yellow, white - I used yellow, today)
  • pickles
  • hard-cookled eggs
  • celery
  • shredded carrots
  • mayonnaise
  • catsup
  • mustard
  • salt
  • pepper

Mix and chill.

I think my mom probably used some Lawry's seasoned salt in hers, but it's not something I generally have in the house.....

All in all, the inaugural grilling went quite well.  A little lesson in timing and patience will make next time (tomorrow, I'm sure) work just a little better.  And then I need to work on the briquette placement to get my hot spots and cooler spots... and I have some wood chips for flavoring...

I see some fun dinners in our future!

by Tim Dineen

Mom's Potato Salad

There's a lot of things I miss about my mom.  She was the world's best movie trivia source before Google was invented and was a champion at crosswords, Scrabble, and any other word game.  She spoke to us in words with more than one syllable and pointed to the dictionary when we didn't understand.  And she was a great cook.  An adventurous cook.  I know it is from her that I gleaned my knack for pulling together dinner out of what's in the refrigerator.  She did it for years feeding six kids.

There were certain dishes she made that I continue to make as she did, and her potato salad is definitely one of them.  To this day, it remains the benchmark for all potato salads for me - and rarely (if ever) does another come close.  It is pure simplicity and full of flavor.

Measurements are difficult, because everything depends upon how much you're making.  I'll try and guesstimate here, but use your best judgement.

Mom's Potato Salad

  • 2 lbs potatoes (tonight I used baby yukon gold)
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
  • 1 dill pickle, diced
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 3 green onions, chopped (yellow or red onion also works)
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp catsup
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard
  • bit of garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

Cut potatoes into serving-sized pieces.  Cook until juuuuust done.  Drain and chill in cold water.  When cold, drain, again.  Mix all ingredients, toss well, and refrigerate.  That's it.

Mom always peeled her potatoes.  I rarely do.  It doesn't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes the potatoes would be a bit overcooked and it was more mashed potato salad than chunky.  That was okay, too.  No matter what, it was good.

We also had roast beef sandwiches tonight.  They were actually the impetus for the potato salad.  Thinly sliced beef on ciabatta rolls with mayo, alfalfa sprouts, thin slices of red onion, and Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish.

Yum.

by Tim Dineen

Salad Dressings

Salad For Dinner

'Tis the season to eat salads!  I love 'em!

Tonight was a clean-out-the-refrigerator-salad.  My favorite kind.

I started off with the greens and then added two types of plums, peaches, and strawberries.  Then there were the blue cheese and/or garlic-stuffed olives... avocados... tomatoes... grilled chicken breasts... and a creamy dressing...

It was a definite stomach-smiler!

by Tim Dineen

Niçoise Salad

Elizabeth brought a recipe into work the other day for a simple Niçoise salad as a possible demo.  We looked at it, studied it, thought about it, and decided, It doesn't have potatoes in it - it's not a real Niçoise...  We decided against it.

But since then, it's been on my mind...

So... today was the day to take care of it!  It's a fairly basic salad.  And really good.  I had a couple of swordfish steaks in the freezer and used them in place of the more traditional tuna.  And the olives were a combination of stuffed olives we already had in the fridge, as well.

Niçoise Salad

Dressing:

  • large clove of garlic
  • 2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
  • 1/4 olive oil
  • bit of anchovy paste
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mince garlic, add vinegar and then oil and anchovy paste.  Season with S&P to taste.

Salad:

  • small red potatoes cookes, sliced and cooled
  • green beans, blanched
  • diced red pepper
  • 1/2 small red onion, slivered lengthwise
  • Niçoise olives
  • capers
  • slivered fresh basil leaves

The Fish

  • fresh lemon juice
  • swordfish steaks

The Toppings:

  • chopped hard-cooked eggs
  • tomatoes

Marinate fish in a bit of lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper.  Grill to desired doneness.

Cook potatoes, blanch beans and cool to room temperature.  Place in bowl and add remaining ingredients - except chopped eggs.  Add swordfish (or tuna) and dressing and mix lightly.  Top with chopped eggs and enjoy!

We had enough left over for lunch tomorrow!

by Tim Dineen

Memorial Day

Tis the season to BBQ.  Okay - I really mean 'grill' because I'm of the propane tank crowd nowadays.  I'll admit that the flavor from the right charcoal is out of this world, but I can have something on the gas grill in minutes.  It's one area where I have succumbed...

We started off Sunday with the typical foods - ribs, baked beans, and potato salad.  But each had their own little twist.

The ribs were dry rubbed with a really interesting assortment of spices and herbs.  I found the concept in a herb and spice book and switched things around a bit... This makes a goodly amount!

Spicy Dry Rub

  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp chili powder (I used chipotle powder!)
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp cloves
  • 2 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp salt

Mix well and use liberally!

I rubbed the ribs and let them set overnight in the fridge.  I brought them to room temperature before putting them on a slow grill with indirect heat.  They cooked for about an hour and a half - and were perfect!  The cloves and the cinnamon really come out, but don't over-power.  Just great!

The baked Beans come from my baby sister, Phoebe!  They have become the only baked beans I cook anymore.  I love 'em!  She got the original recipe from Cooking Light magazine...

Phoebe's Baked Beans

  • 1/2  cup minced shallots
  • 1  tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1  tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2  cup tomato puree (I use tomato paste - I never have puree in the house!)
  • 1  tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/4  cup honey
  • 1/4  cup cider vinegar
  • 2  tablespoons molasses
  • 1  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4  teaspoon salt
  • 2  chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped
  • 2  (28-ounce) cans baked beans

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.

And finally, my Mom's Potato Salad.  I have no idea on amounts here.  This is one of those recipes that I just make without thinking about it.  It's a close approximation to what she made - and she never used a recipe, either.

Mom's Potato Salad

  • Russet potatoes, peeled, cubed, cooked, and cooled
  • Celery, diced
  • Carrots, diced
  • Pickles, diced
  • Onion, diced
  • Hard cooked eggs, diced
  • Radishes, diced
  • Mayonnaise
  • Catsup
  • Mustard
  • Garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper

Mom used russets, because back in the day, the two types of potatoes available were russets or red bliss.  I make it with yukon golds once in awhile and almost always peel the potatoes.  Every now and again I'll make it with unpeeled potatoes and it works really well.

Play with it.  Make it loose (lots of mayo) or dry (less mayo) as you like.  Chop up other veggies, whatever.  It's potato salad.  Go for it.  It won't be bad no matter what!

Naturally, I made enough for an army.  We're going to have some great leftovers!  I can't wait for round two!

by Tim Dineen

Simple Spring Salads

A Simple Spring Salad

We're seasonal eaters in our house.  I know that I can buy just about anything semi-fresh from some country around the world, but I don't want to eat fresh raspberries in January.  I also don't want to eat acorn squash in July.  I like the flavors of the seasons...  And by the end of March I want big salads, again.

I know it's pushing the envelope just a bit, but... that big plate of greens topped with whatever happens to be handy was calling my name last night.

I had some thin-sliced pork chops thawing, so I made a marinade of chipotle powder, a homemade raspberry sauce left over from Easter, and some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.

Onto the plates went my bed of greens, hard cooked eggs (also from Easter) some chow-chow, dried raspberries, and lots of tomatoes...  I also had some cheddar cheese curds that were perfect.

I grilled the pork chops and made a quick dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, more raspberry sauce, a smidge of chipotle powder, and S&P.

Topped the salads with the pork, topped the pork with the dressing, and dinner was served.  I had a bit of the Easter bread left over and that went along with it.

Dinner took 15 minutes to get on the table.

I can't wait to be doing this every night - with fresh berries!

by Tim Dineen