Tag Archives: Summer salad recieps

Tomatoes on a Fence

Posted on by November 10, 2014

I’ve now had the pleasure of dining at Blue Hill in New York a couple of times. Last fall, I took my parents when they were in town visiting, and it was the catalyst for these beautiful photographs. Of course the whole meal was wonderful, but to my dad, who is a master craftsman when it comes to all things carving a woodworking, the highlight was the amuse bouche. Tomatoes on a Fence is a tribute to both Blue Hill, and my father, who share the gift of helping others see the art in the beauty of the natural word and appreciation for the nourishment we take from it. The amuse was in many ways, the simplest of things. It featured tiny heirloom vegetables blanched or served raw on a “fence”. Dad was so entranced by the beautiful fence that he made me one for Christmas. It’s definitely not a serving item that I use all the time, as it really does require tiny vegetables to make the scale work, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to share this lovely sculpture with you during the height of heirloom tomato season. The beautiful tomatoes look like precious gems or painstakingly … Continue reading →

Melon Salad with Grilled Halloumi

Posted on by October 27, 2014

Melon Salad with Grilled Halloumi. What’s Halloumi? Lucky us; there’s a cheese you can grill and it pairs perfectly with fruit. This is a good thing since this time of year I’m the one buying all the fruits and vegetables I’ve never heard of and trying them out, you know, for the sake of science and all. This week, there were tigger melons at the market, so naturally, I bought some. They’re gorgeous and a great addition to the Melon Salad with Grilled Halloumi, which is a really fun dish to do for a party to surprise and tantalize your guests. Either they won’t have heard of halloumi before, or if they have, they’ll already love it. So back to the question at hand. What is Halloumi? It is a cheese from Cyprus; it’s unripened and brined resulting in a firm texture that holds up on the grill, which also means, Melon Salad with Grilled Halloumi is perfect for a late summer Mediterranean meal. Serves 4 8.5 ounce block halloumi; sliced into 8 pieces 4+ cups of melon cubes (I used a tigger melon, yellow and red watermelon) 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh mint (basil would be great too) 2 tablespoons … Continue reading →

Summerado Salad: Avocado, Corn, Peaches and Basil

Posted on by October 29, 2015

This Summerado Salad: Avocado, Corn, Peaches and Basil got it’s name for a reason. In my humble opinion it is the embodiment of Summer. Corn so sweet you don’t have to cook it. Fresh garden basil. Local peaches, or even better, Arkansas peaches your family carefully drove up north for you in such large quantities that was all you ate for days. And a hint of rich cheese just because it makes the Summerado Salad: Avocado, Corn, Peaches and Basil oh, so much better. It became a tradition of mine to make it for my 4th of July picnic when I discovered that it delights others almost as much as it delights me. It’s been so popular that it’s made the circuit for Birthday parties as well and it a commonly requested menu from DLK for Hire. Which is great news to me because it holds up pretty well for a salad. I can’t take credit for the name. My friend Adam named it last weekend while we were enjoying a picnic at the dog park. He’s good at stuff like that. The Summerado Salad is the one on the right in the picture. We over-mixed the avocado a little … Continue reading →