July 6 – July 12, 2020

Monday:                   Leftover Chicken, Slaw and Beans and Romaine with Green Goddess Dressing (A. Waters, In the Green Kitchen)

Tuesday:                   Asparagus Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche

Wednesday:            Summer Pasta with Zucchini

Thursday:                 Sausage Burgers with Jane’s Beans

Friday:                       Meatballs with Homemade Tomato Sauce/Salad

Saturday:                  Meatball and Margherita Pizzas with Billy and Emily

Sunday:                     Barbecued Chicken, Grilled Potatoes, Zucchini Casserole

Apps of Herbed Ricotta with Crudités and Country Pate

with Crostini and Pickles

I’m not sure how I got so busy that I didn’t have time to post this week’s blog until today.  Although, now that I think about it, there was a lot of other writing and reading to do, there was golf and golf lessons, there was, of course, cooking without which the blog would be meaningless, there was a Zoom meeting with the Dunnings group, the Thursday Gospel discussion, weeding, spraying (ineffectually) to keep the #$%!!# deer away from the Hosta and the Black-eyed Susans, there was walking the dog, giving the dog his medicine, playing with the dog, telling the dog he is a very good dog, indeed, there was getting Bobby to clean the gutters and Brent to trim the magnolia branches hanging over the house, there was the nightly Jeopardy contest with Beez, and then Modern Family and a BBC series titled ‘Midsommer Murders’ to which we are addicted, there was working out with Lisa, and on Wednesday there was a Taco Truck at Mere and Hoddy’s and we got to see Andy and Sarah’s beautiful children, and there were garbage and dishes, and . . . well, one thing led to another and, finally, they all led to this:  another posting about salad!

Have I gone soft in my old age?  Well, yeah, who doesn’t?  But the Green Goddess Dressing, whose recipe we give you below, is too good to pass up.  And, while we had a great pasta with zucchini, a surprisingly good asparagus soup and perhaps the best meatballs with sauce we have ever made last week, this simple dressing, which we were able to keep for three days, was the only really new thing we created and the best.  It is yet another of Alice Waters’ recipes and, if you are not yet a fan of salads* this will change your mind.

*How can you not be a fan of salads?  What are you, ten years old?

Hearts of Romaine with Green Goddess Dressing

(adapted from Alice Waters, In the Green Kitchen)

Timing:                             10 minutes or less, unless you forgot to wash and dry
your romaine, earlier in the day.  Other than trimming
artichokes and shucking oysters, this is the most
burdensome job in any kitchen – add 20 minutes.

Ingredients:                                    6 Servings or more

3 Heads of Romaine (you can substitute Boston, Bibb, Little Gem, etc.)
1 shallot
1 garlic clove (we used maybe 1/3 of a large clove)
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 salt-packed whole anchovies (we used an entire small tin of anchovy filets, rinsed – you need a goodly amount for the salt and heavy flavor of the anchovy to tone down the vinegar and lemon)
½ ripe avocado
¾ cup of olive oil (we used less)
½ cup of whipping cream
¼ cup of parsley
3 tablespoons of tarragon (we added more parsley – I refuse to spend $2.00 on a pack of past-its-prime tarragon which will spoil in a few days)
2 tablespoons cilantro (we used more parsley, ditto the comment above)
1 tablespoon basil
3 tablespoons chopped chives (indispensable)
Fresh-ground black pepper (we used a lot because we always do)Kosher salt

Prep: 

Remove outer leaves from the romaine, cut of stems, separate leaves, wash, spin dry and roll in dish towel and refrigerate until ready to use.

Peel and finely diced the shallot and garlic and macerate in a bowl with the vinegar and lemon juice.

Rinse, bone (if using whole – no need if using filets), and finely chop the anchovies and add to the bowl.  Take your time with the chopping – you want these things to pretty much dissolve in the liquid as you whisk it.

Measure out and chop other ingredients, halve avocado, scoop out flesh and drench with a few squeezes of lemon.

Make the Dressing:

Whisking with a fork, gradually add the olive oil and the cream to the bowl, as if you were making mayonnaise.  The dressing will be thinner than a traditional mayo.  Now stir in the herbs and add some pepper and salt.  Taste and add salt or vinegar to taste.

Assemble the Salad: 

Arrange lettuce on a platter or on individual plates, spoon some dressing over the leaves, sprinkle with the chives and serve.