Strawberry Asparagus Spring Salad #fantasticalfoodfight

I've never been one to make a particular planned tossed salad - salad is some lettuce and whatever you have on hand to go with it, right?  So, when I signed up for May's salad-themed Fantastical Food Fight, I didn't have anything in mind - I'd just knew there would be several salads showing up on our table, and one of them would be the right one to share.

Check the link up below to see the salads everyone shared!

For the past several weeks, we've been getting a weekly delivery of local fresh produce from the Virginia-based company, Seasonal Roots, so we've been enjoying their fresh, in-season bounty quite a bit.  A couple weeks ago, along with some potatoes, radishes and fresh herbs, my box had a large basket of gorgeous ripe strawberries, some fat succulent asparagus, and a big bag of spring lettuce mix.

I'd found my salad.

I added pan seared salmon to this to make it a main dish salad - that could be switched with steak slices, chicken, or left off entirely. 

No matter how you do it, if your produce is as flavorful and fresh as mine was, this is a salad you will dream of after you've had it.

Strawberry Asparagus Salad
Serves 2 with leftover salad

1 bunch fat asparagus
Olive Oil
Coarse salt

Spring lettuce mix, washed and chopped
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/2 cup feta cheese

2 salmon filets
olive oil
Pepper, Salt
Lemon juice

Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. Dijon mustard
Pepper, Salt, garlic powder

Prepare the asparagus by snapping or trimming the woody ends.  Cut into inch-long pieces and lay in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, turning the asparagus to coat.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Roast asparagus at 400F for about 20 minutes, or until tender to taste.  Set aside to cool.

While asparagus is cooking, de-stem and slice strawberries into a bowl, set aside. (If yours aren't very sweet a small sprinkle of sugar can be added but don't be heavy handed with it.)

Wash lettuce, and put into a large bowl.

To make the dressing, use a jar, combining all ingredients and shaking well before serving.  I have a jar with markings for several dressing formulas for dressings around the sides and it makes my life very easy.

Sear the salmon in a hot skillet with olive oil, beginning skin side down and seasoned with salt and pepper. When the salmon is opaque and flaky, give it a squirt of lemon and remove from heat.

To plate the salad, place some lettuce in each bowl, top with a generous serving of asparagus, then strawberry slices, then feta cheese. End with some pieces of salmon.

Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette to taste.

Swoon.

Let's see what wonderful salads others are bringing to this food fight!

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Strawberry Meringues (#fantasticalfoodfight)

Strawberry Shortcake is more 'All-American' than Apple Pie, I think and depending on where you're from you may have your luscious sweetened strawberries on pound cake, biscuits or even actual shortcakes.

Personally, I have yet to find a version I didn't love, so I was happy to hear that this month's Fantastical Food Fight theme is Strawberry Shortcake!  Not only would I have an excuse to make one of my favorite desserts, but I'd be sure to collect a whole lot of new strawberry shortcake inspiration, too!

One little catch - we were theoretically avoiding sugar. And grains.  So I did what any sane person would - I decided to go for a grain-free version and just decided to not worry about the sugar at all, since we were mostly doing fine on that score, a little one time indulgence wasn't going to be an problem.

(In the interests of transparency - we totally failed to launch our eating plans this month anyway - we took a weekend trip and there were blintzes.  Amazing deli blintzes good enough to make my eyes roll back in my head.  Never pass up a good blintz. You will only rarely find one that is as excellent as that one was.  So, we'll try again in May. Ahem... ok, back to the strawberries!)

Since I was going to try a grain-free version, meringue  shells made the most sense to me - these light, crisp little shells make lovely carriers for the sweetened strawberries, whipped cream and, if desired, some toasted coconut flakes or slivered almonds.

The shells are best within 24 hours of being made - after that, they get a bit chewy.  But they're also nice to nibble on plain or with a bit of jam, so use them up!

The meringue recipe comes from an old Betty Crocker recipe that's been kicking around on my bookshelf for a long time (thanks, Mom!).

They are very sweet and next time I might try taking the sugar down to 1/3 of a cup.

Strawberry Meringues
(serves 8)

Meringue Shells
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 c. sugar

Strawberries
2 pints strawberries (or bag of frozen), cleaned, stemmed and sliced (leave a few halved or whole if desired, for garnish)
1/3 c. sugar

1 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 T. sugar (optional)
1/2 c. toasted coconut flakes (opt.)

To make the strawberries:
Once strawberries have been cleaned, stemmed and sliced as desired, combine in a bowl with the sugar, stirring to coat thoroughly. Cover and let chill for a few hours or overnight. The sugar combines with the juices to create a light syrup.

To make the meringue shells:
Preheat oven to 225F.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Using a stand mixer set to medium speed, beat together egg whites and cream of tartar for several minutes, until soft peaks form. Raise to high speed and very slowly add sugar, a little at a time until stiff, glossy peaks form and sugar is mostly dissolved.

Spoon meringue into 8 rounds on parchment paper, shaping into nests that are slightly raised around the edges. (You could use a pastry bag to create pretty shapes, if desired.)

Bake one hour at 225F, then shut off heat without opening the oven door.  Let sit in  the closed oven for an additional hour.

While the meringues are baking, take a few moments to wash the mixer bowl and beaters - you'll need them again before serving.  An hour or so before planning to serve, tuck your mixing bowl into the freezer to chill.

Make the whipped cream:
The key to great whipped cream is to freeze the bowl first!  Combine cream, vanilla and sugar to bowl and whip at high speed for about a minute, until stiff peaks form. Don't overbeat or you'll wind up with butter!

With all the sugar going on in the shells and the strawberries, we chose not to sweeten our whipped cream, and did not notice a lack.

To serve:
On a plate, set one meringue, top with a serving of strawberries, and a dollop of whipped cream.  Sprinkle with a few toasted coconut flakes, if desired. (slivered almonds are a lovely addition, too!) If you left some of the strawberries whole, top the whole thing with one perfect berry.


Indulge!

If you'd like to join into the Fantastical Food Fight, sign up here!

Don't forget - the link up below is only for Fantastical Food Fight Strawberry Shortcake entries - if you're stopping in to share your other posts, I'd love to see you over at Party in Your PJs!

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Carrot Cake Salad #fantasticalfoodfight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, or to join the fun, check out this page!

This month, our theme is CARROT CAKE!  What's not to love here?  I am not much of a cake person (pie for me, pie all the way), but if I'm asked what kind of cake I'd like, it's going to be Carrot Cake, especially around Easter.

But here's the thing - while we are not doing Whole30 right now, my husband and I are also not going to eat a whole cake, or even a slice.  We loosened up this month so we could sanely deal with catch as catch can meals while we moved, and that means the occasional slice of bread or some cheese on a diner meal. It does not mean cake!

But that's okay, because the flavors of Carrot Cake can also be found in this simple, old school salad some of us may remember from the diner counter or a potluck spread.

My mom used to make something similar (using mayo as the dressing, and some mini-marshmallows in the salad) for Easter every year.

It's not Whole30, or Paleo - because it wouldn't be Carrot CAKE salad without a bit of cream cheese.  But it is delicious as a side dish or  a snack.  If you want to make it dairy free, I think some coconut cream along with the lemon juice would also create that creamy tangy taste we all love.

Carrot Cake Salad
makes 4 cups

3 cups carrots, shredded or fine chopped in food processor
1 can crushed pineapple, drained (reserve juice)
1/3 cup raisins (or chopped dates)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
---
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tblsp. light olive oil or avocado oil
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
2 Tblsp. reserved pineapple juice
1 Tblsp. honey
salt to taste

Combine carrots, pineapple, raisins and walnuts in a medium bowl.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl, whisking until smooth.  Add dressing to salad and stir to combine thoroughly.

Chill in refrigerator at least four hours before serving.

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Blubarb Pork Tenderloin #FantasticalFoodFight

It's time for another round in the Fantastical Food Fight, where bloggers get together to create a dish using the challenge ingredient.  For February, the challenge was RHUBARB!

I'll admit I had no intention of participating in this one.  I have, I think, eaten rhubarb once, in a strawberry-rhubarb pie which was good, but not anything I was ever tempted to recreate.

I had no idea when it even came into season - I assumed around the same time as strawberries due to the frequency of that pairing, but it turns out that late winter/early spring is Rhubarb Season, at least in some areas.  Maybe?  Rhubarb confuses me.

Even if I could find it, this wasn't going to be the month for me to try it - rhubarb is very tart, which means it takes a lot of sugar, I'd assume, and we're not eating more than tiny amounts of sweetener this month.

Add to that that about all I actually know about preparing rhubarb is that it looks like celery but definitely isn't, and some part of it is poisonous to eat, and I have very little idea of which part. (I believe it's the leaves, but the idea is intimidating.)

So, I let this month go, thinking I'll just leave rhubarb to the professionals.

Then, while I was enjoying a gift set of jams I'd received from Blue Owl Preserves (reviewed here), I impulsively set aside the jar of Blueberry Rhubarb Jam.  I could do something with that!

It didn't take me long to decide what - I just looked over my upcoming menu plan (don't you love how very organized that makes me sound??  It is all lies.) and thought to my self, 'Self? What would this jam be good with?"  Self answered - pork tenderloin!

Easy enough - I used  the jam to make a glaze for pork tenderloin, and it turned out to be flavorful, tart and delicious!

You can, of course, use any variety or brand of jam you have available, but if you enjoy rhubarb, I highly recommend Blue Owl Preserves with its fresh Colorado grown fruits (as a side note, if you use the discount code RCH, you can take 10% off).  This variety, affectionately nicknamed 'Blubarb', tames the tartness of the rhubarb with brightly sweet blueberries, but still packs a delicious punch. The combination used with the pork reminded me a lot of a good cranberry sauce.

'Blubarb' Pork Tenderloin
serves 4

1 pork tenderloin
2 tsp. olive oil

seasoning to taste (I used Penzey's Florida Seasoned Pepper)

2 Tablespoons Blueberry Rhubarb Jam
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 425F.
Coat the tenderloin in oil, then season well, patting seasonings so they stick.  Set in a rectangular baking pan (you may want to cover with foil, for easier cleanup).

Bake tenderloin for 20-25 minutes.  The internal temperature will be 145F when it's done - check with an instant read thermometer.

While the pork is baking, combine the jam and vinegar in a small saucepan, stirring to combine. Let this simmer gently for a few minutes to thicken.  If desired, some fresh blueberries would be wonderful, simmered in with the sauce.

Remove the sauce from heat until the pork is nearly done.

Spoon sauce over pork, spreading to cover, and let the pork cook just a couple more minutes to set the glaze.

Remove from oven, and let rest at least 5 minutes before cutting into medallions.

I served this with baked sweet potatoes and a large salad with blueberries to start.  The glaze was intensely flavorful and the tartness of the rhubarb took center-stage.

Pork tenderloins are a great way to get a reliably delicious meal on the table quickly, and I will be happy to serve it this way again - still leaving the rhubarb preparation to professions, of course!

This link up is only for Fantastical Food Fight entries - but I'd be delighted if you share your links with Party in Your PJs or Awesome Life Friday elsewhere on this blog!

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Copycat Chick-Fil-A Sandwich #fantasticalfoodfight

This month's Fantastical Food Fight challenge is Fast Food Copycats, in honor of National Fast Food Day tomorrow.

My husband and I try (not always successfully) to avoid too many trips to fast food places, but that doesn't mean we don't sometimes have a desire for it.

As I was thinking about what to make for this challenge, I remembered that when we were in Germany, it had occurred to me that the iconic Chick-Fil-A sandwich was basically a chicken schnitzel with a pickle.

And in fact, the use of pickle juice to marinate the chicken likely points to some sort of German influence back in its initial creation before it became the signature sandwich of the chain.

I have no idea if that's so or not (but cool story!) - but I may at some point try brining schnitzel meat in sauerkraut juice just to see what happens.

Oops, sorry - I got lost in thought there for a minute.

I've seen several recipes for this particular copycat over the years, but I can't really say if mine tastes like the 'real thing' because it's been so long since I've been to Chick-Fil-A, I've forgotten exactly how they taste.  But I have noticed that the secret (other than their secret spice blend in the coating) seems to be that pickle and using its juice to brine the chicken.

What this recipe does do, if you season it how you prefer, is make a great chicken schnitzel sandwich.  I served this in a bun with a bit of mayo and some waffle fries - but it would be great without the bun as well.

To make my life easier, I used a pack of thin-sliced boneless breast cutlets.  My kitchen is very tiny, and I feel like I'm going to rattle everything off the walls when I try to pound meat in there.  But cutlets cost a lot more than plain boneless breasts, so if you want to do this the right way for less cost, begin by putting the chicken into a large baggie and flatten them.

You could even let them brine in the same bag once you have done that, if you like.

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches
(Makes 4)

4 chicken breast cutlets (or 2 boneless breasts, cut in half and flattened)
1/2 cup pickle juice from the jar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
a pinch Celery Salt
a pinch Garlic Powder
Other seasonings as desired (I added an Italian seasoning blend from Penzey's and a few red pepper flakes)
peanut oil
4 hamburger buns
butter
Mayo if desired

Put the flattened chicken into a large baggie or a container that can be sealed and flipped (I have an old Tupperware marinade container that is older than my adult children.)

Pour pickle juice over the chicken, seal the container and flip a couple times to coat the meat. Let brine in the refrigerator for at least an hour, up to overnight, flipping occasionally.

Discard the brine when you're ready to cook.

Set up two dishes - one with the eggs and milk, whisked, and the other with the flour and spices mixed together.

Put peanut oil in a frying pan, to about a quarter inch deep. (The cutlets are thin and cook fast - you can use a full deep fryer, but they'll cook fine without being fully immersed in oil.)  Heat to about 350F.

My cutlets were so thin that I folded each one in half so they were about  the size of the buns before coating.

To coat, dunk a cutlet into the egg mixture and then into the flour, turning as needed to fully cover.  Then repeat the process, dunking it back into the egg and then into the flour - this will give it a good crispy coating.  Set on a clean dish and prepare the remaining cutlets.

At this point, prepare the buns - butter each side, and let them lightly toast in the oven while the chicken is cooking. (I had already baked some waffle fries at 450F, so I just turned off the oven and let them lightly toast in the still hot oven. The advantage of this is that you don't suddenly find yourself juggling frying foods and buns that need to be rescued from burning right this very moment.)

With tongs, place the coated chicken into the frying pan, avoiding crowding them (I did two at a time - too much in the fryer will lower the temperature of the oil, making them greasy).   Let it cook about two minutes, then turn and cook another two minutes until the chicken is golden brown.

Set on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain.

Put together the sandwiches, spreading a little mayo on the buns if desired and topping the cutlets with a pickle chip or two.

Enjoy!

Check out these other Fantastical Food Fight Fast Food Copycat entries:

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Honey Harvest Popcorn Clusters

This month's Fantastical Foodfight celebrates National Honey Month!  With so many wonderful foods coming to harvest at this time of year, doesn't it make good sense to feast a bit on the delightful honey produced by the lovely little pollinators that make everything else possible?

Of course it does!  So this month, I made an indulgent little snack full of autumn flavors that showcases the delicious taste of honey - choose local if you can and support our beekeepers.

As you'll see in the recipe, this includes a little maple syrup along with the honey - this was a matter of necessity being the mother of invention, because I didn't have quite enough honey left for the recipe. I'm leaving it in the instructions, though, because the maple syrup added a nice rich bit of depth to these clusters that really played well with the ingredients.

The trail mix I used was a store brand blend that consisted of cranberries and dried cherries along with pumpkin seeds, pecans, cashews and pistachios.  You can select your own favorite trail mix blend, but do avoid those that have chocolate bits or other meltable additions - they'll just melt all over the place when you bake it and burn.

Honey Harvest Popcorn Clusters
Makes about 10 cups (accounting for the bits you'll nibble while you make this)

10 cups popped popcorn
12 oz. trail mix
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine popcorn and trail mix in a large bowl (you'll want enough room to toss honey coating in with the popcorn).  Set aside.

Prepare a large sheetpan by covering with a layer of parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 325F.

In a saucepan, combine butter, honey, syrup and salt.  Cook on medium low until butter has melted, stirring constantly.  Then raise heat and boil for one minute, stirring.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour honey mixture over the popcorn blend, and toss to combine. All popcorn should be coated and there shouldn't be any unincorporated honey in the bowl.

Turn popcorn onto parchment papered sheet pan and spread out.

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and toasty.  Every 10 minutes, stir and turn over so that it browns evenly and doesn't burn.

Remove from oven.  Prepare a 2nd pan with parchment paper and divide popcorn clusters between the two pans so that they can cool and dry out without sticking together too much.

Once completely cooled and set, store in an airtight dry  container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Riiiiight - this is no way going to last two weeks.

Take a peek at what other honey-based recipes bloggers are sharing! Sweet!

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