Southwest Pasta Salad

Lately I'm the queen of looking at a recipe, saying, "This would be awesome in that" then making it happen. There's this dressing in the Our Best Bites cookbook that I make probably once every 3 weeks.  This dressing is like the nectar of the Gods.  You could put it on a shoe and it would be good.  I was browsing their site today and ran across a corn salad that uses the blessed dressing, and I thought it would be so great to switch it up a little and add some pasta.  I was right.

Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients

(for the dressing)
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice (from 2-3 juicy limes)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/2 cup vegetable oil (plus possibly 1/4 cup more)

(for the salad)
1/2 pound small, bite-sized pasta - cooked al dente
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium red onion, diced small
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and very finely diced
2 cups frozen (thawed) or fresh corn
5 oz cotija cheese, diced or crumbled

Cook pasta according to package directions, only to al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, Make the dressing.  To make the dressing, combine all ingredients except the oil into the bowl of your food processor.  Pulse a few times until the garlic is finely chopped.  Add cilantro.  Pulse again.  With the food processor on, slowly pour the oil into the food processor until the dressing is completely emulsified.  When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add dressing while pasta is still hot.  Stir. After the salad has cooled, add the remaining salad ingredients and stir again.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  When ready to serve, if the salad is too dry, add oil, 1 tbsp at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.  (You may not need any additional oil; however, since you're putting the dressing into the hot pasta, the pasta will absorb some of the liquid). 

The salad can be made a day ahead.  Simply store the pasta mixed with the dressing in an airtight container, then add the rest of the ingredients about 30 minutes before serving.

Spinach Tortellini Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

A few weeks ago I made a salad with tons of fresh veggies in it.  I've been making these fresh salads a couple times a week since then and I have to say, in the middle of these dreary winter months it has been a nice shift.  These have become my new "comfort food" lately. 

Tonight is panini night at the Bowden House.  I wanted to do something light and fresh to go along with our sandwiches.  I started picking things out of the cupboard and putting them together and this delightful concoction was born.  I wanted to do a pasta salad, but just pasta is a little heavy for what I was going for.  I started adding spinach to lighten it up, topped it off with some shredded parmesan and BAM!  Between me and my 12-year-old we're lucky any is going to make it to the dinner table.  When she took a bite she said, "I like how it smells, I like how it tastes, and I like that when you put it in your mouth your tastebuds just POP!"

Spinach Tortellini Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Recipe by me

Ingredients
1 package (9-10 oz) cheese tortellini
3 tbsp finely chopped onion (you want it to be small enough that you don't get a huge chunk but large enough that it's recognizable as onion)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup terragon vinegar (if you can't find terragon vinegar, use red wine vinegar...but if you can, the terragon vinegar is so worth the effort)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
3 cups baby spinach
1/3 cup shredded parmesan (the good kind)

Cook pasta according to the package directions.  While the pasta is cooking, make the dressing.  Add onions, garlic, vinegar, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and honey to a large bowl.  Whisk until well combined.  Add some fresh ground black pepper if you're feeling a little spicy.  When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the bowl while still hot and toss to coat in the dressing (this way all that goodness gets soaked up in the pasta as it cools down).  At this point, put the pasta in the fridge either for 10-15 minutes, or until a few minutes before serving (if you're making it in advance) to cool down.  A few minutes before serving (if serving immediately, wait long enough that the heat of the pasta won't wilt the spinach), add the spinach and toss it to coat in the dressing.  Top with parmesan cheese and toss again.

Asian Rice Salad

I turned on the Food Network while I was folding laundry today.  I don't know if it was good or bad, because I was starving, but it proved fortuitous when I made a dinner tonight that my family devoured.  It was reasonably priced, totally good for them, and they couldn't get enough.  I had literally no problem copying an entire dinner from a tv show (I was feeling that inspired by this show!). 

This would make such a perfect summertime salad, but in the middle of winter when we've been eating so much food that sticks to our ribs, this was so refreshing.  That said, it will definitely be making an appearance all year 'round.

Recipe adapted from Melissa D'Arabian of "Ten Dollar Dinners"

Ingredients

Salad -
1 1/2 cups Calrose rice (short grain Asian rice), rinsed
3 cups water
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Dressing -
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine rice and water.  Cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.  Remove from the pan and spread on a flat surface (such as a rimmed cookie sheet) to cool.  When the rice is completely cool, toss together with the vegetables.

In a medium bowl. whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in the oil until well combined.  Toss the salad with the dressing and refrigerate until ready to eat.

We served this with lettuce wraps, but any sort of Asian-inspired protein-rich dish would be awesome with it.

Candied Almonds and Poppyseed Dressing (with a Spinach Salad)

I was on a committee for our church Christmas party this year.  Together, a group of women decided what to feed 250 people for the event.  We were on a budget and decided along with an inexpensive main dish, to go the inexpensive salad route, but we didn't want to do iceburg salad with a bottle of Ranch and a bottle of Italian.  We decided on a spinach salad.  After looking through some recipes online, I decided to kind of improvise the nuts and I found a recipe with really good reviews for dressing (keep in mind...cooking for 250...never made candied nuts nor homemade poppyseed dressing...).  During the party, no less than 20 people were requesting the recipe because it was the best spinach salad they'd ever eaten.

First, the nuts.  I heavily altered a recipe I found online, and I can't for the life of me find the link.  (When I find it I'll post it). 

Ingredients
2 cups almonds (sliced, slivered, chopped, what-have-you)
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup sugar

Lay your almonds on a sheet pan in a single layer.  Place them in a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 350 degrees. While the almonds are cooking, melt the butter and honey in a sauce pan over medium-high heat until boiling.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat. When the almonds smell nutty (approx. 7-10 minutes), remove them from the oven and place them directly into the hot honey/butter mixture.  Stir until coated.  Pour in the sugar and stir until all the nuts are coated.  Spray the same sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the nuts from the sauce pan to the sheet pan.  Turn on your broiler and place the nuts back into the oven for 2-4 minutes (again, until they smell deliciously nutty).  Remove the pan and stir the nuts, then return the pan to the oven for another 1-2 minutes.  Cool completely on the sheet pan.  When it's cool, the nuts will be all stuck together.  Simply break up any large clumps with your hands. These nuts store very well in an airtight container for at least a week.

Next, the dressing.  I got the recipe in its entirety from allrecipes.com.  It is so easy to whip together, and costs practically nothing.  It's kind of tart, which makes it such a lovely complement to the sweetness of the dried cranberries and candied nuts. 

Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp grated onion
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Pour all the ingredients, except the poppyseeds, into the blender.  Blend until your dressing is fully emulsified (until it goes from clear to opaque), about 30 seconds.  Add the poppyseeds and pulse once or twice.  Refrigerate until ready to use. The dressing may separate in the fridge.  Simply, shake it vigoriously before using it or place it back in the blender and pulse it a few times.

Assemble your salad immediately before serving (otherwise it goes all gross and wilty).  In a large bowl, add 4 cups spinach leaves with 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup candied almonds, and about 1/2 cup dressing.  Mix until the salad is well coated in dressing.  If it looks a little dry, add about a tablespoon more at a time until it is coated to your liking.