Mushroom Salad

I find that people fall into two camps on the subject of mushrooms- LOVE!, or, EW FUNGUS GET IT AWAY DON'T LET ANY OF MY FOOD TOUCH IT EWWWW!!! Since the title of this post is (imaginatively) "Mushroom Salad", I'm pretty sure you know where I stand. So... those of you in camp 2 might want to avert your eyes.

(Ahhhh!!! Fungus!!)

So, the mushroom salad. I have to admit, I kind of love The Melting Pot restaurant- yes, it's a little hokey and to quote my ex-boyfriend, "You have to cook your OWN FOOD!", but I happen to love cheese a lot, almost as much as I love dipping assorted items into cheese. Anyway- the Melting Pot does have (a few) non-fondue items on the menu, and one that I've been ordering for probably more than a decade now on my occasional visits is the mushroom salad: basically a huge plate of raw, thinly sliced white mushrooms covered with a lemony-Parmesan dressing. That's it, and yet I never thought about making it for myself.

And then this past Saturday morning, fate and the Food Network intervened. I was enjoying not having much to do, with my usual Giada/Ina lineup in the background on the tv. Then one of Giada's recipes caught my attention- mushroom salad, simply dressed with a lemon dressing and Parmesan... that sounded familiar! I added mushrooms and lemons to my list and was off to Whole Foods.

So... thankfully I decided to buy two containers of mushrooms, because I "tested" this salad for my lunch and managed to polish off an entire one by myself. It's really that good (if you're the mushroom type, of course), and take approximately thirty seconds to prepare- put sliced mushrooms in a bowl; whisk lemon juice with olive oil; top with the dressing, parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. The mushrooms soak in the tangy dressing, and their flavor combines beautifully with the parsley and cheese. It's absurdly simple, but all of the components work together to produce something with a much more complicated taste.

Seriously- if you're in the "love mushrooms" camp like me, you will be SO happy to have this up your sleeve.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. large button mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
• Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 2 Tablespoons
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil, 2 Tablespoons
  
• Fresh lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  

Method

In a medium salad bowl, mix together the mushrooms and parsley. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the oil mixture to the salad bowl and toss until all the ingredients are coated. Add the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Bastardized Beet Salad with Bacon and Cornbread Croutons

I've had this salad bookmarked in my January 2009 "Bon Appetit" issue for a few weeks now, but seeing the guys at The Bitten Word's recent attempt definitely bumped the recipe into my "To Try SOON" mental folder.

(Doesn't that look amazing?! Photo from Bon Appetit)

When I saw a package of vacuum-sealed, pre-steamed beets at Trader Joe's last week, it was a done deal. Now, I definitely applaud Clay and Zach's preparation because this is one complicated dish. It sounds simple enough- roasted beets, goat cheese, country ham, and cornbread croutons with a citrus vinaigrette- but once you get into the recipe, there are a lot of things going on. Certainly way too much going on for my 8:30 cooking time crunch after Property class on a Monday night, so this was going to have to be "bastardized" (I don't know if that's a proper useage of the term, but it's certainly fun to say!).

I'm not usually a big proponent of the "supermarket shortcuts", but in some cases the margin of difference between the homemade and the shortcut is way too slim for me to bother. Thus, pre-steamed beats! Thanks, TJ's. These cut out the messy and time-consuming roasting and peeling steps for beets and makes them a much more attractive quick meal option. The package contains about 6 small beets, which I cut into 1/8 size wedges for the salad.

Some other shortcuts would have to be made as well to par this recipe down to weeknight achievement level. I love cornbread and am completely loyal to my stepmom's version, which comes from her mom. She was from Alabama- that's authentic enough for me!

(Hey- it's a classic for a reason!)

Plus, it literally comes together in about 3 minutes of prep time. I've made other cornbreads from scratch, but this one is perfect for a simple salad. You can also add anything into the batter; I had some extra green onions, so in they went! Once the cornbread was baked and cooled, I cut it into four slices, diced one into cubes and placed them into the oven to toast and become croutons.

Now, the country ham part sounds great but a) apparently country ham is hard to come by in the D.C. area, b) I don't have any in the fridge tonight, c) I love bacon, and d) I have bacon. Done!

(yum.)

Finally, the recipe's citrus vinaigrette also sounds amazing but a little too complicated for weeknight post-class cooking. I decided to check with my go-to reference, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which is truly a cooking encyclopedia. Pages 90-94 are filled with variations on vinaigrettes, allowing me to concoct a blood orange variety that I hoped would match well with the earthy beets and creamy goat cheese- and of course, salty bacon! Plus, I figured that the blood orange segments would be a natural addition to this salad, and they look gorgeous.


Once the cornbread is baked, croutons toasted, beets steamed (or microwaved, if you have that TJ's option), and vinaigrette concocted, all that's left is assembly. I placed the croutons at the bottom of the bowl and topped them with the beet wedges, blood orange segments, green onions (just 1 chopped scallion, green and white parts), crumbles of goat cheese (this was an herb chevre from TJ's, but really any flavorful goat cheese will be great), and bacon pieces, then drizzled the blood orange vinaigrette on top.

(so, my photography skills leave a little to
be desired, but this was really pretty!)

Honestly- I was betting that this was going to be good, but I really had no idea. This salad is great. The flavors worked perfectly together and there was enough going on that it wasn't a boring or wimpy salad at all- I had just this (and ok, a slice of cornbread- it was just sitting there waiting!) for dinner and was totally satisfied. And despite the various components, it really does come together quite quickly- if you made the cornbread in advance, it would be almost all assembly time.

So, below is my bastardized version of this delicious beet salad- let me know how it goes if you try it out!

Bastardized Beet Salad with Bacon and Cornbread Croutons
adapted from Bon Appétit (January 2009)

-2 servings

BEETS

*1 package Trader Joe's steamed and peeled baby beets; or alternatively, 6-8 small baby beets, steamed and peeled.

-Warm beets and cut into 1/8 size wedges.

CORNBREAD CROUTONS

* 1 package Jiffy cornbread mix
* 1/3 cup milk (preferably whole)
* 1 large egg

-Prepare cornbread according to package directions. Cut 2 slices into cubes. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and toast at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until croutons are crisp.

BLOOD ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

* Juice of 1 blood orange half (about 1/4 cup)
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup olive oil

-Whisk blood orange juice, lemon juice, and salt together. Continue whisking and add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Taste and season to your preference.

SALAD

* 3 slices bacon, chopped
* 2 green onions, chopped
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley
* 2 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
* Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

-Saute bacon in a skillet over low heat until the pieces are lightly browned and crisp; drain on a paper towel.

-Assemble salad: corn bread croutons, beets, orange segments, bacon, green onions, parsley, goat cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle vinaigrette and enjoy!