Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends (7 page)
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Authors: Trisha Yearwood
Tags: #food.cookbooks
Lettuce Wedge with Blue Cheese Dressing
with blue cheese dressing
I was an adult before I acquired a taste for blue cheese, but I love the strong flavor of it, and nothing beats homemade salad dressing. This creamy dressing served over the lettuce wedge is simple, yet satisfying.
SERVES 8
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup sour cream
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1½ teaspoons onion powder
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1½ cups)
2 heads iceberg lettuce
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 medium tomato, finely diced
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk the mixture together until smooth. Add the cheese and mix just until blended. Chill in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving (makes 2½ cups).
Core and quarter each head of lettuce and divide among 4 salad plates.
Serve a generous dollop over each lettuce wedge and top with bacon and tomato.
Leftover dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
salad
In late February or early March, it’s strawberry time in Georgia. We look for every opportunity to put a strawberry in something—from appetizers to desserts. Fresh sliced strawberries in this cool garden salad have made it a favorite at our house. What a tasty way to get your fruit and veggies!
SERVES 4 TO 6
1 package ramen noodles, crushed, flavor packet discarded
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and dried
1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
1 pint strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
¾ cup vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, mix the ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, almonds, and melted butter. Transfer to a baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Tear the lettuce and combine with the spinach, strawberries, and Parmesan cheese in a large salad bowl.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Combine the garlic, salt, paprika, and oil, and then add to the sugar-vinegar mixture. Mix well and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Just before serving, sprinkle the crunchy topping over the salad greens and toss the salad with enough dressing to coat the greens.
FROM BETH:
To save time, this salad can be made
without
the crunchy topping. It will still be delicious.
Cornbread Salad with French Dressing
with french dressing
Cornbread served at every meal is a southern thing. I was surprised the first time I traveled west of the Mississippi to find out that not everybody serves cornbread with every meal! Here, putting the bread in the salad makes it really hearty. Add the homemade dressing, and you don’t need anything else, except maybe a glass of
Sweet Tea
!
SERVES 6
Salad
6 cups torn romaine lettuce pieces
2 cups crumbled
Sour Cream Cornbread
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, finely chopped
9 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Layer the ingredients in a large salad bowl, beginning with the lettuce, then adding the cornbread, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Let stand in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad and sprinkle the bacon on top.
MAKES 3 CUPS
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 cup vegetable oil
Put the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, paprika, onion, mustard, and oil in a blender and process until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator.
thai salad
I had this salad at
California Pizza Kitchen when I was in Los Angeles with Garth for a series of concerts he did to benefit the victims of the southern California wildfires in 2008. I loved this salad so much that I decided to try to re-create it at home. I still order their salad every time I’m in Los Angeles, and I think this one comes pretty close to the original!
SERVES 12
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
1 head red cabbage, shredded
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked, chilled, and thinly sliced
1 large cucumber, julienned
1 10-ounce bag shelled edamame, cooked
2 carrots, peeled and grated
4 green onions, finely diced
1 avocado, peeled and finely sliced
In a large serving bowl, toss the cabbages, chicken, cucumber, edamame, carrots, and green onions. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons of
Sweet Lime-Cilantro dressing and 2 slices of avocado, for garnish.
Just before serving, I add crispy wontons, a few dry-roasted peanuts, and a dash of peanut sauce.
MAKES 2 CUPS
2 cups olive oil
Juice of 2 limes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ cups finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Put the oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large blender and blend until smooth.
vegetable salad
The salad is usually the last thing you prepare before serving a meal, so you’re working on it when you may feel rushed to get the food on the table. This colorful salad is prepared ahead and marinated overnight so it’s ready to serve when you are.
SERVES 8 TO 10
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
16 ounces frozen or fresh shelled green peas, cooked 3 minutes and drained
16 ounces cut green beans, frozen or fresh, cooked 3 minutes and drained
2 small sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 2-ounce jar chopped pimiento
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1½ cups thinly chopped celery
Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the oil and salt and set aside to cool. Add the peas, beans, onions, pimiento, bell pepper, and celery. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Drain and serve.
FROM GWEN:
You may substitute canned peas and beans.
ham salad
My uncle Marshall was a truck driver. He drove a big blue Peterbilt truck and kept his cigarettes rolled up in his shirtsleeve. I thought he was the coolest guy on the planet. I never dreamed he could cook! He’s gone now, but his granddaughter, Christy, used to watch him make this salad, and she shared his recipe with me. When I make the salad, I still picture him outside working on his truck. Real men cook!
SERVES 6
3 cups ground or finely diced fully cooked ham (about 14 ounces)
1 teaspoon finely chopped sweet Vidalia onion
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
Combine the ham, onion, relish, mayonnaise, and mustard. Serve on crackers or in a sandwich.
Grandaddy Paulk standing beside Uncle Marshall’s Peterbilt truck, 1974.
