What We Eat When We Eat Alone - Deborah Madison [69]
4 OUNCES OF ONE OF THE SUGGESTED CHEESES
OLIVE OIL
Slice the cheese into rounds or slabs about 1⁄2 inch thick. Film a skillet with olive oil, and when hot, but quite short of smoking, add the cheese. Turn the heat to medium-low and when the cheese begins to soften and the bottom is golden, after a few minutes, turn and cook the second side until warm and soft. Serve right away with a salad and any of the suggested accompaniments.
Green Salad with Olive Oil and Vinegar
Just about the easiest way to dress a salad for yourself is the way Tom Anderson’s mother taught him to dress the salad for the family dinner. Start with fresh, vibrant greens—a single kind of lettuce, a mixture of lettuces, pungent spicy greens, or spinach. First wash and dry them well. Toss them with a few pinches of salt, then drizzle over enough olive oil to coat them lightly after turning them gently many times in your hands. Start with a “capful” of oil, which is a teaspoon or so, then add more if it feels too dry. Once you have the oil on the leaves, sprinkle over about a third as much vinegar or lemon juice; toss again and taste. If you want more tartness, add more lemon or vinegar. If it’s too tart, add more oil.
Salad Dressing to Last All Week
You can use this dressing over the course of four or five days, and because it’s shaken in a jar, you can have more going on than just oil and vinegar or lemon. It does lose its vitality, however, so you’re best off if you make just enough for four or five salads, then make a new batch.
1 GARLIC CLOVE, SLIVERED
3 TABLESPOONS RED WINE VINEGAR OR WHITE WINE VINEGAR
1⁄2 CUP EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 TEASPOON MUSTARD
SALT
FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
Put the garlic, vinegar, oil, and mustard in a jar with 1⁄8 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper. Screw on the lid. Shake well. Taste, preferably on a lettuce leaf, and adjust for oil or vinegar and, of course, add more salt if needed. After the first day, scoop out the garlic so that the dressing doesn’t get too strong.
Variations
Try using different oils, such as walnut or hazelnut, alone or mixed with olive oil.
Experiment with different vinegars. Sweet balsamic vinegar and rice wine vinegar aren’t very acidic, so expect to use more in a dressing. Fresh lemon juice and sherry vinegar are more acidic so expect to use less. Aged red wine vinegar is also strong and often very flavorful. Herb-infused vinegars lend their particular herbal notes, and so on.
If you like Worcestershire sauce in your dressing, add a few shakes from the bottle. For another strong flavor, whisk a teaspoon of mustard into the vinegar. Shake especially well.
Include a diced shallot in the dressing, but it will lose its sparkle after a day or so. Scoop it out if you like, or leave it in.
On any day, add fresh chopped herbs, such as parsley, chives, basil, or dill.
On the last day, add sour cream or blue cheese crumbles.
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Greens and Walnuts
There’s nothing new about putting avocado and grapefruit together, but like many familiar foods, it’s a combination that can be overlooked in favor of the new. What’s especially nice about this salad besides that it’s good (and pretty) is that it gives you a fruit, a vegetable, and a nut all at once. Garrett Berdan adds bacon-wrapped shrimp to his, and pickled onion rings are good here too. You could slip a sectioned blood orange into the mix, and add pieces of Manouri or feta cheese. But for now, here’s the walnut version.
3 WALNUTS, FRESHLY CRACKED, OR 1⁄4 CUP WALNUT PIECES
1 PINK GRAPEFRUIT
2 TEASPOONS WHITE WINE VINEGAR
SALT AND PEPPER
1 SMALL SHALLOT OR 2 SCALLIONS, THE WHITE PARTS, FINELY DICED
4 TEASPOONS WALNUT OIL OR EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
A LARGE HANDFUL OF ARUGULA, MIXED GREENS, OR THE HEARTS OF BUTTER LETTUCE
1 SMALL AVOCADO
1. Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven until they