Kale Caesar Salad with Grilled Goat Cheese

Kale is everywhere. It's hearty. It's good for you. I seem to get it in my CSA every week. I do love kale, but sometimes it starts to be a little much. You need to do something different with it. Hence taking a caesar dressing and using raw kale leaves. And since I was by myself, I got to put a bunch of goat cheese on it. Though I mentioned in the tapenade recipe about using Thai fish sauce as a replacement for anchovies, I learned it first when making this. I made it for one as an entree, but it could easily work for two as a salad course.

Kale Caesar Salad with Grilled Goat Cheese:

(Caesar Dressing modified via 1,000 Mexican Recipes)

Serves 1

Dressing-

½ c. olive oil

2 Tb. red wine vinegar

1 Tb. lemon juice

2 Tb. Thai fish sauce

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp. freshly ground pepper, or to taste

2 slices hearty Italian bread (like ciabatta), cut into chunks

2 Tb. olive oil

2 tsp. dried herbs (oregano, basil)

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Large handful torn kale leaves

3 oz. chevre, divided

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. panko

Olive oil

Make the croutons first. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss bread cubes in olive oil, herbs, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 10-15 minutes.

Make the dressing by placing the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, Thai fish sauce, garlic, and mustard in a food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Add the Parmesan and black pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth. This make enough for a few salads, but I love caesar dressing so much I needed to make it all. It keeps well for up to 3 days, so just go for it.

Cut the chevre into 1 ounce chunks. Place chunks in egg to coat, then roll them in the panko. Heat a pan over medium heat until oil is shimmering. Add the coated goat cheese and cook until bottom side is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook until golden, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

Dress kale, toss throughly, and top with goat cheese and croutons.

Tangy, crunchy goat cheese and earthy kale are a fantastic combo, especially with the zip from the caesar dressing. I might be able to eat this every week.

30 Before 30: Grissini (#32)

Just one more. I made these the day of my birthday and they are so easy. I may have oversalted mine a tad, so be careful when Keller says to put the salt in a small part of the work area. Despite a little too much salt, they are amazing. So so amazing. I preferred the short ones to the long ones, but deciding which is best is part of the tasty fun.

Grissini via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes 24 small or 12 large grissini

½ c. warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

1 Tb. active dry yeast

1½ c. all-purpose flour, plus additional as needed

1/3 c. fine semolina flour

¼ c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 tsp. ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt

2 Tb. olive oil, plus additional for brushing

Coarsely ground black pepper

Combine the water and yeast in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes, then stir until the yeast is completely dissolved.

Combine the flours, cheese, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Stir the oil into the yeast mixture, then pour into the well and mix together with a fork. Once the dough comes together, transfer to a lightly floured board and knead, adding a dusting of all-purpose flour as necessary. You may end up using up to an additional ¼ cup, until a smooth dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball and roll on the board to coat very lightly with flour.

Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rest in a warm place for about 15 minutes, or until it has risen slightly. Position the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto the floured work surface and, using a dough scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough in half. Cut one half into 12 pieces for short grissini or 6 pieces for long grissini. Roll each piece into a rope 9 inches long for short grissini or about 15 inches long for long grissini. You can leave them round or twist or flatten them, or a combination of the two. The thinner or flatter they are, the crispier the result; thicker grissini may be doughier, if that is your preference. Transfer to one of the parchment-lined baking sheets as you form them.

Coarsely grind a light dusting of pepper onto a section of the work surface; it is easier to control the amount of pepper that will be rolled onto the grissini by keeping the are small. Alternately, omit the pepper and sprinkle the grissini with fleur de sel or seeds. I did both pepper and salt. Lightly brush the grissini with olive oil. I used the garlic oil I had made the day before. One at a time, roll in the pepper and return to the parchment; grind additional pepper as needed. Repeat with the remaining dough. The grissini can be held for up to an hour on the baking sheets in a cool spot. Or, to hold them longer, cover the parchment paper, wrap the baking sheets in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 6 hours.

Bake the grissini, switching the position of the pans and rotating them halfway through baking, until golden and crisp, 16 to 18 minutes. Cool on the pans on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

30 Before 30 was hard work and so much fun. It was difficult digging through my fridge and cookbooks and matching things up and I loved the challenge.

Now back to our regularly scheduled irregular blogging.

Recipes Complete: 32

Recipes to Go: -2

30 Before 30: Fig and Balsamic Jam (#31)

So yeah, figs aren't in season. I used half the amount required with dried figs and rehydrated them with some simmered merlot for a few hours. Because of this, they are a bit harder to chop and the jam ended up being a little more chunky and less jam like, but it's still wonderful.This is amazing with wine and chevre and friends.

Fig and Balsamic Jam via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes 2½ cups

2 lb. Figs, preferably Black Mission or Kadota, stems removed and coarsely chopped

1½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. black peppercorns, tied into a sachet

Fresh lemon juice

Combine the figs, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and sachet in a large saucepan and attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring to break up the larger pieces of fig, keeping a chunky consistency, until the jam reaches 215 to 220 degrees. Remove from the heat.

Remove the sachet and stir in the lemon juice to taste. Spoon the jam into a canning jar or other storage container, cover, and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Recipes Complete: 31

Recipes to Go: -1

30 Before 30: Sweet Onion Tapenade (#30)

What's faster than tapenade? This is just a little slower because of the onions, but it is very bold and perfect with cheese and wine and pickles.

I also used a tablespoon and a half of Thai fish sauce instead of the anchovy. Why? It's made from the first pressing of anchovies. Easier and always on hand.

Sweet Onion Tapenade via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes about 1½ cups

3 Tb. canola oil

2 c. chopped red onions

1 salt-packed or oil-packed anchovy

¼ c. whole milk

1 c. pitted Kalamata olive, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. capers, rinsed and drained

1 medium garlic clove

¼ c. plus 2 Tb. extra virgin olive oil

Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook slowly, adjusting the heat as necessary to keep the onions from coloring, for about 30 minutes, until very soft. Transfer to a food processor.

Meanwhile, soak the anchovy in the milk for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Add the anchovy, olives, capers, garlic, and olive oil to the food processor and blend, scraping down the sides as necessary and blend, scraping down the sides as necessary, to a coarse puree.

Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.

Recipes Complete: 30

Recipes to Go: 0

You'd think that's it, but it was my 30^th birthday. So there are actually 2 more. I love to overdo it.

30 Before 30: Pickled Radishes (#29)

When I get radishes in my CSA, I usually just have them raw in salad. This was a fun way to do them differently.

Pickled Radishes via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes ¾ cup

½ recipe pickling liquid

1 c. radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced on a diagonal

Bring the pickling liquid to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator.

Put the radishes in a canning jar or other storage container and pour the pickling liquid over them. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Recipes Complete: 29

Recipes to Go: 1

30 Before 30: Pickled Green Beans (#28)

Green beans are an amazing vegetable. My son loves them pureed. They are great as a pickle as well.

Pickled Green Beans via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes about 4 cups

Basic Pickling Liquid

1 tsp. black peppercorns

1 shallot, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters

4 c. trimmed thin green beans (haricots verts)

Combine all of the pickling liquid ingredients in a saucepan. Add the peppercorns and shallot to the pickling liquid and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour into a bowl and let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator.

Bring to large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the beans until crisp-tender. Drain and dry on paper towels.

Stand the beans in a canning jar or other storage container that holds them in a very right fit and pour the cold pickling liquid over the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Recipes Complete: 28

Recipes to Go: 2

30 Before 30: Pickled Carrots (#27)

I love all things pickled. The next three posts are the three pickles I chose. They all start the same and are easy to adjust for more or less vegetables.

Pickled Carrots via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes about 2 cups

Basic Pickling Liquid-

1 c. champagne vinegar

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. water

10 medium carrots or 20 baby carrots, peeled

½ tsp. yellow curry powder

¼ jalapeno, seeded

The basic pickling liquid is 2 parts vinegar to 1 part sugar to 1 part water.

Cut medium carrots on the diagonal into 2-inch sections and then cut the sections lengthwise in half (or into quarters at the thicket end). Trim the green tops of baby carrots to about ¼ inch and cut the carrots lengthwise in half.

Put the curry powder in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 1 to 1½ minutes or until fragrant. Be careful – the curry can burn easily.

Add the carrots, jalapeno, and pickling liquid to the curry, bring to a simmer, stirring from time to time to dissolve the sugar, and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour into a container and let the carrots cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

These are fantastic day of and even better later.

Recipes Complete: 27

Recipes to Go: 3