salad

Endive, Watercress and Radish Salad With Walnuts and Goat Cheese

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When I was a kid I remember my father taking our family out to dinner at a “fancy” restaurant in Dallas for a special occasion. The nature of the special occasion eludes me all these many years later but, oddly enough, I still remember the salad. Perhaps that is one mark of a true food lover. We reckon everything in terms of what we were eating at the time. The memorable salad marking that particular experience was dominated by Belgian style endive. (Pronounced “on-deeve”*) It is a vegetable I had not encountered prior to that day and it struck me as very exotic. Even though endive is not a food I have eaten regularly over the years I still associate it with high-caliber restaurants and recipes.

Knowing my husband is a fan of the more bitter flavors, I decided to use endive to create a unique salad for him on Father’s Day. This salad combines crunchy, slightly bitter endive with refreshing watercress and spicy radishes. It’s topped with toasted walnuts and creamy goat cheese and dressed with an extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinaigrette. The sweetness of the white balsamic vinegar is a nice contrast to the bitter and spicy flavors of the vegetables.

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Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

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Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

Kale Salad LR

While the squash and zucchini plants have suffered some damage from the dreaded vine borers, the kale plants are still going strong.  I used to say “I don’t DO kale” but have come around to the dark green side in a major way.  The following recipe came to mind when I realized that one of the benefits of kale is its ability to stand up to heavier sauces in its raw state.  Warm bacon dressing is used with spinach in part because it tastes good and also because spinach is more substantial than lettuce and can tolerate that type of dressing. Kale is even more hearty so I decided to try out a warm andouille sausage dressing that would match up well with the texture and taste of this particular green.

Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

G and I have been getting very comfortable with the concept of eating “dinner for breakfast” so it no longer seems weird to us to have kale in the morning.  This recipe also calls for fried eggs which is something easy to make in the morning and it really goes well with the salad.  G doesn’t like the egg on top of the salad and just eats it separately.  Personally, I think the egg on top is delicious and the egg yolk adds a nice creaminess to the dressing.

Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

Kale Salad with Warm Andouille Sausage Dressing

Ingredients

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Kale: “The Queen of Greens” + Kale and Avocado Salad Recipe

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Kale is one of those really scary vegetables.  There cannot be more than a small percentage of the population that gets excited at the prospect of eating it.  But kale is such a nutritional powerhouse it deserves a second look…or taste.  Kale is a leafy green in the cruciferous vegetable category like broccoli, cabbage, collards … Read more