One of my favorite Southern summer sides:

Combine chopped tomatoes and cucumbers (peeled if you prefer) in a bowl.

Optional: add a little diced sweet onion.

Toss with a generous amount of fresh chopped parsley, red or white wine vinegar, olive oil (about 2:1 vinegar to oil), salt and pepper. (Also delicious with fresh cilantro or basil.)

Marinate at room temperature or chilled for an hour or so before serving.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: A refreshing white or dry rose with crisp acidity to stand up to the vinegar. Pinot grigio and Albarino come to mind. Cheers!

Lunch today. One of my favorites – especially in winter just before, after, or if I’m really needing a tropical vacation. I’ve had similar salades in San juan, St. Barth, and Hawaii.

Chop several different tropical fruits (mango, papaya, pineapple, avocado, kiwi, banana, etc.) and serve over a bed of greens. Pomegranate is a lovely addition in winter. Hearts of palm are frequently served in the versions I’ve had closer to the equator.

Sprinkle with grated coconut. Maybe throw some chopped cashews, macadamia nuts, or sliced almonds on there.

Dress with fresh lime or lemon juice and olive oil. Chopped fresh cilantro adds a nice herbal contrast.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: Something with rum – mai tai, painkiller, pina colada, rum punch. A fruity white wine such as a New Zealand Sauvignon blanc or a Viognier from Virginia or France would be lovely.

As the weather warms up, I tend to spend less time “cooking” and more time eating simply prepared, fresh ingredients. Orzo pasta is ridiculously easy and quick to prepare, cooking in less than 5 minutes. This is a great quick lunch or dinner, or paired with chicken grilled under a brick, a delicious accompaniment.

Cook orzo in boiling salted water until al dente, usually about 3-4 minutes. Drain.

Toss with 1-2 Tbsp each olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Add chopped fresh herbs – parsley and oregano are my favorites for this.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over salade greens.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: A white or rose with good acidity pair well with the lemon component in this dish. Think Pinot grigio, Albarino, Greek whites, crisp Chardonnay. Reisling would work as well, as long as any sweetness is balanced by its acidity. Avoid malolactic or oaky wines, unless you like your wines flabby and lifeless! Cheers!

This recipe is adapted from Marcel Desaulnier’s Salad Days, one of my favorite resources for healthy meals.

Soak 1 cup of black beans in 4 cups cold water for 8 hours or overnight. Rinse well, drain, and place in sauce pan with 4 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, add a large pinch of salt, and reduce heat to simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.

Rinse well under cold running water and drain. Mash with a potato masher or your hands until about 3/4 the beans are mashed.

Mix in a minced shallot or 1/4 cup minced onion, 1-2 cloves minced garlic, and 1 minced jalapeno.Season with salt and pepper.

Form the mixture into 4 bean cakes. Coat the cakes in a light dusting of flour.

Pan-fry the cakes over medium heat in vegetable oil for about 4 minutes per side until they are golden.

Place on a baking sheet and into a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes to heat through.

Serve the cakes on salade greens dressed with vinaigrette and chopped tropical fruits – kiwi, mango, papaya, etc., and Greek yogurt or sour cream.

These bean cakes would also be delicious served over rice with sauteed spinach or collards.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: I prefer an earthy red wine with black bean cakes – Spanish (Rioja), Southern French (Maderain, Hermitage), South American (Chilean Cabernet), or South African (they are all funky earthy) wines would all pair nicely. A crisp white Albarino or Sauvignon blanc would compliment the fruit and salade as well. Cheers!

A favorite delicious and healthy pizza:

Preheat oven to 500F.

Cover Pizza dough generously with olive oil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt and pepper.

Place dough in oven and reduce heat to 475F. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, 7-10 min.

While crust is baking, rough chop several types of lettuce (romaine, green and red leaf, radicchio, endive, etc.) and toss with vinaigrette.

Serve salade on top of pizza crust with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano (and some chopped fresh tomatoes in summer).

Bon appétit!

Wine Pairing: We recently enjoyed this pizza with a $9 screw cap Corbieres from South of France. A similar rustic table wine is recommended – Cotes du Rhone, Chianti, or Rose would pair well. Cheers!

A dinner salade inspired by the classic Salade Nicoise. For classic Nicoise, add seared shashimi-grade tuna slices.

On a bed of salade greens add:

chopped boiled potatoes

haricots verts

sliced hard-boiled egg

seasonal vegetable – asparagus in early-mid spring, tomatoes in mid-late summer

Nicoise olives

chopped walnuts, optional

peccorino-romano, chevre, or other cheese

Dijon vinaigrette

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: a crisp dry white (Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Loire), rose (Provence, Tavel), or light red (Cotes du Rhone) would all pair nicely with this salade.

We procure our seafood from a truck that parks on the street of a residential area on Thursdays, and makes stops in the neighboring towns over the next couple of days. The proprietors are locally known as the “fish ladies.”

To 1 lb of fresh crabmeat add:

finely chopped sweet onion, celery, red bell pepper – about 1/4 cup total

chopped fresh herbs – parsley, cilantro, dill, fennel

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp mustard (Dijon, horseradish, or whole grain)

2-3 Tbsp mayonaise

1-2 eggs

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

freshly cracked pepper

Mix and form into cakes, pan-fry or deep-fry in vegetable oil (5 min per side at 375F).

Serve on salad greens with lemon wedges. Dress with dill yogurt dressing:

Whisk 1/2-1 cup plain or Greek yogurt with:

1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

pinch salt

freshly cracked white or black pepper

juice of 1 lemon wedge (1-2 tsp)

olive oil to taste and desired consistency

We added blanched haricots verts from the garden in the salad. Delicious.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: We enjoyed a white Burgundy with our fried crabcakes and dill yogurt. Also consider other Chardonnay, Albarino, Viognier, Chenin blanc, and Sauvignon blanc. Cheers.

For the polenta
Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add a pinch of salt. Slowly stir in 1 cup polenta (yellow corn grits). Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring frequently, until a spoon will stand up in the polenta, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer polenta to an oiled pan, loaf or round; refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cut into desired serving size pieces (4 triangles from a 8-9″ round). Sautée in olive oil over medium-high heat on both sides. Season with salt and pepper while sautéing, add herbs if desired.

For the roasted beets
Wash and trim 8-12 baby beets to 1/2-1″. Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme if desired. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until tender. Let cool. Finish trimming, peel, and slice the beets.

Assemble the salade
Toss mixed greens, herbs (parsley, basil, fennel tops), and a thinly-sliced fennel bulb in balsalmic vinaigrette. Gently incorporate the roasted, sliced beets.
Serve with the pan-seared polenta, additional balsalmic vinaigrette, and top with chèvre.

Bon Appétit!

Wine pairing: A dry rosé pairs perfectly with the range of flavors in this dish, cutting the richness of the chèvre and the earthiness of the beets. Cheers!

A warm-weather favorite chez nous.

For the London Broil
Marinate the roast in balsalmic vinaigrette and red wine, 3 parts vinaigrette to 1 part wine, for several hours or overnight. Generously season with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Grill over medium-high heat to medium-rare. Let rest 10-15 minutes before carving into thin slices.

For the balsalmic vinaigrette
Whisk together:
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
pinch of sea salt
freshly cracked black peppercorns
fresh herbs of your choosing (parsley, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, chives, etc.)
balsamic vinegar

Slowly whisk in extra virgin olive oil. The vinegar to oil ratio should be about 1:3

For the salade
fresh local greens (lettuces, mesclun, spinach, endive)
fresh herbs (basil, dill, cilantro, parsely, etc.)
sliced radishes
fresh tomatoes, in season
fresh asparagus, in season (toss the asparagus with vinaigrette or olive oil and grill while the roast rests)
cheese – bleu , Pecorino-Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or aged Basque sheeps’ milk cheese

Assemble the salade
On a bed of the tossed greens and herbs, arrange the London Broil slices, cheese, and seasonal vegetables. Drizzle with balsalmic vinaigrette.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: a good medium-bodied red wine; I prefer a Côtes du Rhône or Madiran. The key is not to overwhelm the salade greens with an over-oaked, super-fruity, alcohol-driven, new-world style wine, while pairing the beef and cheese with a pleasing red. Pinot noir would also be an excellent choice, Burgundian or Oregonian. Cheers.