Can anybody recommend a good bistro salad cook book?

Poodlepet2 · ‎03-09-2010

This past weekend I made Ina Gartens warm roasted butternut squash salad....it has been forever since I made a salad dressing from scratch. This salad raised the bar on our dinner, and it hit me that I really could do better in the salad department. We eat lots of salad, but it's very pedestrian, and always made with bottled dressing: surely I can do better than that! Our grocer carries all kinds of vinegar and they are really branching out with oils- but I don't know how to put it together....does anybody know of a cook book that specializes in salads? Thanks, Poodlepet

HonnyBrown · ‎11-23-2013

Bon Appetit/Gourmet magazines used to have a cookbook dedicated to salads. I picked it up from Marshall's. It got lost when I moved.

Salad dressings from scratch are so easy: oil, vinegar, mustard, herbs! You can be so creative!

Get your flu shot...because I didn't.

Poodlepet2 · ‎03-09-2010

Honny, I will see if I can't find it: that's an excellent starting point. Salad dressings used to be easy: you had a choice of white or cider vinegar, oil seasonings etc.....now the choices we have are staggering. No doubt you have seen this, but there are vinegar out there that are just as expensive as a good bottle of wine, and vinegar is very much like wine, but I don't know much about it. I know very little about vinegar, and proportions.....well, now we have all kinds of oils. I could use some guidance, but you gave me an excellent starting point: I am off to Amazon Land!

Poodlepet

HonnyBrown · ‎11-23-2013

Poodle, you have a good base with the dressing you made from Ina's recipe.

I use olive oil and balsamic since I always have those ingredients. I don't like buying an ingredient for one dish or one teaspoon, so I stay away from buying a bottle of something new for a salad.

I change the mustard and herbs, since I have a ton of both.

Have fun at Amazon! I'll post my basic salad dressing recipe next.

Get your flu shot...because I didn't.

HonnyBrown · ‎11-23-2013

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sometimes I use a small shallot instead of the garlic

Any dry herb can be used in place of the oregano

I use different flavored salts (ie, truffle salt, jalapeno salt, lavender salt, etc)

Different mustards work well

Get your flu shot...because I didn't.

glmama · ‎03-09-2010

Hi Poodle-Just thought I posted a reply and it went *poof*--Anyhoo, I've been a big fan of Williams Sonoma cookbooks over the years. In fact I have a few that I've had for probably 15-20 years and I still return to them. They have a few new ones, and one is just dedicated to salads. It looks lovely and I've had it in my hands, but couldn't justify a new cookbook at the time. They are very high-quality cookbooks, IMO, and worth checking out. I was in a WS store about a week or so ago and their cookbooks were all 30% off. Don't know if it's still going on, tho. I also agree with Honny--dressings are so easy peasy and its worth having one or two variations in your back pocket. But a good cookbook that can give you some other creative ideas might be good, too.

HandJive · ‎12-28-2012

There's a website called tastespotting that I use often to find something new and different. There's also foodgawker. You can search both websites for recipe ideas.
I love salad!

Poodlepet2 · ‎03-09-2010

I will try your dressing this weekend. I loved the roasted squash, and I am thinking about some chopped tart apple, macadamia.....maybe some goat cheese.....but I need to ask you about your balsamic: what kind? We have a store here that carries about twenty varieties....and I have tasted, but honestly, I can barely tell the difference between fig and BlackBerry. I bought a bottle of fig and I am still nursing....but for how much I paid, I am not sure it was worth it. Strangely enough however, I can detect differences in some of the champagne vinegar. Poodlepet

HonnyBrown · ‎11-23-2013

Poodlepet! You're a vinegar snob!

You have the Fig Balsamic, which is higher end than anything I have (Trader Joe's). If you want to use that up in your salad dressings, it will be fine. Try using it with olive oil to roast your vegetables.

Get your flu shot...because I didn't.

Poodlepet2 · ‎03-09-2010

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I didn't find anything on Amazon from Bon Appetit, but Williams and Sonoma is a great idea-I am on the hunt! And for sure, I will check out these websites.....it's just so funny how this happened. We typically have salads like Ina's when we go to this restaurant called "The Perfect Caper" (located in Punta Gorda: check out their menu. Chef Jeanie Roland has been a James Beard semi-final finalist- this is fine dining). At any rate, I had an epiphany where salads are concerned.....We eat them at home because they are good for you, but they can truly be part of a great meal that you make at home.....why did I ever think that we have to go to the Caper for truly enjoyable great salad? Well, I have been dwelling on this topic, and I think I will delve into growing some microgreens.....By the way, I made this salad, but DH made sesame coated seared sushi grade tuna and the combination was magical! Poodlepet