Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

 This past weekend we went to a friend's house and I helped her make this salad to serve for dinner. She invited a few guests over and we had fun chopping and roasting veggies together in the kitchen.  The weather has finally turned a little bit cooler and this salad was the perfect introduction to fall.  It features all those delicious veggies that beg to be used this time of year- butternut squash, parsnips, turnips and carrots.  The veggies are roasted in the oven with some shallots and then mixed with a delicious vinaigrette.
  
This salad was a definite favorite at dinner.  It is a nice side dish and is so delicious!
Here is the recipe for Roasted Root Vegetable Salad 

Asparagus Salad

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
We always celebrate this day with as many green foods as possible. Last year we made the best Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream ever, these Mint Chocolate Cupcakes are always popular, and every year that I can remember we have had some form of green eggs and ham (last year it was a biscuit sandwich).

This year I am trying to stay away from the green food coloring as much as I can, (although I will use it to make our eggs green this morning), and we are going to enjoy green foods that are really green because they grow that way.

This is the perfect one to start off the green food celebration. This is a simple way to serve asparagus. It is briefly cooked, along with broccolini, for about 2-3 minutes, so it is crisp tender.
Then it is tossed with a lemon juice-olive oil-shallot dressing, and topped with pepitas, thinly sliced radishes and lemon zest. If you can think of anything more delicious or perfect, please feel free to suggest it, because this was pretty amazing. It's interesting how something so quick and easy can truly be so flavorful and delightful to eat.

Here is the recipe for Asparagus Salad from 101 Cookbooks
* I omitted the parmesan cheese
* I used pepitas instead of pine nuts
* I went ahead and cooked the broccolini stems

Fresh Bean Salad

I found the most gorgeous green, yellow, and purple beans at the Farmer's Market.

I wanted to really showcase the fresh flavor and keep them as crisp as possible, so I found this recipe that just quickly blanches the beans and then dresses them with a very simple dressing made of shallots, fresh lemon juice, dijon mustard, and olive oil.

The key to making this dish so delicious is making sure that you do not overcook the beans. Here are more detailed instructions about how to properly blanch green beans.
If done properly, the beans will be nice and crisp and delicious.

I was a little bit sad that my beautiful purple beans lost most of their color due to the 3 minutes in boiling water. The taste was wonderful though.

This is the my favorite recipe for fresh green beans.

Recipe for Fresh Bean Salad

Asparagus with Chopped Egg and Vinaigrette

I am not sure why we dyed so many eggs for Easter. My kids just get so excited about the colors and the eggs seem to go to fast. Of course we used the hard-boiled eggs for the usual things that we love- Egg Salad Sandwiches and Deviled Eggs, but I didn't take pictures because I have posted about both of those before (last year). I was looking for a different recipe that would use a couple of the eggs.
I remembered this recipe from the April issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray and asparagus has been very affordable lately, so I decided this was the next thing I was going to try.
This recipe is really easy. I had everything on hand and it was ready in a matter of minutes. You just press the eggs through a sieve and place them on top of the asparagus which is drizzled with the vinaigrette. It turned out great and made for a nice side dish.

Asparagus with Chopped Egg and Vinaigrette

Susan Jaslove

From Every Day with Rachael Ray

April 2009

SERVES 8

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 5 min

3 bunches asparagus (about 3 pounds), tough ends snapped off
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs, hard-boiled

1. In a large, deep skillet, add enough salted water to reach a depth of 2 inches; bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water and let stand until chilled. Drain and pat dry.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, shallot, mustard, tarragon and orange peel. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until combined; season with salt and pepper.

3. Cut the hard-boiled eggs in half, then press through a sieve into a small bowl. Toss the asparagus with some of the vinaigrette. To serve, drizzle with more dressing and top with the eggs.

Coming Tomorrow- Craving Ellie- Balsamic Chicken

Three-Grain Risotto with Asparagus Spears

Okay- I confess. I am obsessed with risotto. You probably already know this if you ever look at my blog. I have tried it with all types of grains, vegetables, seasonings, spices and everytime I love it.
This Cooking Light recipe uses arborio rice, quinoa, and instant barley. A nice combination of grains. I love all of those grains and I was excited to see how a combination of the three would turn out.
I also really like asparagus, as do my kids and it was perfect with this risotto.
This recipe was a little bit creamier than some of the others that I have tried-I think because of the milk and cheese that is added near the end, but the extra creaminess was very delicious.
I ordered risotto at a restaurant recently and was very disappointed by the taste. It was practically soup. Does anyone have any recommendations of a good place to order risotto? Even if you do, I will probably just keep making it at home. I tend to think you can make almost anything at home that will be just as good or better than eating out. But that is just me.

Three-Grain Risotto with Asparagus Spears from Cooking Light

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed (I omitted this)

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2 medium)

1/2 cup uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice

1/2 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup dry white wine ( I used chicken broth)

1 cup water

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

2/3 cup 1% low-fat milk

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 asparagus spears, steamed

1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted

Bring saffron and broth to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil).

Keep warm over low heat.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 3 minutes. Add rice, barley, and quinoa; sauté 2 minutes.

Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed. Stir in 1 cup water; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly.

Add broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total).
Remove from heat; stir in cheese and next 4 ingredients (cheese through pepper). Top with asparagus spears, and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Up Next- Craving Ellie- Salmon and Lentils and Barefoot Bloggers- Chinese Chicken Salad