dilled new potato salad

from prevention.com

2 lb small waxy potatoes

1-2 ribs celery, thinly sliced

1 c lightly mashed haas avocado (about 2 avocados)

1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 T reduced-fat sour cream

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 T finely chopped fresh dill

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes in large pot and cover with cold water (add salt if desired). Bring to a boil and cook 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain. Chill in refrigerator for about an hour.

Slice potatoes and place in large bowl. Stir in celery. Mix avocado and lemon juice in small bowl . Add sour cream, scallions, dill and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine with potato mixture. Serve immediately, garnishing with more fresh dill if desired.

Add more lemon juice to leftovers to help maintain color. Keep tightly covered and chilled.

4 servings, 273 cal,10 g fat, 6 g protein, 43 g carb, 8 g fiber

oriental chicken salad

this is our attempt to recreate the chinese chicken salad from california pizza kitchen

chicken:

1/4 c teriyaki sauce

2 t olive oil

1 t minced garlic

1 t minced fresh ginger

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

salad:

greenleaf or iceberg lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 1/8"-wide strips

romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 1/8"-wide strips

1 c shredded carrots

1/3 c sesame seeds, toasted

1/3 c minced fresh cilantro

1 red or yellow bell pepper, julienned

1 cucumber, seeds scooped out and julienned

12 large fresh basil leaves, cut crosswise into thin strips

1 large bunch scallions, thinly sliced, both green and white parts

dressing:

1 c bottle hoisin sauce

3 oz red wine vinegar

2 T minced fresh ginger

2 T Dijon mustard

1 1/2 t Vietnamese chili sauce

1/2 c olive oil

2 T toasted sesame oil

Put all the dressing ingredients except the 2 oils in a mixing bowl. Blend thoroughly with a handheld electric mixer or a whisk. Then, mixing or whisking continuously, slowly pour in the olive an sesame oils, stirring until thoroughly blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat a stovetop grill or the broiler. In a mixing bowl, stir together the teriyaki sauce, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Coat the chicken with the marinade and leave them to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Grill or broil the chicken until cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then cut crosswise into 1/4" strips. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine lettuces, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and basil. Add most of scallions and some dressing. Toss to combine. Transfer to serving plates. Arrange chicken strips on top of each salad. Drizzle a little salad dressing on top and garnish with remaining scallions.

French Tuna Salad

(From the New York Times Magazine 9/5/04)

10 to 12 ounces good-quality solid tuna packed in olive oil, well drained
2 scallions washed, trimmed and chopped fine
6 pepperoncini peppers, destemmed and julienned
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup roasted or smoked almonds, chopped roughly, or a small handful toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup good-quality olive oil (or the oil the tuna was packed in)
1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or more to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Mix all the ingredients well with a fork in a medium-size, nonreactive bowl. Taste and adjust the lemon juice and pepper. The salad can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated.

Yield: About 2 cups.

corn avocado salad

6 ears of corn, as fresh as possible
2 avocados
2 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers
1 large sweet onion
3-4 large stalks celery
smoked or roasted turkey breast, cut into chunks (optional)
fresh cilantro (optional)

juice of 3 limes
white wine vinegar
salad oil (I use walnut, but any light flavored oil should work, do not use olive)
white pepper
salt
ground coriander (omit if using fresh cilantro)
red pepper flakes

Make the dressing first so the flavors can start to combine. Juice three limes into a glass/Pyrex measuring pitcher. Add vinegar until you have a third a cup of liquid. Add salt, white pepper, ground coriander, and pepper flakes to taste. Whisk in salad oil until you have two thirds of a cup of liquid. Some people may prefer a higher oil to vinegar ratio, since this can be kind of tart, if so, increase oil accordingly.

Boil (or microwave) the corn, being careful not to overcook. Let cool and cut the kernels off the cobs. Put corn in large bowl. Dice the peppers into medium sized chunks (maybe 1/2" square?). Chop the onion (maybe 1/4" bits--not too finely). Cut the celery once or twice lengthwise and then across as needed to wind up with small chunks. Add peppers, onions, celery and stir together.

The first time I made this, I stirred half the dressing in the corn-pepper-onion-celery mixture and let it sit overnight. The next day I diced the avocado and turkey into 1/2" pieces, and threw those in with the rest of the dressing. If using canned black beans, I would also drain and rinse and add at this point. If using fresh cilantro, add right before serving. If you don't overdress it, this keeps well for a couple days in an airtight container.

Asian Vegetable Salad

Serves 2

2 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp honey
½ tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced
½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
75g fine Chinese egg noodles
85g mangetout, trimmed
115g red cabbage, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into julienne (matchstick-sized) strips
¼ cucumber, peeled and sliced into julienne strips
2 spring onions, finely sliced
115g fresh bean sprouts
115g tofu, diced into small cubes
Juice of lime
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the soy sauce, honey and ginger and chilli, if using, in a small saucepan. Set over a low heat and keep just below boiling point for 2-3 minutes. Pour the sesame oil into the warm ginger soy sauce and whisk in the vinegar. Tip into a large mixing bowl.

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions — usually, this is to drop them into a pan of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain thoroughly and shake dry, then mix into the ginger soy sauce.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, then add the mangetout to the pan. Slowly count to 10, then drain the mangetout and cool under the cold tap. Pat dry on kitchen paper and finely slice at an angle. Mix into the noodles with the sliced cabbage, carrots, cucumber, spring onions and bean sprouts. Pat dry the diced tofu and add to the bowl. Add the lime juice, adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.