Tonight's Menu
- leftover citrus grilled shrimp from last night
- leftover garlicky grilled flank steak from the night before
- a warm salad of green beans and cherry tomatoes FROM THE GARDEN!
- leftover spinach salad with oranges and toasted almonds
I had a teeny number of green beans from the garden (I've been saving them up in a ziploc bag in the fridge for the past week) and wanted to do something with them. I also had about six cherry tomatoes, also from the garden, that were languishing on my kitchen windowsill. So hey! Warm salad!
I simmered the beans in water until they were just tender, then drained them and dumped them in a bowl with halved cherry tomatoes. Then I took a TEENY bit of garlic, like half a clove, and minced it. I tossed the garlic into a skillet and added a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar along with an equal amount of sugar (which was a bit too much sugar, unfortunately) and let it reduce down a bit. (NOTE: I actually had to do all the above steps twice, because the first time, the pan was too hot and the sugar burned. Yuck.) Then I removed it from the heat and whisked in a little bit of EVOO (really fast, so it would emulsify) and drizzled this concoction over the beans and tomatoes. Add a chiffonade of fresh basil (from the HERB garden!), season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
It was really good, but like I said, just a TAD too sweet. Next time, less sugar! I put some of the dressing/sauce on my spinach salad as well and that was AWESOME. Made me wonder what it would be like if I added just a bit of orange juice next time? And cut way back on the sugar? Hmm. I smell a kitchen experiment!
3 comments:
What is a chiffonade? *blush*
Chiffonade is where you take a bunch of leaves (basil, in this case), stack them on top of each other, roll them the "long" way into a cigar shape, and then cut thin slices off the roll. You're sort of left with little shreds. This works great with basil but you can do it with other "leafy" herbs too, like mint and sage.
By the way, I STILL think your hat pattern is awesome. I'm just a dumbass when it comes to anything crafty! I will make it again on a smaller needle with less-nubbly yarn. I'm determined to get it right!
Dude you use words like chiffonade?
Holy crap. I am gonna have to dumb you down but good when I come to Austin.
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