Persnickety: December 2013

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Holiday Salad

I am indebted for this recipe to an unknown guest at an unknown party, with an unnamed salad....and yet she definitely knew her flavor and texture combinations! The sweet with the salty, the crisp with the crunchy, the red with the green.... a delightful salad, worthy of it's name! When asked the name of her inspired salad, the creator replied, "I don't know...let's call it Holiday Salad". The original recipe called for golden Sultana raisins...I use dried cranberries in a salute to the season which gives the combo more of a festive twist.

Holiday Salad

3 cups shredded Napa cabbage (or savoy cabbage)
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1 large red bell pepper, large dice
1 small red onion, peeled and slivered
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 bottle Briana brand poppyseed dressing
1 small can sliced water chestnuts

-Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Chill salad. Before serving, toss with dressing. Serves 8 - 12.

Foreign Cuisine in Plain English

SPAETLZE - Soft noodles of Swabish origin, the name translates as "little sparrow"-isn't that precious! For years I prepared spaetzle by pulling off a minuscule amount of batter, half a teaspoon at a time and plunging each into boiling, salted water - time consuming with a soggy result. Last year while eating spatezle in Germany I determined there must be a better way, particularly since I wasn't willing to dismiss this culinary treasure to the back of my recipe box! An inexpensive, effective kitchen tool has since revolutionzed spaetzle making for me. In fact the simple tool is so miraculous, I bought one for each of my daughters. The dumplings come out uniformly sized and processed in one swipe of the hand! If you decide you love spaetlze, which complements most German entrees deliciously, it is a worthy investment!

TABIL - the essential Tunisian spice! Tabil is a spice blend used in many Tunisian dishes, including cous cous, tajins, salads and soups. Tabil is available at some Middle Eastern Grocery stores. You may create your own by finely grinding 3 tab. coriander seeds, 1 1/2 tab. cumin seeds, 1 tab. caraway seeds and 1/2 tab. crushed red pepper flakes. May be kept several months in the freezer or stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

HARISSA - Tunisians like it spicy!! The addition of harissa, the national condiment of ground hot red peppers, should be carefully considered and used in moderation until the palettes of your feasters let you know otherwise. The mountain of dried red peppers in the Nabul open-air market and the unheeded tears streaming down the faces of exuberant gourmands slathering harissaon their baguettes, convinced me that here was an appetite of a hotter temperament than mine!