Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...One of the things for which Helen Corbitt is remembered, is the poppy seed dressing she used to dress the grapefruit and avocado salad served in the Zodiac Room at the Neiman Marcus store in Dallas, Texas. She was an well-educated Irish New Yorker who spent most of her food career in the state of Texas, including 18 years as the majordomo of food services for the Neiman Marcus empire. She was by all accounts a modest, but opinionated woman, who wrote five cookbooks and was the first woman to garner the food service industry's highest accolade, the Golden Plate Award. She fed president's and kings and became a trend setter in the 1950's. While she is credited for many innovations, among them poppy seed dressing and cowboy caviar, she insisted she had not created many of the things attributed to her. She did, however, bring them to everyone's attention and made them popular. You can read more about her here and if you are a collector of cookbooks you can find a collection of her recipes, The Best of Helen Corbitt's Kitchens, here. I am a newcomer to her recipes and I wanted to try the poppy seed dressing she made famous. In order to do that, I had to reconstruct the signature salad that she dressed with it. I wanted to share both with you, as together they make a nice summer salad. The dressing would work well with any citrus salad. Is it as good as they say it is? Probably not, but it's nice to have a dressing for fruit salad handy and this one is easy to make and perfectly serviceable. Here's the recipe.

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Texas Home Cooking

Ingredients:
Dressing
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salad
2 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned into cubes
1 avocado, peeled and cut into cubes
4 cups trimmed watercress

Directions:
1) To make poppy seed dressing: In a food processor or with a mixer, combine sugar, honey, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, onion, salt and paprika. Pour in oil and continue mixing until dressing is thick. Blend in poppy seeds. Refrigerated dressing will keep for 2 to 3 weeks. If it separates, process or mix again before serving. Yield: 1 cup.
2) To make the salad: Arrange a bed of watercress on each of 4 salad plates. Top with avocado and grapefruit pieces. Drizzle each salad with 1 tablespoon dressing. Makes 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Endive, Pear and Watercress Salad - One Perfect Bite
Andalusian Salad with Avocados, Oranges and Almonds - One Perfect Bite
Berry Patch Salad - One Perfect Bite
Summer Fruit Salad - The English Kitchen
Citrus Salad - Wine Lady Cooks
Moroccan Fruit Salad - Moroc Mama
Dragon Fruit Salad - Pham Fatale

Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I first had this salad in New York City at a restaurant called Arizona 206. Chef Brendan Walsh was head of the kitchen at that time and one of the restaurant's signature dishes was this lovely cilantro rice. I had the rice so often that I was able to reconstruct it in my own kitchen from taste memory. I liked it then, and I like it now, because it's an easy and inexpensive way to feed a large number of people. It's also a wonderful accompaniment to Southwestern or Mexican meals. While I doubt this will become your favorite rice dish, it's great for church suppers, block parties and other large gatherings where refrigerator and oven space space is at a premium. This rice salad is one of those rare dishes that is actually better when served at room temperature. The version of the recipe I have in my files feeds 36 people. I re-sized it earlier this week to serve with a Southwestern-style meal I had planned for four people. I thought you might like to have a copy of the smaller recipe for your files. Without further ado, here's how we make Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad. Oh, and should you like the recipe for 36, multiply all ingredients, save the lime zest, by four.

Southwestern Cilantro Rice Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Brendan Walsh

Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
1 cup long grain or basmati rice
1 teaspoon kosher salt + salt to taste
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper, cut in 1/4-inch rice
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons tablespoons fresh lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Bring water to a boil in a 3-quart pan set over high heat. Stir in rice and salt and bring back to a boil. Immediately cover pan and lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let rice sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.
2) Transfer rice to a large pan. I use a roasting pan to assure enough space to thoroughly mix rice with other ingredients. Add cilantro, red and yellow peppers, olive oil, lime zest and juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve immediately or cover and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Moors and Christians - One Perfect Bite
Forbidden Rice and Jewel Toned Grains - One Perfect Bite
Arroz con Pollo - One Perfect Bite

Wild Rice, Celery and Walnut Salad - Outdoor Wednesday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Last summer I had the opportunity to tour a local farm where wild rice is grown. While the Willamette Valley is beautiful, heavy clay soil restricts what can be grown here. Fortunately, the damp clay of the valley floor is perfect for growing grasses and wild rice is, as you know, a water-grass. Years ago a grain specialist at Oregon State University, tossed a handful of wild rice seeds into a pond behind his home to see if they would grow in this climate. A year later he had wild rice in his yard and published an article about it. As a result of the article, some far-thinking farmers planted a water-grass crop and the state's wild rice industry was born. At the moment our wild rice is still under water. In late April or early May, sprouts emerge from the water and rest on its surface. It looks a bit like seaweed at this point. Come June, the rice goes through a growth spurt and begins to stand erect. It will grow until it's about 6 feet tall and set flowers sometime in July. When the flowers set seed, the fields in which the rice grows are drained and the crop is mechanically harvested. Combined rice is allowed to ferment before it's de-hulled, dried, sorted and packaged for sale to locavores. Now the only problem is what to do with it. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of recipes for wild rice available to us. I found the recipe for this salad in the New York Times. I've modified it over and over again and have finally come up with something I really like. This recipe can also be used for brown rice, should you prefer it. The salad should be served at room temperature. Here's the recipe.

Wild Rice, Celery and Walnut Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Martha Rose Shulman and the New York Times

Ingredients:
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup wild rice, rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup broken and toasted walnut pieces or 1 cup candied walnuts
1-1/4 cups thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
Salad Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons low-fat yogurt

Directions:
1) Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add salt and wild rice. Simmer, covered, for 40 minutes, or until rice is tender and splayed. Drain. Toss with walnuts, celery and parsley.
2) To make salad dressing, place lemon juice, garlic,salt, pepper, sugar, walnut oil, olive oil and yogurt in a jar with a lid. Shake until combined. Pour over wild rice mixture and toss to mix. Adjust seasonings to taste. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Bulgur Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
Warm Asian Rice Salad
Asian Bean Sprout Salad

This is being linked to:
Outdoor Wednesday - A Southern Daydreamer

Circassian Chicken - Cerkez Tavugu

Circassian Chicken is a Turkish wonder that's seems to be lost in time. The dish is like an extremely nutritious and flavorful chicken salad. While it still graces the meze tables of Turkey and once graced sabbath tables in the ghettos and shettles of North Africa and Europe, it's never gained popularity in the United States. The dish, a poached chicken in a walnut sauce, was brought to Turkey by slaves from Georgia. Jews who settled in Turkey following their expulsion from Spain, adapted the dish to their dietary rules. The prohibition of cooking on the Sabbath gave rise to meals, such as this chicken, that could be made ahead and kept warm in the dying embers of the stove or fireplace. This is one of those dishes that looks much harder to do than it actually is. Years ago, the grinding of nuts was a chore, but blenders and food processors have made swift work of a once tedious task. You can have this chicken on the table in an hour. It's not expensive to make and I think you'll like it, especially if you're looking to add a "wow" factor to your meals. This is one of those dishes you should try before you die. Serve it with warm pita bread and crisp lettuce. You're gonna' like the way this tastes.

Circassian Chicken - Cerkez Tavugu

Ingredients:
3 pounds (about 6) boneless chicken breasts
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup + 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, divided use
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. shelled walnuts, finely chopped
5 slices white bread, crusts removed, finely chopped or grated
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons paprika, divided use
3 tablespoons walnut oil

Directions:
1) Place chicken breasts and onion in a large skillet. Add water, lemon juice, cilantro and parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, about 25 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove chicken, reserving stock. Set aside to cool. Shred chicken into bite size pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain stock and reserve.
2) While chicken cooks, place walnuts in bowl of a food processor with some breadcrumbs and 1 tablespoon paprika. Pulse to combine. Add remainder of crumbs and pulse until fine. Slowly add reserved stock and puree until stock is like a thick soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3) Toss chicken with some sauce, reserving half for topping. Transfer to a serving platter. Top with remaining sauce.
4) Warm walnut oil and reserved 2 teaspoons paprika in a small pan. Drizzle over top of chicken. Garnish with reserved 2 tablespoons parsley. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

I'm sending this recipe to dp at Blazing Hot Wok for her Regional Recipes event. The country this month is Turkey.

Mexican Black Bean Salad

This is another side dish that's nice to serve with a Mexican entrée. Truth be told, this is one of the dishes that I have as a main course when I'm alone for dinner. The recipe calls for a half cup of oil. I've found that a fourth cup is plenty and I've been known to eliminate the oil all together. This is a pantry recipe - you probably have all the ingredients sitting on your cupboard shelves. This is a recipe that the kids can help you make.

Mexican, Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 (14.5-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1-1/2 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes
1/3 cup minced cilantro + cilantro for garnish
1-1/2 cups thawed, frozen corn kernels
3/4 cup thinly sliced scallions (white and tender green)

Directions:
1) Combine lime juice, lemon juice, mustard, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper in a lidded shaker jar. Add the oil and shake to combine.
2) Combine black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, corn, and scallions in a medium bowl. Toss with dressing. Chill. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Yield: 4 servings.

Fattoush

There are only two of us at the table most nights. I really like this recipe but it is one that feeds the multitudes so we only have it occasionally. The recipe contains one special ingredient - sumac. Sumac is a bush that grows all over the middle east and in southern Italy. It is available from mail order spice vendors. It's a souring agent like lemon juice, tamarind or vine vinegar but it's less acidic. It is most commonly used as a dry rub for chicken, meat or fish but it can also be added to other dishes near the end of cooking time. Fattoush is a Lebanese bread salad - like a panzanella but made with stale pita instead of Italian bread. This is great as an accompaniment to grilled lamb. There's a lot of chopping but fattoush is easy enough to do. I hope you'll give it a try.

Fattoush

Ingredients:
6 small (6-inch) day old pita bread, cut in 1/2-inch squares
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon salt + salt to taste
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
3 large ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut in 1/4-inch dice
2 scallions, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 small red onion, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded in 1/4-inch dice
1 large English cucumber, seeded and cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 large head Romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pita on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2) Place garlic, chili and salt in the bowl of a small food processor. Process until a paste is formed. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in lemon juice and sumac. Whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3) Combine tomatoes, scallions, onions, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, parsley, mint and cilantro in a large bowl. Add salad dressinf and toss to coat. Toss in toasted pita and serve immediately. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Adapted from a recipe created by Andy D'Amico