Leftovers Salad

I laid awake in bed last night, thinking about my blog. I was trying to decide what I would focus on. Would I explore the wines of France? Maybe talk about the difference between the Italian Barbaresco and the Barolo? Dive into a dissertation about Belgian yeast and brewing techniques, and how it has affected American beer styles? Hmmm, sounds a little heavy right off the bat. Maybe not. When all else fails - KISS - keep it simple stupid.

So I will discuss what I made for dinner last night.

Yesterday was our Sunday. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are great days to have off. You can go to the mall and not have to fight the crowds. Schedule a doctor's appointment if needed. Go to the beach. We do what other normal people do on the weekends, we just celebrate it on different days. In most households, Sunday is the day for that big family meal. Gathering around the table and catching up on the week's events. Well, Im going to disappoint you, there was no big family meal last night. Our friend James came for the weekend and after a night of celebrating the fact that we hadn't seen each other in two weeks, I had no desire to cook that big family meal. Instead I rummaged the refrigerator for something quick and easy. By quick and easy I don't mean DiGiorno. What I consider quick and easy, it just means that I didn't plan it that morning and had to work with what I had on hand. We had enough romaine and spinach for a meal sized salad each, frozen shrimp, prosciutto, goat cheese, left over baby asparagus and some homemade salad dressing. The perfect meal when you had oh, maybe a hamburger at lunch, and you just aren't THAT hungry. So here is my recipe for a salad made of whatever I had leftover in the fridge.

Leftovers Salad

serves 2

2 servings mixed romaine and spinach

1/2 lb steamed baby asparagus (the really skinny ones)

2 oz prosciutto

12 frozen shrimp

2 tbsp sweet cream butter

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp Old Bay Blackening Seasoning (or your favorite blackening seasoning)

Soft goat cheese crumbles

Homemade poppyseed dressing - recipe below

Rinse lettuce, pat dry and tear apart on two large plates. Cut asparagus in half or thirds and lay over lettuce. Slice prosciutto into thin strips and scatter over asparagus.

Place shrimp into a collander and thaw under cool running water. Remove tails if there are any. Heat medium sized saute pan and melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds to release the aroma. Add shrimp and blackening seasoning. Cook until shrimp is pink and just cooked, 3-5 minutes. Immediately place shrimp on the salad and top with goat cheese. The goat cheese will soften with the heat of the shrimp. Top with homemade poppyseed dressing. Enjoy!

Homemade Poppyseed Dressing

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp grated onion

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 cup vegetable oil

Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and then slowly wisk in oil. Keep in an airtight salad dressing container in the refrigerator.

The salad dressing recipe comes from one of the Junior League of Seattle cookbooks, I think it is the Seattle Classics one, which I don't have. I called my aunt one day to get the recipe because it is one of my favorites. Just the right amount of sweet with a nice tartness. I think the actual recipe in the book calls for romaine, red lettuce and spinach, with bacon, canned mandarin oranges and feta cheese. Im not a huge fan of canned mandarin oranges, but it's a really great salad.

Im also having a hard time finding good prosciutto down here. Absolutely nothing compares to French and Italian cured pork, but you can usually find a decent version at a good grocery store. Top Food and Haggen in the NW has a nice selection. You can even get deli sliced prosciutto and pancetta. I haven't checked Whole Foods yet, but they might be a better bet than the stuff they carry at Publix. It's some imported German stuff with juniper berries. Definitely lacking the flavor and intensity that I usually find with good cured pork.

Alright, well the dogs are bugging me to take them for a walk, so Im going to wrap it up. I'll leave you with a good quote I read last night in my book, Encore Provence by Peter Mayle. He was discussing the reasoning behind the French population's secret to old age and low heart disease rate when in fact, they eat a high fat diet and drink more red wine than any country in the world. It remains a mystery, but his findings suggest that it may simply be a matter of their uncanny ability to take pleasure in being alive.

"If there is such a thing as a formula for a long and happy old age, perhaps it's no more than that- to eat, to drink, and to be merry. Above all, be merry."