Blue Cheese, Tomato, and Herb Salad

 

There are days when I want to cook fancy…some days…not many days…perhaps none. Honestly, I can’t remember when I last made something fancy. For me, it’s all about comfort. Once I hit a certain age I made some declarations that included flat shoes, comfort cooking, and wearing pants only when necessary.

Abrams Books recently released a new cookbook by Anna Stockwell. It is called For The Table; Easy, Adaptable, Crowd-pleasing Recipes. I knew from the sound of it that it was a book that I could warm up to. I have been planning summer meals, being careful to consider making as much use as possible of fresh summer produce as it becomes available. Consequently, I decided to try her cover recipe Blue Cheese, Tomato, and Herb Salad. It was delicious! Honestly, I couldn’t believe how good the salad was considering the small amount of effort. Fresh herbs, blue cheese, sliced tomatoes, and a little sherry vinegar and oil, make this light, tasty, and pretty enough to serve to company. 

Blue Cheese, Tomato, and Herb Salad
From For the Table

4 lbs. mixed heirloom tomatoes,* sliced into ¼” thick rounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ c. good olive oil
1 T. sherry vinegar
½ lb. mild and firm blue cheese,** sliced into shards
1 c. dill fronds
1 c. parsley
¼ c. finely snipped chives

Place the tomatoes on a large serving platter and season all over with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then drizzle with the oil and vinegar and let sit at least 10 minutes. Add the cheese and herbs to the platter of tomatoes, and nudge gently to combine; taste and season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Serves 6 to 8, recipe easily halved to serve 2 to 4 or doubled to serve 12 to 14

* I didn’t have heirloom tomatoes, so just used red ones
** I used blue cheese crumbles

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 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of For the Table from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2021-2022.

 

Corn, Tomato, and Cherry Salad

Have you ever had one of those days when you needed something, but you really didn’t want to go to the grocery store? Truth be told, I have those days all of the time. I absolutely hate to shop. If I can’t get it online, I don’t want to have to go out and get it, because I’m busy all the time, and hate to interrupt what I’m doing to run to the store.

Today was no different. I found myself without traditional salad fixings, and by this I mean lettuce. I panic when I run out of lettuce, which is why I buy so much of it when I go to the grocery store. Honestly, the checker must think I keep rabbits or something, because I buy a number of heads of iceberg lettuce, romaine, green and red leaf, one of those packages of organic greens, you name it, it goes into my cart. Like my dad, I have a salad every day. I love salad, and a day just doesn’t seem right without having one.

Today it’s hot, humid, and I don’t want to go out, so I was rummaging around in the fridge trying to come up with something that would resemble a salad. I went out into the garden, harvested four tomatoes this morning (a bumper crop!), as well as a cucumber. When I came inside, I started rummaging around to see what remains I had in the vegetable crisper. I pulled out part of a red onion, and an ear of corn. Then, I pulled out a package of dried cherries. You may question the cherries, but don’t, many a time a hint of sweetness will give something savory a lot of zing, and it did exactly that here. All of this sounded like it would either make a very interesting salad, or a bang up salsa, or what the heck? Both! I was right, it did.

This is an amazing combination of things that I happened to have on hand. I tossed it together with vinaigrette, and added some feta cheese. I’m not sure whether to eat it with a fork, or get out a bag of tortilla chips and dig in. Either way, it’s delicious!

Corn, Tomato, and Cherry Salad
Serves 1-2

1 ear corn, kernels removed
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup diced red onion
1 cup diced cucumber
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 2-oz. pkg. Melissa’s Dried Tart Cherries
2 tablespoons feta cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette...or not

Toss all ingredients together and refrigerate for one hour to allow the flavors to meld. Serve it as a salad, or with chips as a salsa. You are going to love it!

PRINT RECIPE

Another delicious corn salad with a touch of sweetness is this Corn and Blueberry Salad.

This post is linked to:

Dream, Create, Inspire

Wonderful Wednesday

Whimsical Wednesdays

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
Wine’d Down Wednesday

Thursday Favorite Things
Grace at Home

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

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Creamed Tomato Bisque

 If you're anything like me, no matter how many cookbooks you happen to have in your culinary library, you tend to gravitate toward a select few. This week I have vowed to drag out some of the dusty oldsters that I've been giving short shrift and try some new recipes, but for today I'm revisiting a book that has long been a reliable favorite.

  I inherited this cookbook when I married my husband. It was as well-worn and comfortable as he was, and packed with interesting notes about dinners past.  Check out the price - $5.95!  You can hardly buy a magazine for that price these days. We have yet to prepare a recipe in this book that hasn't been good, but we haven't tried them all, so today I tested something different, and, no surprise, it was very good.  This easy to prepare, tasty bisque can be served warm or cold, so it's perfect year round.

Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here in the Mississippi Valley it is unseasonably cold, I'm talking middle-of-winter cold.  At a time when I should be pressing my face against the glass of the local garden center, I am, instead, wearing two sweaters and standing over a big pot stirring soup. Perusing seed catalogs offering a wide variety of Heirloom Tomatoes put me in a powerful mood for tomato soup, so Ina Garten to the rescue with this wonderful, easy, fresh tasting recipe. It's from her latest cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof,

 and can be steaming in a bowl in a little over 30 minutes. This is my new go-to tomato soup recipe, but it had a trifle too much orzo for me, so the next time, I'd cut the amount to 1/3 or a heaping 1/4 cup.

Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons

From Foolproof by Ina Garten

3 tablespoons good olive oil

3 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

4 cups homemade chicken stock

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Large pinch of saffron threads

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup orzo

1/2 cup heavy cream

Grilled Cheese Croutons to garnish

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, saffron, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, fill a medium pot with water, add 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and cook for 7 minutes. (It will finish cooking in the soup.)  Drain the orzo and add it to the soup. Stir in the cream, return the soup to a simmer, and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve hot with Grilled Cheese Croutons scattered on top.

 

Cream of Tomato Soup with Basil and Parmesan

There’s frost on the pumpkin, and what better way to warm up than with a comforting bowl of tomato soup.  This isn’t just any soup; it is the most delicious cream of tomato soup that will ever hit your palate.  To make your life even easier, it is made in the Crockpot.  A tomato soup fancier from way back, this recipe gets my dad’s thumbs up of approval! It is rich and decadent, so ladle into small bowls.  It also pairs quite deliciously with a thick slice of pumpkin challah.  What a soothing fall meal!

Cream of Tomato Soup with Basil and Parmesan

Makes about 2 quarts (about 8 servings)

2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 T. dried basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf

½ cup butter
½ cup flour

1 cup Parmesan cheese (I used 2/3s)
2 cups half and half, warmed

1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Place tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, chicken broth, and bay leaf into a large slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux by melting butter over low heat in a skillet and adding the flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 2-3 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup of the hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt, and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano to suit your tastes. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes until ready to serve.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

On the Menu Monday

Foodie Friday