Egg Roll Salad

Perfect Pairing: Deep straight-sided skillet with a lid        

It is hard to believe I have been an “Iowan” for almost three months!  I don’t know where the time has gone.  Chris and I love living here and it really feels like home.  That being said, we both agree that sometimes it feels like we are playing house and soon we will have to move back into a one bedroom city condo.  Our baby boy is growing (and boy am I growing) and kicking and moving!  I love to watch and feel him moving around and getting comfy in there.  He has a tendency to stop as soon as Chris puts his hand on my stomach.  Stinker!

A big part of the move has been my transition to working from home full time.  So far I have really enjoyed the experience.  I did find that I need to make myself get out and do things because a few days will go by without leaving my neighborhood.  I’m sure it will be 10x harder once baby boy Lam arrives!  While I no longer need to pack a lunch to take to the office I find that it is much easier to have a big batch of something made at the beginning of the week so I can have a quick lunch ready when I don’t have a lot of time away from my desk. 

This Egg Roll Salad has been a staple lunch for me since I started working from home.  Not only is it delicious and satisfying it is incredibly light and healthy.  It is full of protein and fiber!  It is called an Egg Roll Salad because it tastes like the inside of an egg roll.  Side note, one thing that we miss from Chicago was the Chinese food delivery place that was a block from our condo.  The meals were just ok but they had the BEST egg rolls I’ve ever had in my life and they would legit deliver in under 15 minutes.  I miss those unhealthy rolls. 

I use my trusty straight sided skillet for this meal.  I use this skillet more than any other pan in my kitchen.  I am actually on my second generation because I wore out the first one.  Tip from the top, I found both of mine at a discount price at Home Goods.  You need a pan that has a large capacity for this recipe since you will be steaming two bags of slaw. 

I always serve this with an extra drizzle of soy sauce and sriracha.  So good!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Sloppy Joe Dip

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Pumpkin Crisp

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-Ups

Five years ago on Perfecting the Pairing (my first ever "Five years ago!": Baked Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

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Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Perfect Pairing: Grilled dinner

Last summer I went to a food and wine festival at Lincoln Park in Chicago.  Chris gave me the tickets for my birthday and I was SO excited.  The morning of the festival I woke up feeling gnarly and not at all like going to a food festival, but I persevered because that is my mecca.  I saw demos from some of my favorite chefs like Rick Bayless and Stephanie Izard and tried lots of good food and wine.  Fortunately, I felt better as the day went on and we had a great time!

One of the best bites of food I had all day was a truffled Mexican street corn.  Holy corn Batman, it was delicious.  I may have gone back for seconds… and thirds.  It was a small piece of sweet corn rolled in some glorious mayonnaise mixture then topped with parmesan and shaved truffles.  I just can’t even describe it. 

Last summer my cousin’s wife made an extraordinarily good Mexican Street Corn dip for our annual Lake House Chef’s Challenge.  It was a serious crowd pleaser.  So, ever since the dip and the festival corn I have been wanting to try a variation on Mexican street corn.

Enter Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad!  Grilled corn and grilled scallions are mixed with pasta in a tangy sauce and then combined with cilantro, parmesan and avocado.  It is really tasty. 

If you have not grilled your scallions you are missing out.  It totally changes the flavor.  They are fantastic on tacos.

This salad is so not the typical summer pasta salad and would be a hit at any party.  There is some prep involved so I think it is paired best with a simple grilled entrée like hamburgers or brats. 

I wonder what else you can do with Mexican street corn.  Goals!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Simple Fruit Dip

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Avocado and Strawberry Toast with Feta and Honey

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Salted Peanut Bars

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Fruit Pizza Cookies

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Arugula and Pea Salad

Perfect Pairing:  That oh-so healthy time between Thanksgiving and Christmas!

I am lucky/unlucky enough to have a brother that lives in San Francisco.  The lucky part is obvious because San Francisco is one of the world’s greatest cities.  The unlucky part is that it is very far from Chicago and I miss his family.  I have two very adorable nieces that steal your heart.  As my mom always says when she leaves there after a visit, “I left part of my heart in San Francisco.”

We have gone out to San Francisco for Thanksgiving many times throughout the years and it is a blast.  This year was no different!  While in the city we tried some amazing restaurants (State Bird Provision and Michael Chiarello’s Coqueta) and did some shopping and a little hiking.  I also had my first experience with Shabu-Shabu, which is a Japanese dish that you cook at your table.  It is not often that I try something completely foreign to me, and I loved it! 

Of course we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with way too much food.  Hence, the necessary pre-meal hike.

The day after we set off for a weekend in wine country.  We visited about 7 or 8 wineries.  It was a tough job, but we were up to the task.

I swear the sun is a different color there and it shines so bright.

We had so many amazing wines and really enjoyed meeting people at the wineries and exploring the grounds.

We will be back!

We all know that the diet goes steadily downhill after Halloween, and a fresh salad most definitely has its place during that time.  

I love this super simple Arugula and Pea salad.  It has bright herbs, crunchy peas, peppery arugula, and a super simple light dressing.  It is easy to pair with pretty much anything.  Perhaps a crisp California white wine?!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Wheat Berry Chicken Salad

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Thai Pumpkin Soup

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs

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Simple Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Perfect Pairing: Seeded cucumbers (spoon method)

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, or perhaps are just lucky to know someone with a garden who likes to share, you probably have a lot of cucumbers.  In honor of the last day of summer (waaaa!), here is a super simple cucumber salad.

I made this all summer long to serve with anything off the grill, or alongside of my favorite Tomato Pie.  I always use fresh dill, but will throw in fresh basil and mint if I have access to it.

Garden cucumbers often have a thick, sometimes bitter, skin and lots of seeds.  I like to peel the cucumber, slice it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon.  If you are feeling motivated and have the time you can salt the cucumbers in a strainer for 30-45 minutes to drain off excess water before making the salad, but this is not necessary.

Soak up the last day of summer!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Strawberry and Prosciutto Grilled Bread

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: 7-Up Biscuits

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Candied Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich

Four years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grandma Rosie’s Ice Cream Dessert

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Caesar Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables

Perfect Pairing: Yogurt based Caesar dressing

Pasta salads can be so bad.  Rarely, rarely do I like pasta salads from restaurants or grocery store delis.  They all have the same odd taste and are just not worth the calories.  There ARE good pasta salads out there though!  I don’t want to pat myself on the back, but this one is really good.  I think I just did it anyway.

Grape tomatoes, whole button mushrooms, and sweet onions are grilled then tossed with pasta, arugula, and a super simple dressing.

The dressing is made with store-bought Caesar dressing.  I used this yogurt variety so it was a little lower in calories and fat.  The dressing is whisked with pesto and fresh lemon juice.  If you happen to have an abundance of homemade pesto stocked in your freezer (I’m so jealous) use that, but feel free to use store-bought pesto here.

We ate this while it was still slightly warm.  YUM.  It was also great leftover chilled.  It would be fantastic with grilled chicken or steak for a full meal. 

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Avocado and Strawberry Toast with Feta and Honey

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Thai Peanut Pasta Salad

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Grapefruit Margaritas

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Brussels Sprout and Pear Salad with Bacon and Candied Pistachios

 Perfect Pairing:  Sheller

 

I just got back from an absolutely amazing vacation in Cabo with my family and fiance.  It was pretty much perfection.  Here is the obligatory photo dump to prove it!

So now it is back to reality, which means guacamole is not served at every meal and mojitos (no sugar) are not offered at 4 PM for BOGO Happy Hour.  Sigh.

The best part about a spinach salad is obviously the bacon dressing.  I really love the Pioneer Woman’s spinach salad recipe.  She cooks the red onions and mushrooms in a little bacon grease instead of adding them raw.  That is a game changer.

This Brussels Sprout Salad takes its cue from the Spinach Salad since it is tossed with a warm bacon dressing. 

 

Then the whole thing is topped with crumbled bacon, pears, and candied pistachios.  How about a close-up?

 

This salad is all about contrast…. Crunchy bacon with soft pears, salty bacon with sweet candied nuts, warm bacon dressing with cold shredded Brussels sprouts.  Hmmm, sounds like this salad is all about the bacon. 

 

Waaay back at the start of the blog I posted an Asian Inspired Brussels Sprout Salad that was a copycat recipe.  I was trying to recreate a salad I had at a fabulous restaurant in Chicago called Sunda.  That recipe called for quickly stir frying half of the veggies.  If you are not into raw Brussels you could also try that method using some of the leftover bacon grease.  I am sure it wouldn’t suck.

You will need about a half cup of shelled pistachios for this recipe.  I recommend getting a sheller.  No, this is not something you buy at Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table.  Mine was my grandma.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lemon Cream Pasta

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Slow Cooker Lemon and Garlic Chicken

Three years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Ham, Cheese, and Asparagus Croissants  & Cherry Cheesecake (Perfect for Valentine's Day!)

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