Tag Archives: brunch

French Summer Bistro Salad

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Nothing says al fresco dining than a classic French bistro salad featuring a combination of leafy lettuces topped with a light tangy dressing and served with creamy poached eggs or warm quiche on the side! This beautiful and inspired summer salad features just four simple ingredients that are complex in flavor and vibrant in color and texture. Delicate frisee, peppery radicchio, thinly sliced fennel, and hints of bright fresh mint are tossed with a zesty lemon vinaigrette, making for an elegant brunch side dish or main staple for your evening picnic at the park. It pairs perfectly with assorted cheeses, sliced fruit, eggs, crusty French bread, and a clink of wine or champagne to enhance your tasteful meal that everyone is sure to devour. A votre sante!

Ingredients

  • ½ fennel bulb, stalks and base removed and slivered into very thin half moons
  • 4 cups chopped radicchio
  • 5 cups frisee (or curly endive lettuce)
  • ½ cup French mint leaves, torn into small pieces

Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Juice of ¼ lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Mix salad ingredients together in large salad bowl. In a small side bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside on the counter for 1 hour prior to allow time for shallots to marinate. Toss salad well with vinaigrette when ready to serve.

Photos from a recent visit to Mackinac Island, Michigan with my mom… my first vacation in years!

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Pomegranate Mint Citrus Salad

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Pomegranates represent eternal life and fertility in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, but over the centuries this divine red fruit has also come to symbolize power in cultures across the globe. Today, pomegranates play an important role in Middle Eastern and even Chinese cuisine and their juices have been used in everything from Oriental carpet dyes to the Indian Ayurveda system of traditional medicine because of their rich vitamin and antioxidant healing properties. Pomegranates are even consumed during the Jewish New Year as the fruit supposedly contains the mystical number of 613 seeds corresponding with the commandments in the Torah. With all this rich history of symbolism throughout history, this often underrated fruit also happens to add a delightfully sweet and tart crunchy bite to any dish. You may want to double up on ingredients if you are serving a crowd!


INGREDIENTS:
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 navel orange
1 blood orange
2 clementines
1 handful of fresh mint leaves, diced with a few sprigs for serving
¼ cup of chopped pistachios, unshelled and salted
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
2 TB honey

Working with one fruit at a time, slice into 1/4’’ thick rounds, discarding the top and bottom and
trimming off the peels with a sharp knife to remove all the bitter white pith. Arrange these rounds into a colorful overlapping pattern on a platter, then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with pistachios, pomegranate seeds, mint, and salt. Chill in fridge for about an hour before serving.