With all this 'back in the day' stuff, I miss the 'back in the day' stories by TJM! I think he became 'disenchanted' and left the forums. Hopefully, he's a lurker and will, again, contribute and continue to entertain us!!><


Contessa

He probably kept getting edited or erased

Not here, he won't!! He's never written anything that required editing, to my recollection. I, for one, miss his great stories and sense of humor!!

Contessa

off the subject but, Contessa, how about a nice summer recipe ???? or 2

Here...here..

In the meantime, I have a nice recipe for a refreshing summer salad that's semi-easy to make...

Ingredients:
1 bag of Mixed Baby Greens (Mesclun Greens)
1 small can Mandarin Oranges drained
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
a sprinkling of sugar
Dressing:
2 tablespoons of a good balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of Maille Honey Dijon mustard (no other mustard will do and it must be Honey Dijon)
Xtra Virgin Olive Oil to taste

Clean your Mesclun Greens (Mixed baby greens) and spin dry.
Place in a big salad bowl and set aside.

Toast your sliced almonds in a big frying pan over medium heat. When the almonds start to toast sprinkle sugar over them and stir quickly and often until the sugar starts to caramelize. Take the pan off of the heat before it starts to smoke (Because of the smoking factor keep a good eye on this). Be careful touching the almonds as the caramelized sugar will burn! Slide the almonds into a bowl and let cool. Once cool, break the almonds apart and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl place the 1 tablespoon of Maille Honey Mustard and the 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and wisk well.

While quickly wisking the vinegar mix, VERY SLOWLY (and I mean SLOWLY) begin to gently pour the Xtra Virgin Olive oil a tablespoon at a time, but continuing to wisk rapidly all the time, until the mixture emulsifies (thickens). To keep the dressing emulsified, continue to slowly pour the olive oil a little at a time and then wisking to keep the texture. Keep doing this until you attain a medium beige color. You should have about 1/4 cup before stopping. Taste to make sure that your vinaigrette is not too strong yet not to bland. Set aside.

Open and drain well your small can of mandarin oranges. Add the cooled almonds and mandarin oranges to your Meslcun greens.

Add your vinaigrette dressing a little at a time, mixing thoroughly until all the greens are lightly coated. DO NOT add all the vinaigrette unless needed! It all depends on how many greens are in the bowl.

The remaining vinaigrette dressing can be refrigerated and used as a dipping sauce for carrots, celery, cucumbers, etc. Never freeze the vinaigrette as it will separate and if it separates, it should not be used. If your vinaigrette does not emulsify try again starting at the beginning but add the liquified dressing to the new batch instead of fresh olive oil. This is the only step that needs perfection. It is worth it to keep trying until you get it right.

Even my husband loves this salad and he is a very picky eater.

Enjoy!