Blue Times Two Salad Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together butter, blue cheese and shallot, and set aside.
• Season steaks well with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.
• Meanwhile, assemble your salad: In a large bowl, gently toss together the endive leaves, radishes and fennel. In a small bowl, whisk together the white-wine vinegar, orange zest, olive oil, parsley leaves, chives and tarragon, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Heat a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until very hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the canola oil. When it shimmers, add the hanger steak and let it cook, undisturbed, until it begins to crisp and brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and finish cooking about 3 minutes more or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 130 degrees for medium-rare.
• Move the steak to a cutting board, and spread with 2 tablespoons or so of the blue cheese butter and let rest 5 to 7 minutes. Slice steaks against the grain and finish with flaky salt, if desired. Plate the steak and serve with the salad alongside, spooning the dressing on top of the salad.

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl combine the couscous, scallion, celery, chicken and peas.
• In another mixing bowl combine blue cheese, mayonnaise, mustard and rice vinegar to taste; season with salt and pepper.
• Stir the blue cheese mixture into the couscous and plate.

Steps:

• Make the dressing: Zest the lemon into a small bowl, then halve the naked lemon and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Whisk in oil and season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Put the romaine into a large bowl, then top with tomatoes, bacon, cucumber, blue cheese and scallions. Drizzle in about two thirds of the dressing, then toss until well coated.
• Place sliced avocado and eggs on top of salad, and season lightly with salt and pepper (especially the avocado, which can take a lot of salt). Drizzle salad with remaining dressing, and serve.

Steps:

• Combine baby spinach, baby arugula, blueberries, and onion in a large bowl. Add the Double Blue Dressing (see below). Toss to combine. Sprinkle with pecans and the 1/4 cup blue cheese.
• Whisk together the VOSKOS® Nonfat Blueberry Greek Yogurt, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil in a bowl. Stir in the 2 tablespoons blue cheese. Cover and chill until serving time.

Steps:

• Make the dressing: Cover shallot rings with vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes to lightly pickle the shallots and infuse the vinegar. Add mustard and 3 tablespoons olive oil and, using a fork, whisk to blend. Season with salt and more pepper, if needed.
• Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Gently lower in 4 large eggs and boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and run cold water over to quickly chill. (You could throw a few ice cubes into the bowl as well.) Once the eggs are properly chilled, peel them and set them aside until you're ready to assemble the salad.
• Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, coarsely chop bacon and set aside.
• Drain all but roughly 2 tablespoons bacon grease from the skillet. (Toss the drained grease or reserve for another purpose.) Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the same skillet over medium-high heat until well browned on both sides and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a large plate or cutting board.
• Transfer any drippings (you should have at least 2 tablespoons) from the skillet to the bowl with the vinaigrette and whisk to blend, adding more olive oil if desired.
• Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces. (Alternatively, chop or slice it into bite-sized pieces.) Slice or chop the hard-boiled eggs.
• Arrange lettuce in your largest serving bowl or platter. Drizzle about half the dressing over the lettuce and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange the chicken in the center of the bowl or platter in a straight line. Place the tomatoes on one side and the eggs on the other. Place the avocado next to the eggs, and the blue cheese next to the tomatoes. Sprinkle bacon in the center of the bowl. Spoon remaining dressing over the top and sprinkle with chives.

Steps:

• Up to a day in advance, rinse and slice the strawberries, and prepare the blueberries by rinsing and picking over for stems.
• Right before serving, peel and slice the bananas into large bites and place in a medium bowl, and gently fold together with the strawberries and blueberries.
• Save a few extra blueberries to sprinkle on the top for an added pop of color.
• If you happen to have leftovers, store them in the fridge as soon as possible to avoid spoiling. Leftovers can be kept two to three days.

Steps:

• Mash yogurt with blue cheese, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and a grinding or two of pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon juice if necessary.
• Place each wedge of iceberg lettuce on a plate, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with nuts if using.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water) to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is just under al dente, 1 minute less than package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-low heat until crisp, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not burn, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Turn heat to medium and add the tomatoes to the skillet, tossing them to coat in the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper. As the moisture from the tomatoes releases, scrape any browned bits that have accumulated at the bottom of the pan (add a few tablespoons of the pasta water if you need to) and continue to cook until the tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Add half the cooked bacon back to the skillet and toss to combine.
• Increase the heat to medium-high and add the pasta directly to the skillet tossing to coat with the sauce. Add the arugula and 1/4 cup of the pasta water and carefully toss (you'll have a very full pan) until the arugula wilts. Add the cheese and an additional 1/4 cup pasta water and toss together until the cheese emulsifies and the pasta is glossy with sauce. If needed, add another 1/4 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce.
• Serve in bowls and top with remaining bacon. Pass the grated Pecorino Romano at the table and season with flaky salt, if desired.

Steps:

• For the Balsamic Vinaigrette, whisk together all ingredients except olive oil until thoroughly blended. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Makes 1 2/3 cups.
• For the Sweet and Spicy Pecans, stir together ¼ Celsius sugar and warm water until sugar is dissolved. Add pecans; soak for 10 minutes. Drain, discarding syrup. Combine 2 T. sugar. Chili powder, and pepper. Add pecans, tossing to coat. Place pecans on lightly greased baking sheet.* Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, stirring once.
• To assemble salad: Toss greens with some of the Balsamic Vinaigrette. Arrange on 6 plates. Arrange orange slices, berries, pecans and cheese over greens. Drizzle some additional dressing over salad and serve.
• If strawberries are not in season, I've substituted kiwi fruit -- I'm sure there are many fruits that you could use.
• *Note: I always line my baking sheet/pan with parchment paper -- the pecans get pretty sticky while baking and it sure makes the clean-up a snap.