Everyday Dinner

Fresh Frisee Salad with Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes, White Beans & Grilled Corn

A Seasonal Salad that Celebrates Both Cold & Warm Flavors
Filed Under > Appetizers & Sides

Frisee salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes, grilled corn and beans | recipe by Waiting on Martha
Fresh Frisee Salad with Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Corn & Beans

My husband hates frisee lettuce, but I actually love the stuff.  I think it adds great texture and interest to a salad.  But before I go any further and lose some of you, I’ll confess that I don’t consider myself a salad eater.  I find that a lot of cold salads fall flat, and rarely do I feel satisfied after eating them as my meal. 

But THIS, my friends, is the salad for non-salad eaters.  It’s honestly my favorite salad ever. It’s the warm and cold elements of the salad that make it both interesting and filling for me.  The warmth is brought by the sauteed white beans and corn (along with some red pepper flakes for a little heat!).  And the fresh frisee, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and creamy avocado give a certain coolness to each bite.  Truly, MKR

P.S. A quick tip if you’re getting your beans out of a can: as you probably know, you should rinse your beans as you take them out of the can because they’re super salty in there.  But what’s more: I recently learned that the only brand that doesn’t use harmful preserving ingredients in its cans is Eden Organics (which can be found at Whole Foods).  I’m always careful to use these beans to be safe!  xo 

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Fresh Frisee Salad with Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Corn & Beans
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
25 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 can of beans (you can use any, I used Great Northern White Beans here)
  2. 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  3. 1 avocado, chunked
  4. 2-3 ears of fresh corn or 1 can of canned corn
  5. Handful of fresh chopped cilantro as garnish
  6. olive oil, to dress the salad
  7. salt and pepper, to taste
  8. red chili pepper flakes, to taste
  9. Squeeze or two of fresh lime to taste
Instructions
  1. Halve the cherry tomatoes and chunk the avocado.
  2. Sautee the beans and corn together with red pepper flakes, olive oil and salt & pepper.
  3. On medium heat cook the mixture through allowing corn to keep a bit of its crunch 5-10 minutes.
  4. Refrain from letting the mixture get too hot; transfer to bed of frisee lettuce, tomatoes and avocado.
  5. Dress the salad with olive oil and season (to taste) with red chili pepper flakes, cilantro, lime, salt & pepper.
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Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Peaches & Mustard Quinoa

A Fresh, Easy, Seasonal Salad Bursting with Flavor in Every Bite
Filed Under > 30 Minute Meals

Heirloom tomatoes with grilled peaches and mustard quinoa recipe, Waiting on Martha
Heirloom tomatoes with grilled peaches mustard quinoa recipe

This, my friends, is seasonal eating at its best.  Heirloom tomatoes are always so beautiful, and when prepared during the peak of season, in a simple summer salad, their rich flavors really shine through.  While I love a classic tomato and mozzarella salad, and I’m always up for an heirloom tomato tart, this summer I began recipe testing for a new way to enjoy my favorite summer fruit.  

Enter my heirloom tomato salad with fresh grilled peaches, mustard quinoa, with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette.  As either a side dish or as a main entree by itself, this dish will quickly become a mainstay on your summer entertaining menu. 

A few things to think about when pulling together this seasonal salad; I always use a mix of heirloom tomatoes, regular red tomatoes on a vine, and red and yellow cherry tomatoes.  This variety ensures that each bite bursts with a different heirloom tomato flavor.  I also include sliced peaches that I’ve grilled for 1-2 quick minutes for an extra punch, and a spicy mustard-and-quinoa mixture for a little carby substance.  Also the tang of the mustard balances out the sweetness of the balsamic vinaigrette.  And of course I couldn’t have an heirloom tomato salad without a little fresh basil and shaved parmesan (I use a vegetable peeler for the best parmesan shavings, I also love this parmesan knife if parm is your thing!).  And that’s it!  The easiest, under 30 minute seasonal summer salad you’ll make season after season.  Truly, MKR

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Heirloom Tomatoes with Grilled Peaches & Mustard Quinoa
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Ingredients
  1. Mix of heirloom tomatoes, regular red tomatoes on a vine, and red & yellow cherry tomatoes
  2. 2-3 fresh peaches
  3. 1/2-1 cup of dry quinoa (I used multi-color grain quinoa)
  4. 1 jar of grainy, spicy mustard
  5. Vinaigrette of choice
  6. Fresh basil and parmesan to garnish
Instructions
  1. Make 1/2-1 cup of dry quinoa per directions on the box.
  2. Meanwhile, grill peaches for 1-2 minutes.
  3. After quinoa is made, infuse the grains with a whole jar of grainy, spicy mustard.
  4. Slice your heirloom tomatoes and red tomatoes into 1/4 inch pieces. Cut your red and yellow cherry tomatoes in half. Arrange all tomatoes on a plate.
  5. After peaches are grilled, let them cool before adding them to the heirloom tomatoes.
  6. Drizzle vinaigrette on top of tomatoes (leaving some to serve additionally on side).
  7. With an ice cream scoop, add scoops of cooked quinoa with mustard throughout the salad.
  8. Add fresh basil and freshly shaved parmesan to garnish.
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Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

It’s All Easy’s Zuni Sheet Pan Chicken & Zucchini Cacio E Pepe

Two Must-Try Weeknight Recipes from Gwyneth Paltrow's New Cookbook
Filed Under > Everyday Dinner

It's All Easy Zuni Sheet Pan Chicken and Zucchini Noodles recipeZucchini Cacio e Pepe recipe from It's All EasyIt's All Easy pan roasted chicken recipeIt's All Easy cookbook recipes

Two weeks ago, the team was eagerly taking notes and happily trying recipes from GP’s newest (and quite possibly most gorgeous) cookbook, It’s All Easy, in the Williams-Sonoma test kitchen. On the menu? The Zuni Sheet Pan Chicken and Zucchini Cacio e Pepe. 

The entire cookbook is written for the super-busy home cook (I’ll raise my hand to that!).  And it was easy to see the book’s dedication to fresh, rich, simple flavors in the sampling of recipes we experienced.  Both dishes were equally dinner party-worthy, equally easy, and extremely approachable using easy ingredients from the pantry and grocery store.  

The Zuni Sheet Pan Chicken was inspired by San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe (at the top of my list for the next visit!) and its world famous roasted chicken dish.  GP put her own spin on it to become a go-to weeknight meal with roasted garlic, lemons, anchovies, and giant pieces of french bread that caramelize with the juices of the pan and quite possibly make up my favorite crunchy, gooey bite. I was so impressed that this one-pan/one-sheet dish can be finished in under an hour (which is pretty rare in my kitchen when roasting such a large bird), and being made in only one dish it makes cleanup sooo much easier. The beauty of this recipe too is it’s truly a complete meal; a tender roast chicken atop crispy, toasted bread and a bed of fresh, seasonal greens.  I followed the recipe to a tee, adding just a bit more garlic and bread, because in my world you can never get enough garlic and bread.  Ever.

The second recipe we learned while in the WS test kitchen was GP’s Zucchini Cacio E Pepe. It’s almost not even fair to call this a recipe because it’s so, so easy.  If you haven’t used or thought of using a spiralizer, this recipe alone is reason to take the plunge.  Beautifully simple, yet classic made in under 15 minutes which means it can be made in a pinch, any night of the week. Think of it as your new favorite summer pasta dish; healthy with its zucchini noodles and light with a dusting of salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese.  One great tip we learned during the class; when spiralizing make sure to spin about four times and tear the noodles.  If you spiralize the entire zucchini in one go you’ll have one giant zoodle making it more difficult to eat.

Next up for me I plan to make GP’s black bean soup and taquitos, but I’d love to know if you’ve checked out the book and what successes you’ve had with the recipes?  Truly, MKR

P.S. Hop over to yesterday’s post to read about our team’s recent cookbook club experience at Williams-Sonoma and enter to win your own copy of It’s All Easy and GP’s favorite tool, the spiralizer. xo 

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Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha 

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