Tag Archives: Cinco de Mayo

A Summer Salad – Coleslaw with Pineapple and Jalapeño

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Coleslaw !

Now that Memorial Day is a couple of weeks behind us, it’s “officially” summer, even if the solstice is still 2 weeks away. I know this because I just popped the first bright yellow cherry tomato off one of the tomato plants and ate it right there in the garden with the sun beating down. Mmmmm! I love taking a bowl of them to work to have with my lunch. Such a nice change from our usual green salad.

Eating that cherry tomato is actually how I discovered that I accidentally bought two cherry tomato plants rather than a cherry and a big tomato plant, as I had intended. Ooops! That’s okay. It was an excuse to go buy another tomato plant and a few corn plants as well. Now I have an even bigger “farm” than I did before and, more important, even more tomatoes this summer.

Coleslaw 2

So I go a little nuts with the summer veggies. My next-door neighbor saw me as I was carrying the box of plants to the garden and exclaimed…”more plants, Jeannine? Is that CORN? Big corn or little corn?” Truth be told, I didn’t know there was a difference. I guess I’ll find out. And I’m still laughing about the incredulous look on his face. Hmmm, I guess it’s like the cookbook thing. I may have a veggie problem.

This salad is ideal for the warm, humid days of summer. Other than a few items during the holidays, I don’t have a lot of go-to recipes that I make all the time. My husband often jokes about my “5-year rotation” on recipes. This salad is the exception. I first prepared it many years ago while living in Athens, Greece. I served it at a Memorial Day picnic I had at my house and it was a huge hit. Sour cream was totally unavailable in Athens, but Greek yogurt made a great substitute, and I’ve used it ever since.

Coleslaw 3

Coleslaw with Pineapple and Jalapeño

8 Servings

The jalapeño in this recipe does not make this salad fiery hot, rather it adds a nice spiciness. Feel free to adjust up if you like a little more heat, or even leave it out. The salad can be made 1 day ahead.

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeños

1/2 pound cabbage, cored and sliced (approx. 8 cups)

1/2 fresh pineapple, cored and trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (approx. 2 cups)

3 green onions, sliced

Whisk the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the chiles, then add the cabbage and pineapple and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Right before serving, stir in the green onions and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Adapted from The El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook by Park and Norma Kerr 

A Mexican-Inspired Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

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salad 1

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the direction I want to take this blog. Is it all about the photography? Food styling? Or is it about developing original recipes? I started the blog not only as a way to reach out to friends and family when they requested a recipe, but also as a way to work on my food photography, with the possibility of turning it into something more professional in the future. I didn’t realize just how much time it takes to post a decent blog post, but I’m not willing to cut corners. Don’t worry, Jeannine’s Cuisine is not going anywhere — not after all the work I’ve put into it. But I’ve finally accepted that, as a full-time Government employee with up to 2 hours of commuting each day, sometimes I’m just not going to be able to post as often as I would like. I read about other bloggers who also work fulltime and have been doing this for years. How can they be so prolific? Where do they find the time? As for me, I’m still working out my “blogging routine.” I guess I’ll get it down eventually, but in the meantime, I will continue to post as time allows.

Salad 2

I’ve also thought a lot about my food message. Is it gluten free? Paleo? Desserts? Quick and easy? Original recipes or adapted from other sources? I think I made the right decision when I decided to name this blog Jeannine’s Cuisine, because the food style in my blog is about all of those things. It’s the way I like to cook. Sometimes the food is healthier and at other times the food I cook is better suited to a special occasion, or when I have all kinds of time to cook. What you won’t find here is any processed food or anything labeled “fat free.” I generally change pretty much every recipe I get my hands on to some degree, and occasionally I even get an original idea and just roll with it. But I also use my ever-expanding cookbook collection for inspiration quite a bit. My goal for the future is to expand the collection of recipes on the blog, both original and adapted, to offer something for everyone. Because that’s the way I cook.

Salad 3

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, and food bloggers everywhere were hard at work, coming up with all kinds of delectable Mexican-style appetizers, entrees, and desserts. I would usually have done the same, but this year, after returning from non-stop gorging on Mexican food during a week-long trip to Arizona, Yum! I decided something a little healthier was probably in order.

Salad 4

I take a salad to work for lunch most days of the week, and it’s normally a bowl of lettuce with some salad dressing. I’m starting to get pretty bored with that and have been experimenting with making the lunchtime salads a whole lot more interesting. This salad is the answer. A delicious bacon vinaigrette (who doesn’t love bacon?) goes over a mixture of salad greens, tomato, avocado, bacon “chips” and toasted pumpkin seeds. I was trying to come up with something for Cinco de Mayo – this salad contains avocado and pepitas that are sort of Mexican ingredients, right? Don’t limit yourself to May for this salad. This is good anytime of the year.

Salad 5

A Mexican-Inspired Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Serves 4

This recipe makes more salad dressing than you will need for the salad. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and warm to room temperature before serving.

1/4 sweet onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound bacon, cut crosswise into inch-wide pieces

4 large handfuls Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

1 large tomato, cut into wedges then cut crosswise

1 avocado, halved, peeled, cut into wedges, then cut crosswise into chunks

1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted and salted

Place the onion, mustard, and vinegar in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add the olive oil a small bit at a time, whisking with each addition. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place the bacon in a cold sauté pan and turn the heat on medium. Cook the bacon until crispy then turn it out onto a paper towel-lined plate. Set the pan with the bacon grease aside while you prepare the salad.

Combine the lettuce, tomato and avocado in a serving bowl. Add the vinaigrette mixture to the bacon fat in the sauté pan and whisk well to combine. The mixture may splatter if the bacon fat is still hot. Dress the salad with as much dressing as desired, top with the cooked bacon pieces, sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds, and serve immediately.

Salad dressing adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins