Think pink...and green for the Salad that Men Love

Green salad with raspberries, toasted pecans, Vermont cheddar, raspberries and raspberry vinaigrette.
Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I'm thinking pink and green this month, for women's health and for the men in our lives. For California Giant Berries' Think Pink promotion for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I created a salad using healthful, anti-oxidant- rich pink raspberries, those plump nuggets of Vitamin C; red and green leaf lettuce; toasted pecans and Vermont cheddar cheese, dressed with a divine raspberry vinaigrette.

This is a riff on a recipe given to me by my friend Lynn, who brought the salad to me when my daughter was born. I couldn't get enough of it; my husband devoured it. I've made it for family gatherings since and the men always like it. That's right. Men. Liking Salad.

My husband says its magic has to do with the sweet and tart salad dressing. I think it has to do with all the goodies in it - you can hardly go wrong with fresh berries, creamy cheese and toasty, rich nuts sprinkled over crisp greens.

The keys to this salad are fresh raspberries and the dressing - it makes a lot, so just put the remainder in a screwtop jar in the fridge - it keeps for several weeks.

Pink and Green Salad
(Green Salad with Raspberries, Toasted Pecans,
 Vermont Cheddar and Raspberry Vinaigrette)

1 bunch green leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

1 bunch red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

8 ounces Vermont cheddar, shredded

1 cup pecans, toasted in a closely watched skillet for five minutes

1 pint fresh raspberries


Dressing:

1 bunch green onions, cleaned and trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths

2 tablespoons raspberry preserves (such as Polaner's)

1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1. In a food processor, mince onion with sugar. Add preserves, vinegar, salt, and mustard, and process. Slowly add oil and process until emulsified.

2. In a bowl or on individual plates, arrange greens, raspberries and pecans. Drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette and shredded cheese.

To make it kid-friendly, I just spread out the accessories - cheese, nuts, and berries and give the girls small bowls of the raspberry vinaigrette and let them dip. As my six year old says, "Raspberry vinaigrette? That sounds like vinegar for girls."

"Like" California Giant's Facebook page to help spread the word about Breast Cancer Awareness.

And if you haven't made the appointment for your annual visit and mammogram, pick up the phone and do it right now. There are a lot of people counting on you to stay healthy!

(Guys, of course, are excused from this particular plea, but please encourage the women in your lives to take care of themselves. Make the appointment and drive her there, if you have to. Buy her lunch and bring her flowers. It's that important.) 

Raspberries. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Disclosure: I have not been compensated for this post. It is an entry in a contest sponsored by California Giant. If my post is chosen as the winner, then a $100 donation will be made on behalf of my blog to the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Awesome!


Text and images copyright 2011, Lucy Mercer.

An old-fashioned favorite: Orange-Pecan-Coconut Candies

Orange pecan coconut balls. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Here's another goody from last week's kitchen marathon. I wrapped these up to give to friends and family and tuck into the teachers' goody bags, too. This is an oldie-but-goody that I remember from my childhood Christmases - vanilla wafers and pecans pulverized in the food processor and combined with orange juice concentrate and butter and confectioner's sugar. The mixture is shaped into balls and rolled in coconut, or crushed pecans. I boosted the citrus flavor with a bit of orange extract from the spice shelf. Did I mention that no baking is required? Call the kids and let them help in the kitchen. Give these treats a try - I'm sure they'll become a family favorite in your house, too.

Orange-Pecan-Coconut Candies

1 (12 oz.) package vanilla wafers

1 cup pecan pieces

1 cup confectioner's sugar (10 X)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/4 teaspoon orange extract

2 cups flaked coconut

1. In food processor, add vanilla wafers, pecans and sugar to food processor bowl and blitz into fine crumbs. Add room temperature butter and pulse until combined. Add orange juice concentrate and orange extract (if using) and pulse until combined. Scoop mixture into 1-inch balls and roll in coconut. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week.

For more teacher gifts from the kitchen, see here.

The Opposite of Convenience Food

Mom loved last week's CSA box contents and we loved our week at the beach. Sun, sand, seashells, putt-putt, and copious amounts of steamed seafood. Heaven, sheer heaven, or at least, this redneck girl's idea of heaven. Back to mom: upon our return, we were given the pecans from last week's box. I guess this means I need to invest in a nutcracker. My very generous neighbors gave me a five-pound bag of unshelled pecans that's been sitting in the pantry for a couple of months, so between the two stores, I should have enough nuts to make a pie or something pretty special.

Just perusing the cookbooks on my desk, and have come up with a few ideas. From "Beans, Greens and Sweet Georgia Peaches," recipes include a Salad with Apple, Pecans and Clemson Blue Cheese; Baked Apples with Bourbon and Pecans (the author, Damon Lee Fowler, must keep the Maker's Mark next to the breadbox, it's called for quite frequently); Brown Butter Pecans (which I think would be luscious in home-churned vanilla ice cream); and Pecan Pie and Pecan Shortbread. All very tempting.

My favorite 1,000-page book, "The Gourmet Cookbook" suggests a Bananas Foster Cheesecake, or Catfish Fillets with Pecans and Butter Sauce. Sables and Cheddar Crackers have a certain savory appeal. The recipe for Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake sounds like a winner. Coconut, pecans, ganache, dulce de leche, how can you go wrong?

But, first, to the hardware store for a nutcracker and some quality nut-cracking time.

Fudgy Nutty Goodness

What happens when you combine the fiber powerhouse of oatmeal with the antioxidant supremacy of chocolate? Well, it might be extreme to call these chocolatey treats healthy, but a small one with your mid-morning coffee will make you feel great and tide you over to a sensible lunch. These bars were devoured by the folks at work.

Fudgy Pecan Oatmeal Bars

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 X 15 inch pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, sugars, baking soda and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Add eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and continue mixing until a shaggy dough is formed.

3. Divide the dough into two halves. Add chopped pecans to one half and press into bottom and up sides of baking pan.

4. In a saucepan over low heat, melt three tablespoons butter, then add the evaporated milk and corn syrup. When mixture is thoroughly integrated, remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Add remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

5. Smooth chocolate mixture over pressed dough. An offset spatula works nicely to get the chocolate into the corners. Crumble remaining half of dough evenly over surface. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Let cool and cut into smallish squares. Keeps for several days in a covered container at room temperature. They last longer if you don't tell anybody where they are. Once it's public information, all bets are off.