2-24: Parisian Ham-Mushroom Salad

2-24: Parisian Ham-Mushroom Salad

It’s been a while since we’ve done a salad. This recipe, 2-24: Parisian Ham-Mushroom Salad sounded fancy, and I had found myself with mushrooms, ham, and lettuce. Simply Delicious leans heavily on French cuisine, so it’s not surprising to see them attempt a French salad. But is this an actual French dish, or just something made up for Americans (like the classic “Chinese” example, General Tso’s chicken)?

I Googled a bit to see if there was an actual ham & mushroom salad that was a known part of French cuisine, and I actually was able to track down a somewhat similar recipe from Raymond Blanc, a well-renowned French chef. He published a Gruyere, ham, & mushroom salad recipe in a few of his cookbooks, noting that it came from his French hometown near the Franche-Comté region (not near Paris).


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10-14: Lamb on Skewers

10-14: Lamb on Skewers

Lamb and veal were not big in my house growing up, but I’ll eat a bit of lamb every so often these days. I’ve only covered one other lamb recipe so far–10-12: Basil-Baked Lamb. This recipe, 10-14: Lamb on Skewers, actually was made in tandem with that one, since my cut of boneless leg of lamb was too large for that recipe. These skewers can be made with pork, chicken, or just veggies–making them great for a party or event where you have a lot of different dietary preferences.

Making skewers/kebabs is a really good way to use up an extra (or oddly shaped/not pretty) cut of meat, as well as a way to make tough cuts of meat easier to eat. Another benefit: those who have a difficult time eating large pieces of meat (like old people and little kids) might have an easier time with smaller pieces (be careful of choking, though). One more benefit: you cook your vegetables at the same time as your meat–add some rice and you’ve got the whole meal.


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2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque

2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque

À la Grecque” means “in the Greek way” in French, and 2-2: Mushrooms à la Grecque is a French preparation of vegetables (in this case mushrooms) in a seasoned oil and wine marinade. Simply Delicious considers this a salad, so I guess we’ll go with that description as well.

This is essentially marinated mushrooms, a pretty classic dish. This one’s pretty simple, it holds well, and most people are into it, so it makes a good party dish too. 🍄


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2-26: Corn & Wild Rice Salad

2-26: Corn & Wild Rice Salad

In the mood for more corn after 3-14: Creamy Corn Chowder? It’s still not quite corn season yet, but if you’ve got some frozen corn hanging out in the freezer, you can feel like it’s summer with 2-26: Corn & Wild Rice Salad.

This would be a great recipe to make for a summer BBQ or picnic–it’s healthy, pretty, and as they say above, easy to make. It feels incredibly out of season now (February), but therein lies the magic of the Internet–you might find this in June or July and it’ll be perfect then.


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2-37: Chicken-Salami-Rice Salad

2-37: Chicken-Salami-Rice Salad

Today (Jan. 16) is my wedding anniversary, so I thought I’d post a recipe that has some relevance to my husband and I. I made this for a 4th of July party that we attended together back in 2009, when we had only just started dating.

We actually had a terrible time at the party, and I remember the salad being a bit strange with my modifications, but everything seems to have worked out in the end. My second attempt at the salad turned out much better, as most things do in life after a bit of thought. 🙂


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2-17: Spicy Potato Salad

2-17: Spicy Potato Salad

This was an accompaniment to 12-11: Italian Macaroni & Cheese when I went to a get-together recently. 2-17: Spicy Potato Salad is similar to a German potato salad in style–it uses vinegar & spices as the dressing instead of mayonnaise.

The main difference between this version and most traditional German potato salads is that this one lacks bacon. But if you miss the bacon that much, feel free to go crazy and add it on back in there.


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18-18a: Cooking Glossary IIa

18-18a: Cooking Glossary IIa

I mentioned in 18-17: Cooking Glossary I (the first installment of this mini-series) that I’ll be mixing in Cooking School entries from the last three chapters of Simply Delicious along with the regular recipe/photo entries that I usually do.

Here in 18-18: Cooking Glossary IIa, we find the second page of the glossary that I introduced to you previously. There’s one more page after this one, which you can find at 18-18b: Cooking Glossary IIb. I split the second entry to limit the amount of links/pics/content in one post.


Follow the jump for links to recipes I’ve covered that will help you practice each and every one of these terms & techniques! If I haven’t covered the term yet in one of these recipes, I’ll be sure to update it when I do!


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4-8: Roasted Peppers with Dressing

4-8: Roasted Peppers with Dressing

Making 4-8: Roasted Peppers with Dressing arose more out of a need to use up peppers more so than a desire to eat the recipe itself. However, that being said–it wasn’t terrible.

4-8 Roasted Peppers with Dressing

The recipe card uses multi-colored peppers, and I used monochromatic ones. While the taste doesn’t vary much, the more colors you use, the more visually appealing it may be.


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