Romaine lettuce – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

1-23: Pita Pockets

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 25, 2022February 19, 2024blue cheese, boiled, Boston lettuce, canola oil, cheese, cooked potatoes, cucumbers, diced, Dijon mustard, dressing, dried herbs, easy, eggs, filling, fish, garlic, Greek yogurt, green beans, green onions, hard-boiled, herb salt, herbs and spices, hot dogs, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, julienned, lettuce, lunch, minced, olive oil, oregano, party food, picnic, pita bread, potatoes, Romaine lettuce, salt, sandwiches, sausage, scallions, seafood, sliced, smoked ham, sunflower oil, tomatoes, tuna, untested, vegetable oil, vegetarian, vinegar, yellow mustard, yogurt

Today, I have the last unmade Group 01 recipe in my possession to share with you today, 1-23: Pita Pockets. They’re essentially sandwiches with two sorts of filling, both very 1980s/”light”.

One of my favorite restaurants is called Pita Pockets–I’ve been going there since I was in high school (over 20 years…eeek) and it’s one of the places I try to stop at when I find myself back in Southern California. Their pita sandwiches are very different from what we’ve got here today (and theirs are WAY better).

I remember pitas being a big deal in the 1980s-1990s, so it’s not surprising that they were included in this recipe collection. They’re still super popular today, but they’re not as “new” of a concept. Speaking of new, this one came from the NEW book, hence why I wasn’t aware until relatively recently that Simply Delicious even had a pita sandwich recipe.

2-3: Salad Niçoise

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 27, 2020November 24, 2020anchovies, black olives, black pepper, capers, chilled, dairy-free, dressing, eggs, emulsion, fish, flaked, French, garlic, garnish, gluten-free, green beans, minced, olive oil, peeled, potatoes, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, seafood, sliced, summer, tuna, vinegar, white wine vinegar

Salads are usually a good choice when it’s hot out, and since we’re currently in the middle of summer (here in the U.S.), 2-3: Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-swah) might be a good choice for an upcoming meal. Plus, it primarily uses readily-available canned/jarred ingredients, which can be helpful for both budgets and pandemic shopping.

Salade niçoise is a well-known dish (like the last recipe I covered, 14-8: Baked Alaska), and there are many different versions of it out there. Even Simply Delicious alludes to the different variations in their blurb above– although what they insist as a “must” (eggs, tuna, olives) seems to be up to interpretation.

2-5: Caribbean Seafood Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 11, 2020February 18, 2024apple cider vinegar, apples, asparagus, bananas, Belgian endive, black pepper, blanched, Boston lettuce, Caribbean, chicory lettuce, chilled, cooked shrimp, cucumbers, curly endive, Dijon mustard, dressing, easy, fairly expensive, fruit, garnish, gluten-free, iceberg lettuce, lemons, lettuce, mayonnaise, peeled, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, sour cream, tarragon, tender-crisp, untested, West Indian

Every so often throughout this project, I run into entries that make no sense, culinarily. I’ll admit–my knowledge of Caribbean cuisine is probably more limited compared to other types. However, I find it hard to believe that 2-5: Caribbean Seafood Salad is an “authentic” representation of a real Caribbean dish.

The other similar recipes I’ve found for “Caribbean seafood salad” include pineapple, papaya, and/or mango, and all look much better than this apple/banana/asparagus mess. Keep that in mind–there’s better ways to use these ingredients (and to make a “Caribbean seafood salad”) than what they’re out here trying to do.

1-3: Melon with Smoked Turkey

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters April 14, 2020February 18, 2024appetizers, black pepper, breasts, canola oil, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, chicken, chicory lettuce, chilled, chopped, cooked chicken, curly endive, Dijon mustard, dressing, easy, escarole, fairly inexpensive, galia, garnish, honey, honeydew, hors d'oeuvres, Italian parsley, lemon juice, lettuce, lunch, melon, mint, peeled, Prosciutto, red bell peppers, Romaine lettuce, salt, sliced, smoked chicken, smoked ham, smoked turkey, tarragon, tomatoes, turkey, untested, vegetable oil

Believe it or not, 1-3: Melon with Smoked Turkey is one of my last few remaining Group 01: Hot and Cold Appetizers recipes left to cover. I’ve put this one off for a while because I’m not a big fan of melon (other than watermelons)–but when the weekly CSA box keeps bringing them to you, you have to do something with them.

Theirs looks super fancy–mine looks like a sloppy mess. I suppose if I were actually serving this for a party I would have tried harder. Melon + meat = appetizer isn’t a new equation–even Pillsbury has their own version. Most versions include prosciutto instead of turkey, which is the variant I’m more familiar with.

2-18: Luncheon Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters March 19, 2020October 28, 20211980s, blue cheese, boiled, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, croutons, dressing, easy, emulsion, Feta, gluten-free, granulated sugar, grapes, healthy, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lettuce, lunch, melted, nuts, olive oil, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, sautéed, tarragon, untested, vegetarian, Waldorf, walnuts, white wine vinegar

Reporting LIVE (to print), from an undisclosed location in Northern California, USA, currently sheltering-in-place and teleworking due to COVID-19/coronavirus/the apocalypse. It’s getting crazy out there, y’all–stay safe and healthy. And wash your hands.

Since we’re all stuck inside for a while, and I’ve got a big backlog of these to get through (over 50), here’s one more thing to pass the time. 2-18: Luncheon Salad is pure 1980s–turn up the vaporwave (for A E S T H E T I C), find your best matching sweatsuit, and crack open a Tab.

I don’t remember feeling like this salad was a treat–more like a punishment. If you can find some cottage cheese in the store right now, go for it–just don’t invite your friends. #socialdistancing

2-23: Grilled Chicken Salad

Adam Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 8, 2017October 4, 2020balsamic vinegar, black olives, black pepper, boneless, breasts, broiled, brushed, chicken, cilantro, dairy-free, Dijon mustard, dinner, dressing, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, green onions, grill pan, grilled, herbs and spices, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, lemon juice, lettuce, lunch, marinated, minced, mushrooms, olive oil, radicchio, red bell peppers, red wine vinegar, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, sliced, spinach, Tabasco sauce, thighs, tomatoes, untested, vegetables

Who doesn’t love a simple salad? The editors of Simply Delicious knocked one out of the park with 2-23: Grilled Chicken Salad. Combining fresh vegetables with nicely cooked chicken is an easy method for creating a killer salad. My final product didn’t look much like the photo below, but the flavor is totally on point.

I love the bowl of strawberries and fresh baked biscuits behind the salad in the product photo.

2-8: Chicken Salad

Adam Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters March 19, 2017October 4, 2020appetizers, black pepper, chicken, chicken salad, chopped, chutney, cooked chicken, creamy, cucumbers, diced, dinner, dressing, dry mustard, easy, fairly expensive, garnish, gluten-free, herbs and spices, lettuce, lunch, mayonnaise, mushrooms, nuts, parsley, pecans, peeled, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, side dish, sliced, sour cream, tangy, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, walnuts, watercress

Simply Delicious has the best decor in these photos. The wooden salad plate, white wine, and hand carved chicken plant box add a lot of character to this photo accompanying 2-8: Chicken Salad, it all screams 1980’s “chic”. Their final photo looks a lot more appetizing than my stark modern plating.

Such a luncheon treat! The chutney and mustard give the salad dressing a tangy flavor that compliments the chicken really well.

2-4: Chef’s Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters February 22, 2017February 17, 2020American, appetizers, bacon, black pepper, canola oil, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, cooked chicken, cubed, diced, dinner, dressing, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, garlic, gluten-free, grated, ham, hard-boiled, herbs and spices, iceberg lettuce, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, mushrooms, New York, parsley, radicchio, radishes, restaurant-style, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, sliced, slit, spinach, tomatoes, turkey, untested, vegetables, watercress

2-4: Chef’s Salad is another somewhat classic American restaurant dish to serve with your 1-18: Club Sandwich. Wikipedia gives it a similar history–most accounts trace it back to early 20th century New York, although a few credit it to originating in 17th century England. This iteration is pretty similar to most you’ll find in modern-day restaurants–the beauty of the chef salad is that the ingredients are at the discretion of the chef. ‍

I NEED that creepy statue in the Simply Delicious picture. Google has nothing decent for me when I search “hippopotamus chef“, but you never know–someday one of my thrift store treasure hunt trips may pay off.