Another Sunday night dinner comes to a close. Delicious food from the grill, beautiful weather, and some really tired kids (parents too!). It was a crazy busy weekend but one of the best ones I’ve had in a long time. We had the pleasure of celebrating my son’s seventh birthday, time flies. He’s such a good kid and I am so lucky to be his mom, couldn’t be prouder to call him my son. Happy Birthday kiddo! We ended the weekend as usual with Jess, Glen, the kids and Sunday night dinner.
This time of year we grill a lot. We had some great burgers with grilled fennel. Here’s a shot before they hit the grill.
The real star tonight was the salad. The vibrant Spring colors and sweet flavors really came through. I started with a bed of the mixed greens from the share. As the base of the salad. I sliced up some of those beautiful tomatoes from the share as well as a bit of fennel I had (the little pieces not grilled and used with the burgers).
I also arranged some artichoke hearts and radishes which I drizzled in honey just to cut the spicy flavor.
I took a few spears of the fresh asparagus and some broccoli and put them into already boiling water, just for a short period of time and then quickly transferring them into a bowl with ice and cold water. This process, called blanching, both locks in the flavor and crispness as well as preserves the vibrant green color.
I was serving this salad cold so these were ready to be arranged on top of the mixed greens with the other goodies.
I topped the whole salad with a balsamic glaze just drizzled over the top. You can simply reduce balsamic vinegar to a syrupy consistancy and drizzle it over the salad. I’ll be honest, there are actually some really nice balsamic glazes out there in the grocery store as well, but why not make your own, it’s easy! This salad was not only beautiful but also fresh, tasty and …..totally gone now! Here’s a look at the burger with grilled fennel. Which was tasty too but who can really stand against the local, fresh veggie salad?
There are just endless possibilities for salads. I recently purchased a cookbook all about salads that I am eager to get into, especially with the fresh produce coming up now and will be coming up in the coming weeks and months! I’m sure I will be sharing some of the new recipes with you as I try them. Until next time my Springdell friends, Enjoy!