Katie and Ashley's Black Thai Affair

Katie and I met almost 7 years ago to the day as temps for Hensel Phelps Construction Company at their Pentagon Renovation Project. I liked Katie right away; she was personable, stylish and chatty, very chatty. She talked non-stop about her friends and all of their shenanigans. I do love shenanigans. My roomates were going out of town that weekend and I was bound and determined to get out of the house. I wanted to go out and have all the fun with Katie and her friends. I do enjoy shenanigans and am open-minded to exploring shenanigans with new friends.

It was an awkward bonding moment that brought us together, one that involved uncomfortable undergarments with misplaced seams. Details will be spared. Needless to say the night was a blast even though it ended with us getting kicked out of a cab; a trend we continued throughout my six years in Washington D.C.

Katie and I have a shared love of food. Particularly Asian food. Some of our favorite pastimes include seeing how could finish the most plates of sushi at Asahi Kaiten, the conveyor sushi restaurant that was once in the reputable Ballston Commons Mall where the chefs knew us by name and gave us free sushi on occasion; Pho dates at Nam Viet where Katie would single-handedly finish what can only be called a punch bowl of Pho, hold the onions though (Otherwise she would spend 10 minutes meticulously picking out each and every onion that infested her punch bowl).  Lastly, our dinner dates at Thai Terrace, conveniently located in walking distance from two of my Arlington apartments. Sadly, there were times when we did drive. I am sure it was in the winter when it was “too cold” to walk there J

So needless to say it didn’t surprise me that Katie sent me a delicious recipe for a Thai salad. Which I promptly edited to my liking and now we shall battle to see how makes the better salad. For those of you who don’t know Katie, she is more competitive than an Eastern European gymnast vying for the Olympic gold to make her country proud. So I leave you now to you better judgment and with these final words: Game on Chef Rector.

Katie and Ashley’s Black Thai Affair

• 1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce (can be found at Trader Joe’s; it is pink J)
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 12 peeled, uncooked large shrimp
• 1 large head of butter lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 large mango, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
• 1 orange
• 2-3 Clementine’s
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of citrus grill seasonings

1. Shrimp: Peel, cuts tails off and butterfly. Heat medium sauce-pan, or wok, to medium heat. Add in fresh-squeeze orange juice and olive oil. Add shrimp and grill seasonings. Toss until shrimp is cooked and slightly crispy on the outside. (If you’ve been to a Hibachi steakhouse the shrimp will look like that, a nice sautéed flavor or you can let it blacken slightly for a more grilled taste.)

2. After thoroughly cooked, place shrimp on paper on a plate covered in a paper towel to cool.  Can serve chilled or warm. I prefer warm.

3. Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Divide lettuce among plates; can also use spinach. Alternate mango, avocado, orange and shrimp atop lettuce on each plate. Drizzle vinaigrette over. Devour.

Ashley
Katie

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I Only Stay at The Waldorf Astoria Salad

I never really got this salad growing up. Chunks of chicken, apples, walnuts, grapes and other mystery ingredients slathered in a generous portion of mayonnaise…sounds like the precursor to what I call “Fish Tank Stomach.” When you eat something and afterwards it feels as though you’ve swallowed several tropical fishes of various species and sizes and your stomach is making what can only be called “bubbly” sounds. We all know the end to this story. Alas, I digress.

So, my mom used to buy this delicious treat from Buehler’s and since I had the honor of working at Buehler’s for two Summers, salad bar wench mind you, the idea of eating one of their mayonnaise-laden, congealed salads made me want to revert into my own body like a terrified, anti-social Box Turtle.

However, since my new found love of Greek yogurt, I think I can make this salad not only healthy, but edible. I do believe it calls for red onions; however, I find them revolting and protest their usage in any of my salads.

So here is my attempt to make this esteemed salad. A bit of history for my fellow nerds, historians and food enthusiasts, the Waldorf salad was born at the Waldorf Astoria in the late 1800’s in Manhattan. It was created by the maitre d’ of the hotel, not the chef. So clearly, it was special. The now infamous salad was named after an old, old wooden ship and is a favorite amongst celebrity New Yorkers such as 50 Cent and Barbara Bush; they have monthly dates to enjoy the salad together and discuss their common interests.

So please, serve it in a crystal dish, like the Fancy Feast commercial, and savor it whilst wearing your finest diamonds and furs, because daahhhhlings, one only stays at the Waldorf Astoria when in Manhattan ;)

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I Only Stay at the Waldorf Astoria Salad

3 chicken breasts

¼ stick of butter

1 tbsp of salt

½ cup of green grapes, chopped in halves

½ cup of red grapes, chopped in halves

1 red Gala apple, chopped into dime-size pieces

1 Golden Delicious apple, chopped into dime-size pieces

½ cup of walnuts, chopped

½ cup of Chobani Greek Yogurt

1        ounce container of Chobani Honey Greek Yogurt

1 tsp of lemon juice

1.      Chop up the grapes and apples into dime-size pieces. Place into a large mixing bowl.

2.      Either use chopped walnuts or chop whole walnuts into very small pieces and place them in the mixing bowl. Add 1tsp of lemon juice. Toss all of the ingredients together. Let the magic mixture sit while the preparing the chicken.

3.      In a large pan, let the butter melt at a low-medium heat (I used a 5 out of 10). Salt both sides of the delicious chicken breasts and then pan-sear the chicken until cooked thoroughly, and slightly golden on each side. Make sure the butter doesn’t burn, if it does, the heat is way too high and your chicken will be unhappy. Do not over-cook because you want to keep the chicken juicy.

4.      Remove the breasts from the pan and place on a paper-towel covered plate to remove any excess liquids. Let cool for 10-15. After cooled, cut the chicken into quarter-sized cubes and mix into the salad.

5.      Add in the Greek Yogurt and mix gently, making sure to evenly coat the salad. This amount is just enough to coat the salad. If you prefer your Waldorf a little saucier, well, simply add in more Greek Yogurt to meet your saucy needs.

My Life in Salads

                                                My Life in Salads

For the first time in years, I am met with a plethora of free time. I have mastered the delicate art of therapizing and now it is time to Master the art of fitting into my entire wardrobe. Now that I have oodles of time on my hands, I figured it is now or never to shed these awesome pounds that have kept me so warm in the 8-month Cleveland Winter season. No longer a vegetarian, I have found that the temptation of meat is strong and irresistible, like an Ecuadorian ship captain. Alas, my carnivorous affair need not be squelched, just tamed and replaced with the fruits of nature.

So this is it, my life in salads. I need to rekindle the love affair we once had. But, it is time to mix things up. It needs to spicy, creative and well, pleasing to my insatiable palette. Not a potato or pasta salad enthusiast so this is a challenge fit for a Viking. (Potatoes should be fried or baked…and serving pasta cold is like going to school without your drawers on, unnecessary).

And so it begins…and may I add it was like Christmas in July, except two days late. And because it was delicious and I ate it out of my favorite candy-cane pasta bowl because I felt like it.

Salad One: Honey Pie Fruit Salad

½  cup of blueberries

½ half of a peach cut into small pieces

½  cup of grapes

1 container of Chobani Honey Greek Yogurt

2-3 tbsps of Honey Roasted Almond slivers

Put in a bowl. Mix. Et voila, a new salad. Bon appétit.