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Posts Tagged ‘balsamic vinegar’

Leek Salad

A leek salad is something I’ve never even considered before.  Before this salad, I usually found myself at a loss when confronted with these giant  green onions.  They have a much lighter flavor than their more compact cousins, which surprisingly works amazingly well in this salad.

I first saw this recipe at a BBQ and got it third hand from a Venezuelan grandmother.  The key to this salad is slicing everything into thin pieces ~ 1/4″ wide.  The salad then ends up being much more like a slaw than a traditional salad.   The leeks, cilantro, green onions, celery, carrots and lettuce mesh amazingly well with a mayo-based balsamic vinaigrette.  Because the salad is so refreshing, I highly recommend this recipe on a hot summer day.  Just remember to make enough dressing to coat the salad!  I was a bit stingy up with dressing initially and it ended up being a tad dry.  I also used this recipe to top my Caraway Seed Pork Burgers (to come later).

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Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Wrap

Its very hard not to like Mediterranean cuisine.  Chickpeas, tomatoes, feta, hummus, baba ghanoush, kebabs and tabouleh – oh my!  Aside from the health benefits that I hear from the USDA and other health organizations, Mediterranean flavors are really fantastic:  savory, tart, and sweet, all combined.  Hummus, which I’ve written about before, is great on just about everything.  Toast with hummus works just as well as a heated pita bread.

Since I’d made some hummus on a previous day, I wanted to something awesome with it.  I marinated a bit of chicken in a balsamic base, cooked it quickly over the grill, and added some onions and tomatoes to pita bread and hummus to make a delicious wrap.  If I had lettuce, I’d have added it too for some extra crunch – definitely recommended.  Even without the lettuce, this recipe worked wonderfully.  Just make sure to warm up your pita bread first so it’s nice and soft.  Since I’m impatient, I rushed it a bit, and ended up breaking my pita a bit (as you can see at the bottom of the picture above).

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Grilled Italian/ Balsamic Asparagus and Portabello Mushroom

For my vegetarian friends, or those who just like to eat a bit more healthier, this is a quick and simple Italian Balsamic marinade that imparts great flavor to your vegetables.  This recipe makes for a great appetizer or side to a heavy day of grilling – it’s a nice change of pace if you’ve been making nothing but meat.

As you can see, I am quite partial to asparagus – after all, it’s finger-friendly!  Portabello can be a bit more complex, but can also make a great finger food when it’s sliced right.  Plus, I highly recommend portabello mushrooms in sandwiches.  You can take any leftovers here and put them into a sandwich for a delicious addition.

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Olive Oil and Lemon Juice Salad Dressing

When I made my own salad dressing for the first time, all I could think was “”I wish I had thought of this earlier!”  The grocery market always has an overwhelming number of dressings with creamy, clear, light and heavy varieties.  In general, I find them to be just too much for me – I recommend plain, simple, and fresh.  Combining fresh oil, vinegar and lemon gives a refreshing dressing that complements the salad, not coats it.

Read on for a few tips after the break!

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