fitlife 
Can it be August already? I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer!
A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our Gourmet Group of 5 couples. It’s always a challenge to come up with a delicious and unique menu from year to year as everyone loves to cook and the menus are always top-notch. The host and hostess send each couple the entire menu with recipes. Each couple is assigned one recipe to prepare and bring to the dinner and the host and hostess provide the main course, a side dish and all the wine and beverages.
After the first course, which was a refreshing Spanish almond, cucumber and grape gazpacho, this delightful salad was served. Not too difficult to prepare, it was not only delicious but the baby romaine, or Little Gem lettuce, looked adorable on the plate. The creamy pistachio dressing, toasted pistachios and sliced radishes added even more crunch and was a delightful combination of flavors.
I found the salad recipe in the cookbook “Taste and Technique” by Naomi Pomeroy, which was a birthday gift from a friend this past spring. The cookbook is loaded with great recipes that I can’t wait to try and I was delighted when I found this special salad recipe to add to our Gourmet Group menu! I hope to bring you at least one or two more recipes from our gourmet menu soon!
So what else have I been doing since my last post? Hosting our three grandsons numerous times for swimming and overnights…
Celebrating our anniversary at a wonderful seafood restaurant on the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee. It was a lovely summer evening on the patio with a view to the west of the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum and, to the east, of the inner Lake Michigan harbor…
And, of course, I’ve been enjoying my garden and all the sunny yellow blooms this year 🙂
Baby Romaine Salad with Creamy Pistachio Dressing
shelled pistachios work fine but cut back on additional salt)
clove and 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice)
mixing bowl, cover with the vinegar. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and set aside
to macerate for about 10 minutes.
lightly toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Roughly chop the pistachios and divide them
into two batches of 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup. Set aside.
and its liquid, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, the lemon zest and juice, the
aioli, the pistachio oil, and the crème fraiche or sour cream.
use.
and season with pepper and sugar, if necessary.
would also work using the pale, inner head)
Cut each head of lettuce in half vertically and place in a large bowl of water
to clean thoroughly. Drain on paper towels and spin out any remaining water in
a salad spinner.
Store in refrigerator. Dry well with paper toweling before serving.
vinaigrette. Arrange lettuces on plates and spoon the vinaigrette equally over
each lettuce half. Top with the radish slices, remaining chopped
pistachios. Add a sprinkle of flaky sea
salt and some freshly ground pepper and serve.
