The wife is on a Balsamic Vinegar kick. I've searched on line and found some really nice sounding recipes for pork chop and lot of things. But then she told me wanted several things that restaurants around here make or made.
From Jason's Deli she wants their Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing. Then Johnny Carino's used to make Salmon with a Balsamic Vinegar ( & some kind of booze , I think ) glaze. Any ideas out there ?
Thanks and Peace,
P. Dreadie
A good basic balsamic vinegar salad dressing -
2 parts evo
1 part balsamic vinegar
garlic salt to taste
onion powder to taste
of course if the salad has diced onions, skip the onion powder. You can do minced garlic and salt instead of the garlic salt. Try adding brown sugar, crushed frozen raspberries, celery seed, pepper, or minced shallot. Very easy recipe to tinker with.
I imagine for salmon recipe it would be a balsamic/Guinness beer reduction. Sounds like a little red wine might brighten that up. My buddy makes something similar which is basic dales marinade, teriyaki, and a splash of balsamic vinegar reduced on a low simmer for about 20 minutes and then slathered on a salmon filet, skin side down on a cedar plank and grilled.
I made this asparagus recipe last night, and it is one of my favorites -
bundle of asparagus (rinsed, tough ends cut off)
2-3 tablespoons of butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of chives, green onion, or white onion, minced
2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese
fresh cracked pepper
fresh crushed salt
crushed pepper flakes
pecans, walnuts, or almonds to taste (optional)
In a large saucepan melt butter on low heat. Once fully melted add in garlic, chives/green/regular white onion and bring to a low sweat for 5 minutes. Turn heat up to medium, toss in nuts (if using them) and stir. Toss in the asparagus and stir to coat it with the butter thoroughly. Season with pepper, salt and crushed pepper to taste. Cook on medium until desired tenderness is reached, stirring and tossing around every so often to avoid burning. Once cooked, toss balsamic vinegar into the pan, turn off and remove from heat and stir. Cover with parmesan to taste and serve.
My favorite salad:
for the salad:
baby spinach
avocado
raisins
pecans (shaved almonds are good too)
alfalfa or broccoli sprouts
goat cheese (feta, gorgonzola, or blue cheese work well too!)
for the dressing
2 parts olive oil
1 part balsamic vinegar
minced garlic
fresh lemon juice to taste (go easy on it)
pepper to taste
salt to taste
I recommend as with any dressing making it early enough to let the flavors come together. I mix mine in a bowl so that I can taste it and adjust the flavors accordingly.
Sweet and savory salad recipe
for the salad:
any kind of lettuce, but mixed greens or arugula are the best in my opinion
mandarin oranges
cut up strawberries
diced green apple
pecans
a good strong blue cheese
fresh cooked and crumbled bacon
for the dressing:
2 parts olive oil
1 part balsamic vinegar
dash of honey
tablespoon of brown sugar
celery seed or poppy seed to taste (go easy on this)
*optional* - 1 - 2 tablespoons of crushed frozen raspberries
pepper to taste
salt to taste (easy on the salt)
sorry for the inexact measurements. I eyeball everything I make. For the dressings the oil and vinegar is the base, and I mix it in a 2-1/3-1ish ratio to somewhere between a 1/3 and 1/2 cup and then add the other ingredients from there. Hope you like the recipes!