Salads

Ye Olde Roadkill Inn     Index


COLE SLAW, ROADKILL  

If you are accustomed to Philadelphia-style cole slaw, you will find this different. It originated on the Jersey Capein the 19th century. It's little sweeter than the Philadelphia version, contains bell pepper and does not contain any dill.

1 pound cabbage Onion, diced
Red or green bell pepper Parsley, chopped
Carrot Touch of powdered mustard
1 cup mayonnaise Salt to taste
1 tablespoon milk Black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons cider vinegar Dash red pepper
4 tablespoons sugar Optional, dill weed to taste

Julienne the cabbage with a French chef knife or run through food processor. Dice the bell pepper about the size of your little fingernail. Peel the carrot with a vegetable peeler into thin strips. Dice the onion and parsley. Combine cabbage, bell pepper, carrot, onion and parsley. Combine the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar, powdered mustard, salt and pepper, and red pepper. Pour the mixture over the cabbage, etc. Mix well and refrigerate for 2 hours. Taste and adjust seasonings including the sugar. If too dry add a little more mayonnaise and milk.

Note: We often omit the milk.

CRAB SALAD, ROADKILL  

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat Chives, finely diced
1 apple Sea salt
Mayonnaise Cayenne
1 teaspoon scallions, finely diced 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Gently, but thoroughly, sift through crab meat for shell pieces. Sprinkle with lemon juice and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss gently. Put about 1 cup of mayonnaise in a bowl. Pare and quarter the apple; discard tough center section. Chop into a ¼-inch dice; put in a bowl and coat immediately with mayonnaise to prevent oxidation. Add salt and pepper, and mix. Gently fold crab meat into mixture and add more mayonnaise as needed. Taste and adjust salt and Cayenne. Garnish with chives.

Note: Homemade mayonnaise makes this salad even better. Celery salt may be substituted for all or part of the sea salt.

EGG SALAD  

8 large eggs White Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Mayonnaise, enough to cover 24 medium size olives, quartered
Celery salt, to taste Dijon mustard, to taste
Salt, to taste 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
Cayenne pepper, to taste

Place eggs in pot with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Peel one egg, slice in half to see if done. If so, pour off water; add cold water periodically to cool. If not done, let eggs rest in hot water a little longer. Cut eggs in half; separate whites from yolks. Chop whites and reserve yolks.

Place about half the Mayonnaise in bowl. Add about ½ of all the ingredients except the eggs, mix thoroughly and taste. Crush egg yolks into mixture and add chopped egg whites. Add enough Mayonnaise to cover, but not drown. Mix thoroughly and taste. Add more seasonings and taste. Continue until satisfied.

GREEN BEAN SALAD  

1 lb. green beans lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil salt

Prepare the beans as directed for green beans. Place in serving bowl and coat with enough olive oil to make a thin coating. Add lemon juice to taste, then add salt to taste. Serve warm or room temperature, never cold.

SALMONELLA SALAD DRESSING, ROADKILL INN  

During the four years that Jim Florio was the governor of New Jersey he only did one thing right. He put eggs-over-easy back on the breakfast menu at Garden State diners. The bureaucrats in Trenton passed a regulation that eggs could not be served with runny yolks. The functionaries, it seems, decided to save us all from salmonella food poisoning.

They assumed there would be no problem. After all Florio was the same dude who'd raised taxes, outlawed legally purchased semi-automatic weapons, and supported a host of other in-your-face regulations from the Democrat governor and legislature.

What the bureaucrats hadn't realized was that the governor liked runny yolks. It was a morning ritual for him at Mastori's diner on Route 106 in Bordentown. The new reg was quickly squashed and we can continue to have our eggs any style. Florio finally wised up, too late it turned out for him. He lost his re-election bid big time.

If you like your eggs with hard yolks, you're probably not going to go for this salad dressing. On the other hand, if you want a truly unique dressing, this is tough to beat.

And by the way, which always means anything but by the way, I haven't heard of anyone dying from salmonella food poisoning in New Jersey since the functionaries panicked.

½ cup extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon chives
¼ cup lemon juice ½-teaspoon powdered mustard
2 egg yolks Freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced Sea salt
½-teaspoon dried parsley, or 1½ teaspoons fresh parsley

Other herbs such as tarragon may be added or substituted. Whisk the seasonings well in the lemon juice, add the lemon and whisk. Add the olive oil; whisk and taste. Adjust seasonings as needed. Return to Roadkill Inn scampi.

SHRIMP SALAD  

1 pound large shrimp, peeled Celery salt to taste
Mayonnaise to cover 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon diced scallions Cayenne pepper and salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley Chives, optional

Boil the shrimp. Chop shrimp with the size varying from one-third of the shrimp to a little less than one-fourth; reserve. Add some Mayonnaise to mixing bowl, add other ingredients. Mix well, then add the shrimp. Toss. Add more celery, scallions, and parsley as needed. Refrigerate for an hour. Taste and adjust Cayenne pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce.

TUNA SALAD  

1 7-ounce can all-white tuna celery seed to taste
mayonnaise salt
shallot to taste, finely diced black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped cayenne pepper to taste

Break up tuna with fork. Add mayonnaise and continue to mash tuna until it has the consistency of a thick paste with no whole pieces of meat. Finely dice 1/3 cup of celery and add. Grate onion to taste and add. Salt and pepper lightly and mix well. Taste, then adjust ingredients. Serve on bread or stuffed in a tomato.

Note: Do not substitute salad dressing for mayonnaise. Salad dressing has only one place in the kitchen: the trash can. It not only leaves a bitter after taste, it's too sweet. Try to use the white tuna packed in oil, not water. Return to the Feast of the Seven Fishes

UNCLE PASTA  

This is the male version of Auntie Pasta. Note that in addition to the greens and vegetables, it has three cheeses, three fishes and three meats. Although intended to precede the main course, Uncle Pasta can be a meal unto itself.

Head of iceberg lettuce Can of white tuna in oil
Sweet pepper strips Can of sardines in olive oil
Cucumber slices Can of anchovies
Tomatoes 4 slices prosciuto, ¼-inch thick
Carrots, julienned 4 slices Genoa salami, ¼-inch thick
Green olives 4 slices turkey breast, ¼-inch thick
Ripe olives Grated Parmesan
Chick peas, drained and rinsed Salt and pepper
Imported provolone Extra virgin olive oil
Imported Romano Balsamic vinegar

Chop the lettuce with a stainless steel knife. Add pepper strips and cucumber slices; chop tomatoes to bite size and add to salad bowl. Julienne carrots and add with the olives and chick peas. Cut imported provolone and Romano into bite-size pieces and add to bowl. Break up tuna and add to bowl with sardines and anchovies. Chop meats and add. Sprinkle slightly with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Toss. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve with either cruets of extra virgin olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, vinaigrette, or salmonella dressing. Back to penne with meat and cheese.

VINAIGRETTE  

Americans are amazing people. They ask for Russian dressing when what they want is Thousand Islands. Even stranger, though, is when they ask for French dressing. Indeed, if they were served what they asked for they would be mighty disappointed. What passes for French dressing in the States is a sweeter version of Thousand Island dressing, but with fewer ingredients. Worldwide, French dressing is the most popular and is the basis for many variations. It is called vinaigrette and bears no resemblance to the thick, pink stuff on salad bars in this country. It gets five stars because it's a must have recipe. Return to Roadkill Chicken Kiev.

2 tablespoons vinegar, preferably balsamic, or at least a good wine vinegar 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put vinegar and mustard in a bowl and whisk. Gradually add the olive oil, stirring rapidly with a whisk. Stir in salt, pepper and garlic. Makes about ½ cup. Double or triple ingredients for a larger serving.

Note:  If you use a good vinegar like balsamic, cut back on the olive oil a bit so as not to overpower the vinegar's flavor.

WALDORF SALAD, ROADKILL INN  

This is a Roadkill variation of the original recipe. Originally Waldorf salad was equal parts of chopped apple and celeriac (or the white base of celery) topped with mayonnaise and coarsely chopped walnuts. No lettuce was used.

Head of iceberg lettuce 3 apples
Walnuts Mayonnaise

Remove outer leaves from lettuce and discard. Chop remaining leaves to a manageable size allowing a cup and one-half per serving. Coarsely crush walnuts and reserve. Peel and core apples, and chop to about one-half inch squares.

Put apples in each salad bowl or plate and coat with just enough mayonnaise so the apples don't turn brown. Add the lettuce and half the walnuts. Toss lightly, then add a topping of mayonnaise. Sprinkle a handful of crushed walnuts on the mayonnaise. Serves four.


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