living in hollywood, I'm accustomed to the sight of restaurants filled with starving starlets raking leaves around their plates and pretending to be satisfied by the experience

me?

I like a salad that you can sink your teeth into; some meat, some cheese, some chunks of vegetables...maybe a little starch

and lots of colour

having a good portion of my readers sitting in front of their heaters as they read this, I tried to put together a few salads which have equal appeal served hot or cold, served in a warm or chilly climate

wherever you are, please enjoy!

in portland recently, I was served a salad similar to this: cucumber and beets with marscapone and horseradish. something was missing

it was like settling in for a great concert, seeing the band come on, hearing the intro to your favourite song and then having someone come on and make apologies for the lead singer...some excuse about a dodgy throat

well, I felt the same, from the first forkful, I was waiting for a gorgeous morsel of rare beef

and some dill

and a little more punch in the dressing

here's what I did:

roast the beets: there's more flavour in beets if you douse them in a little good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper, cover them with foil and bake them in a moderate oven for 1 1/2-2 hours. this can be done a day ahead. don't peel them when you cook them, the skin literally slides off them after they've been cooked. if you can't find golden beets, purple ones will be fine

the beef: you can roast it or grill it. I bought a sexy slab of kosher ribeye. put a little hole in the plastic wrapper and poured an entire can of beer into the tray. left it in the fridge overnight, drained the beer and threw it onto a hot, hot grill, 4 mins each side, then let it sit covered in foil for 5 minutes. this was the melt-in-your-mouth-iest steak that I've had in a long, long time. sliced into strips and begging to be daubed in the horseradish dressing

speaking of horseradish, the marscapone pulled the punch. I opted for creme fraiche; let the tartness of the creme match the fire of the horseradish

so, mix 1/2 cup of creme fraiche with 4 tablespoons of horseradish. taste...add more horseradish or creme to your taste. line the bottom of a serving platter with this dressing

slice the beets and peeled cucumber into 1/4 inch rounds. build teetering towers by placing alternate rounds of beets and cucumber on top of the horseradish

place some strips of rare beef around the vegetable stacks

sprinkle good salt and pepper over everything, grab your scissors and give a bunch of dill a good haircut over the plate, then drizzle a little olive oil over it all

if you want a hot salad to warm you through after a cold, wintry day, then tuck into this dish

it's the same as the salad above, just ditch the cucumber for some hot, crispy spuds

you can cook the spuds in less time than it takes to cook the steak

prick about 4 medium spuds (unpeeled) with a fork, toss them in the microwave for 5 minutes. heat enough olive oil in a non-stick skillet to cover the bottom, when the spuds come out of the microwave, slice them in into 1/4 inch rounds and put them into the skillet. some of the rounds might crumble a bit, toss them into the skillet too, they'll be just as tasty. cover the skillet and let 'em fry. turn them after about 4 minutes. cover and fry the other side,

remove them from the skillet and sprinkle with salt

make the horseradish dressing as above. build stacks of potatoes and beets, as above, slice the steak and place it with the vegetable stacks, as above and give the dill another haircut

perfect with beer

better with a glass of claret

and a bowl of piping hot mini yorkshire puds!

my friend, vicki, makes a killer dish with sweet italian sausage, escarole greens and cannellini beans. it's neither a soup nor a stew...just a bowl of good stuff

I broke it down into a salad

wash and dry a head of escarole or frisee lettuce, tear it apart and line a salad bowl with the tender green tendrils

grill 4-6 sweet italian sausages

drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans

place the sliced sausage and beans on top of the leaves. add some hot roasted garlic bulbs and crispy asiago potatoes

drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper

whole roasted garlic? for a date??

relax. chop the top 1/4 inch off the pointed end of 3- 4 full garlic bulbs. leave the papery skin on...it's fine... place them in a pan and drizzle with oil, balsamic vinegar and some rosemary. cover with foil and bake for 1/2-2 hrs in a moderate oven (I baked the beets at the same time. same dish). these little babies will be tame as kittens. I threw them into the salad bowl and let people eat the bulbs at their own discretion (there didn't seem to be too much discretion at my table!)

and the crispy asiago 'taters? see below!

(and don't forget some crunchy ciabatta)

so simple, so fast:

prick about 6 medium sized potatoes (unpeeled) with a fork...I used the purple ones, purely for effect...toss them in the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes

heat some olive oil in a non stick skillet (enough oil to over the bottom of the skillet). let it get hot

slice the potatoes in half lengthways and place them cut side down into the hot oil. cover and let them fry for 5 minutes

use a vegetable peeler to slice about a dozen slices of fresh asiago (not available all times of the year...you could use any sharp cheese for these)

remove the skillet from the heat, remove the cover and turn the potatoes over. place a strip of asiago on the top of each potato and, whilst waiting for the cheese to melt into the crispy surface, sprinkle the pan with salt, covering all of the 'taters

you could serve these with steak, sausages...anything, really. I threw them into my salad bowl with the sausage, beans, escarole and roasted garlic...or serve them with some good balsamic vinegar and beer

seriously...they will transport you to a higher plane

I have been making this salad for years. in the summer, I serve it all chilled with a dish of pappadoms. in winter, I add the chicken straight from the grill and serve it over a bed of hot basmati rice

there is, for me, something magic that happens when fresh mango and basil collide on the tastebuds...see for yourself

mix:1/2 cup tandoori paste with 1/2 cup plain yoghurt. mix to combine and then pour this marinade over sliced chicken breasts / thighs (one breast or two thighs per person). this should sit for at least 4 hours

heat the grill or oven. drain the excess marinade from the chicken pieces and grill them for 5 minutes each side, or bake them for 15-20 minutes. the thickness of the chicken will determine the cooking time

meanwhile, slice 2 cups of romaine lettuce; 2 mangoes; about 1 cup of chopped cucumber. add 1 cup of blanched sugar snap peas; 1 cup of sliced bell peppers and a good cupful of fresh basil leaves. you may add some cilantro if you like

place all of these ingredients into a salad bowl or, for individual portions, serve in romaine lettuce leaves. add the chicken strips on top

make the dressing by mashing the flesh of one ripe mango with 1/3 cup sweet chili sauce and the juice of 1/2 lime

pour the dressing over the salad and serve with pappadoms or rice

last month, I sent out a recipe for white asparagus and meyer lemon salad. I waxed lyrical about how the world, especially the germans, goes mad for 'spargel season'...well, I got a serious reprimand (from a german, of course) for cheating and cooking the precious spears in the microwave...here's the way it should be done:

Hi Mannix, I always find your ideas amusing, but the main thing is, that your recipes work very well and that they give me new ideas as well. BUT ........ when I read about cooking asparagus in the microwave........ NO NO NO!!!! As well as there is no alternative to softly boiling asparagus in lightly salted water with a spoon of sugar, a few drops of lemon juice and a generous knob of butter (10-12 mins.), you deprive yourself of the tastiest asparagus stock to make asparagus soup, based on a blond roux, a hint of nutmeg, some light cream and a little lemon juice, with some leftover pieces of asparagus! I�m not sure what white asparagus is like in the States, but our German types (yes, we have quite a few different types, from very mild to slighty bitter) need to be peeled from the top to the bottom, cut off the woody ends approx 2-3 cm, DO NOT thow away peel etc, but barely cover with cold water, add salt, sugar, lemon juice, splash of white wine, hint of nutmeg, dash of white pepper,knob of butter and let simmer for 20-30 mins. strain, cool and reserve. Use to to cook your peeled asparagus, which for the time you have wrapped in a damp kitchen towel and have put in the fridge. The stock freezes beautifully. At the end of the asparagus season (end of June) we get a glut of quite cheap asparagus from Spain ,Italy, Greece and of course our own. That is when I make the ultimate asparagus soup: take the above stock, cut the peeled asparagus into short pieces, (cook the heads seperately) add to stock with the above mentioned ingredients, simmer 10-15 mins until very soft, pur�e , check taste, add cream (lots), serve hot with reserved heads for garnish. OK, so no more microwaving asparagus! And really, 10 - 12 mins is nothing. You need that time to set the table

I promise that I followed these instructions when cooking the asparagus for round 2. then I placed the spears on top of a bed of endive (the outer leaves kept whole, the inner leaves julienned); cannellini beans; yellow tomatoes; walnuts and shavings of sotto cenere (cows milk cheese studded with black truffle)

the dressing was good olive oil, black truffle salt and some fresh cracked pepper

I stand corrected. the asparagus was unaccountably superior. no microwave was utilised in the preparation of this dish. promise! *will let you know how the soup turns out!

there is a new 'date' loaded up on the website...I have received more feedback on it than any other date featured so far. it all revolves around the perfect strawberry shortcake. the fuss, though, is over my little helper in the kitchen. click the pic on the right for the shortcake recipe, click the ad on the left for the date...

let the love flow...

mannix@thelovebite.com