Asian-Style Three Bean Salad

By Paul Briand

I ran across this recipe in the USA Weekend newspaper supplement, and with a Father’s Day cookout coming up I thought it would be the perfect complement.

Fresh ginger is important here. (And here’s a tip, courtesy of celebrity chef Rachael Ray: If you have leftover fresh ginger, put it in a sealable baggie and store it in the freezer. Then just use a grater to get the desired amount you need.)

And I enjoyed the edamame, a first time ingredient for me.

Ingredients
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
One 10-ounce bag frozen shelled edamame
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
¼ cup 100 percent fruit apricot preserves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
One 15-ounce can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
Salt to taste

Directions
1. Put the green beans and frozen edamame in a steamer basket over several inches of boiling water and steam them for 4 minutes;
2. Drain well, then transfer the beans to a large bowl and put them in the refrigerator to cool for 15 minutes or longer;
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, apricot preserves, sugar and ginger;
4. Add the black beans and scallions to the green beans and edamame, drizzle with the dressing, and toss to coat;
5. Season with salt, and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Click here for recipe card.

Grilled Steak and Spring Vegetable Salad

By Paul Briand

Spring is here, though you wouldn’t know it from the very unseasonal spring we’ve been having here in northern New England.

But the idea of outdoor grilling was too much of a draw with this recipe, despite the rain and cool temperatures.

This salad of steak and spring vegetables comes via the Associated Press.

Everything goes on the grill -- the sirloin steak (of course) plus the asparagus and artichoke hearts, even the grape tomatoes if you wish. Not so the lettuce.

And the dressing is a light combination of lemon juice and olive oil infused with some Parmesan cheese to smooth it out.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

5 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

For the salad:

1 pound sirloin steak, 1- to 1 1/4-inches thick, trimmed of fat

1/2 teaspoon salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound asparagus, bottoms trimmed

14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

4 cups arugula

Shaved Parmesan cheese, to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a gas grill to high or light a charcoal fire;

2. For the dressing, in a blender combine the lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Blend until emulsified. Set aside;

3. Season the steak on both sides with the salt and pepper;

4. Grill the steak, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare, 6 minutes per side for medium. Remove and let rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes;

5. Meanwhile, grill the asparagus and artichoke hearts, turning occasionally, until slightly charred and the asparagus spears are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes;

6. Remove from the grill and cut the asparagus into 2-inch pieces and the artichoke hearts in half;

7. Place the vegetables in a large bowl with the cherry tomatoes (as an option, grill the tomatoes until they soften);

8. Thinly slice the steak across the grain and add to the bowl with the asparagus and artichoke hearts. Toss with half of the dressing;

9. In a large salad bowl, toss the arugula with the remaining dressing;

10. To plate the salad, place some of the arugula on each serving plate and arrange the grilled steak and vegetables on top. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Click here for recipe card.

Spinach & Avocado Salad

By Paul Briand

This is a great, simple little salad recipe that will bring the freshness of spring right to your taste buds.

It’s light and wonderfully refreshing with the vinaigrette that combines lemon juice, rice vinegar and olive oil.

The basis of this salad comes from a recipe I received with store coupons mailed to me by my favorite supermarket.

Ingredients

1 6 ounce package of spinach leaves

1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced into bite-size pieces

1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved

¼ cup of slivered almonds

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Combine the spinach, avocado, tomatoes, and almonds into a large bowl;

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and lemon zest;

3. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it is well combined;

4. Toss salad with vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Click here for recipe card.

Art Smith's Sweet Potato Salad

By Paul Briand

Here's an at home recipe I brought on the road.

The occasion was a family reunion folded around the Air Force at Army football game that occurs at West Point, N.Y., every two years.

This year the event attracted about 50 relatives and included lots of eating -- both at the hotel where we all stayed and at our tailgate party that preceded and followed the football game on Saturday.

My contribution was a sweet potato salad, the recipe for which I found in a recent issue of AARP the Magazine. It comes from Art Smith, who is described in the magazine piece as Oprah Winfrey's former personal chef.

Ingredients

4 orange-fleshed yams (sweet potatoes)

1/4 cup mayonnaise , regular or reduced-fat

4 ribs celery , cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 small red bell pepper , seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 cup diced (1/2-inch) ripe fresh pineapple

2 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup (2 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans , toasted

Chopped fresh chives , for garnish

Directions

1. Wrap the individual potatoes in foil. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 1 hour, until tender. Cool until easy to handle. Peel, then cut into 3/4-inch chunks;

2. In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise and mustard. Add the yams, celery, red pepper, pineapple, and scallions and toss gently, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerated until chilled, about 1 hour. (The salad can be made 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Adjust the seasonings before serving.);

3. Just before serving, fold in the pecans and sprinkle with the chives. Serve chilled.

A couple of notes: The hardest part of this recipe is getting the sweet potatoes cooked so that they're not undercooked but not so overcooked as to make them mushy once the salad is mixed. Mind tended to be a little on the mush side.

I also doubled the amount of pineapple and added a little more mayo. I felt it needed the added sweetness and the smoother consistency that a bit more mayo brought.

And, when I made this recipe for the first time at home, I substituted almost for pecans. When I made the dish for the crowd I didn't use any nuts at all, just to be on the side side against any food allergies.

For recipe card of Art Smith's Sweet Potato Salad, click here.

Charred Corn and Grilled Shrimp Chopped Salad

By Paul Briand

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay loves to grill and will grill anything and everything as part of his recipes.

His cookbook -- "Bobby Flay's Grill It!" -- was a Father's Day gift last year and is the source of this week's recipe as we get more deeply into the outdoor grilling season (at least here in northern New England).

This recipe leans heavily on corn charred on the grill and shrimp, also grilled.

Ingredients
6 ears of corn, husked and cleaned
1/4 cup of canola oil
Black pepper
12 ounces (21 to 24 count) of peeled and deveined shrimp
Jalapenos, to taste (optional for those who can't take the heat)
1 ripe avocado, pitted and finely diced
2 beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 cups chopped watercress or romaine lettuce
1/2 cup coarsely crushed tortilla chips

Directions
1. With grill heated to high, brush the ears of corn with oil and season with pepper, then grill until slightly charred on all sides;
2. Remove cobs from heat, let cool and use a knife to remove kernels and transfer into medium bowl;
3. Grill the shrimp until done, then cut in half and add to bowl;
4. Add jalapenos, avocado and tomatoes;
5. Whisk the lime juice, vinegar, honey and olive oil together in a small bowl and season with pepper. Pour over the corn and shrimp mixture, add cilantro, and toss;
6. Arrange the watercress (or lettuce) on a large platter and spoon the corn and shrimp salad over the top, sprinkle with crumbled tortilla chips and serve.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

By Paul Briand

I volunteered to make a pasta salad for a family Memorial Day barbecue before knowing just what kind of pasta salad I wanted to do.

Then it struck me that I'd been riffing lately on my love for grilled vegetables, so decided on a pasta salad that combined a variety of grilled vegetables, penne pasta, and balsamic vinaigrette.

There's no real trick to this, just a willingness to grill all the vegetables (either on your outdoor grill or, as in my case, with grilling pan or even with a panini grill) and chopping it all up.

Ingredients
Medium size eggplant
Vadalia onion
Green bell pepper
Yellow bell pepper
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Package of cherry tomatoes
1 box of penne pasta
1 cup of balsamic vinaigrette
Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Wash and prepare vegetables: Cut eggplant and onion in hamburger-like slices, quarter the peppers, and cut the squash and zucchini lengthwise in half;
2. On a medium hot grill (or other grilling appliance) spray some cooking oil and place the vegetables flattest side down;
3. Once the vegetables get a nice char, turn them over until another char develops and they begin to just soften from the cooking;
4. You may have to repeat the grilling process, depending on the size of your grill;
5. Set vegetables aside and let cool;
6. Cook the penne pasta according to the package instructions;
7. Slice the vegetables into bite size chunks and put them into a large mixing bowl;
8. When the pasta is al dente, remove from heat, strain and add to mixing bowl;
9. Add vinaigrette (more to taste, if desired);
10. Add Parmesan cheese to desired taste;
11. Let stand to room temperature or refrigerate to cool, mixing occasionally.

Watermelon Salad

By Paul Briand

Several members of my very large family try to get together each year for Independence Day festivities in Maine.

My Mom lives in Wells, near Moody Beach, and each year we have a big throwdown of the usual barbecue suspects -- burgers, dogs, chips and a variety of side dishes, which this year included an orzo salad and a Thai cabbage salad.

I had fed everyone earlier in the weekend with two big pots of chili and used some of the leftovers for chili dogs.

But one pleasant side dish surprise was a watermelon salad from my sister, Ella, that is amazingly simple but amazingly good in its blend of seedless watermelon, feta cheese and fresh mint.

That's it. That's all there is to it.

Fresh mint is key. Fortunately for us, my mother has mint growing in a section of her flower garden.

Everything in this salad is proportional to how much watermelon you use and how much of the mint or the feta you want as a complement.

When we were loading ourselves down with hamburgers and chili dogs and everything else the watermelon salad was a cool, sweet/tangy aperitif.

Orzo Salad

Speaking of feeding an army ...

My very large family of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews (especially on my mother's side), gather every two years at West Point, N.Y., for the Air Force at Army football game. My late Dad retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, so my side of the family cheers for the Falcons. But my mom's family is largely Army affiliated, so they cheer for the Black Knights.

But we combine forces every two years for a reunion weekend that includes some and Air Force - Army traditions and, of course, a tailgate party. My sister Margaret this year brought an Orzo Salad that was a big hit.

Ingredients
Quarter cup red vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
Half cup olive oil
6 cups chicken broth
1 pound orzo
2 cups red and/or yellow grape or teardrop tomatoes, halved
7 oz. feta cheese cut into small cubes
1 cup chopped basil
1 cup chopped green onions

Directions
1) Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice and honey
2) Gradually whisk in the olive oil
3) Season with salt and pepper
4) Cover and refrigerate (can be made up to 2 days ahead)
5)Bring broth to a boil and stir in orzo
6) Reduce heat to medium, cover partially and boil until tender but firm to the bite
7) Drain orzo, transfer to a bowl and toss to cool.
8)Mix in tomatoes, feta, basil and green onions
9) Mix in dressing
10) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Margaret advises you can also add a half cup toasted pine nuts at the last minute if you’d like, but not for a crowd of people if she doesn't know who might or might not have allergies.