Kale Salad with Avocado Dressing

This is the latest in NDP's Weekday Lunch series, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of my tupperware. For earlier Weekday Lunch posts, check this out.

I'm a big fan of kale salads. They're a pop of green in a season where not much is; they basically never wilt; and given how healthy they are, it's hard not to feel righteous eating one.

My usual kale salad combines lacinato kale - the long, bumpy leaves that are almost glamorous in texture, also known as dinosaur kale - with pine nuts, raisins or currants, and shards of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. It's the sort of salad that's good now, better later. My friend (and author of various guest posts on NDP) Jeremy pointed out that over time, as the kale wilts, it takes on a texture almost like seaweed, which is quite pleasant.

Last week, in the mood for kale salad, I opened the fridge to find I was fresh out of lacinato. I did have a bunch of regular curly-leaf kale, but I knew it would take a thicker, more serious dressing to tame those wiry leaves. Where did I turn? The humble avocado.

Avocado dressings are flat-out underrated. People talk of yogurt, of mayonnaise (the enemy of delicious - I can't stand the stuff), of buttermilk, but never of avocado. It's too bad: avocados are smooth and buttery, thick enough to make a beautifully emulsified dressing, and did I mention they're delicious?

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For this salad, I combined kale with those crunchy, juicy asian pears that I can't seem to get enough of. I added scallions for texture and bite, then dressed the mess with a dressing of soy, rice wine vinegar, and avocado, whipped into submission with the help of grapeseed and sesame oils. And now, I warn you: people, the combination is addictive. I really can't get enough. I've made this dressing three or four times over the past few weeks, tweaking it ever so slightly to get that perfect zestiness. I've eaten it on regular kale, on lacinato kale once I replenished my supply, and even used it as a dip for slices of asian pear as an afternoon snack. It's ridiculously good. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Kale Salad with Avocado Dressing serves 2

1 bunch kale (any kind - regular or lacinato are both great; mine was about 3 oz) 1 asian pear, halved, cored, and sliced 2 scallions, sliced 1 avocado juice of 1 lime 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1/4 cup grapeseed oil water if needed

Rip the kale into medium sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add sliced scallions and pear.

Scoop the avocado into a medium bowl and use a fork to mash it until totally smooth. Add all the remaining ingredients except the grapeseed oil and stir to combine. Then gradually add the grapeseed oil and whisk until fully combined. If necessary, add water by the tablespoon until dressing is thin enough to pour.

Add dressing to kale salad. Start with half, toss, and add more dressing if necessary. Allow the salad to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Salad will keep up to 1 day dressed; dressing will keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Ginger Brownies

Brownie perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Some like a moist, chewy brownie. (Others inexplicably prefer the cakey kind, but I'm not judging.) Katherine Hepburn liked brownies so chocolatey, they were black - but I've also met strange folks who don't want to be hit over the head by the chocolate. (Again, not judging. Kinda.)

The brownie debate extends quite far: even Duncan Hines lists two options on their packaged brownie mix - one egg for chewy brownies, two for cake-like brownies.

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Me, I like a brownie that's moist and chewy - but it's important to me that they hold to hold their shape when sliced. Mushy brownies have a time and a place - midnight or later, straight out of the pan, eaten alone or with someone I like a whole lot. For the more civilized occasions, give me a brownie that slices up nicely.

In the past, I've looked to Alice Medrich and Dorie Greenspan, who have developed recipes for truly bittersweet, moist brownies. Neither of my standby favorites have any additions, which can disrupt the otherwise smooth texture of good brownies.

But I'm not a total purist. I've always been a fan of peppermint brownies, and just as curious about the supporting role other flavors might be able to play. So yesterday, I pulled a stack of cookbooks off the shelf and began looking for inspiration: I wanted to make ginger brownies.

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That expedition ended with a thud. I couldn't find anything I was excited to make. So I turned to the interwebs, and quickly found myself a Martha recipe that looked mighty promising. Spiced with ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, they suggested prominent fall flavor but didn't look too overpowering.

And here I am, blogging abut the recipe, so yes, friends. They were every bit as good as I'd hoped. The texture of these brownies comes pretty close to perfect, for me at least. Chewy and moist, but firm enough to stand up to a knife. I topped them with some of the lovely ginger salt I received from Marx Foods a while back for some sort of contest (I forget the context, but I'm pretty sure it was open to everyone, and they're certainly not paying me to discuss it here). I was enamored enough of the topping that I'm encouraging you to do something similar below. It's simple, really: combine ground ginger with coarse salt. Alternatively, snag the ginger salt from Marx Foods. It's - er - worth its salt.

Ginger Browniesadapted from Martha Stewart makes 9 large brownies or 12 smaller brownies (1 8x8 pan)

Note: The ginger salt is out of stock, but equally wonderful is the espresso salt. Try it! If you don't have fancy flavored salt, just take 1/2 teaspoon of flaky salt in a bowl, add a pinch of ground ginger, and stir until combined. Sprinkle sparingly over the brownies. If you're not keen on that fuss, just use regular flaky salt.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 cup sugar 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon for sprinkling 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Line bottom with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over 2 sides. Butter parchment.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and spices. Stir to combine fully. Add eggs, vanilla, and cooled chocolate mixture, and stir to fully combine.

Pour batter into prepared dish and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle sparingly with either ginger salt or regular flaky salt. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Lift out, and let cool completely on rack. Cut into 8 squares or 12 rectangles. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

Beef Stew with Vadouvan

I didn't believe it was possible to make a flavorful beef stew without beef stock, but this recipe proved me wrong. An unassuming combination of cheap stew meat, green beans, tomatoes, and spices come together on the stove and cook low and slow, turning into something distinctly more than the sum of its parts. The green beans melt into lusciousness while, miraculously, maintaining their texture through hours of cooking. And the tomatoes become a complex, silky sauce that coats the beef and does wonders for a bowl of hot rice.

I adapted this stew from a Food52 recipe that, quite frankly, needed no adapting. It calls for coriander and cumin, which I used in moderation, and which are quite lovely. However, I also added plenty of vadouvan, an intriguing blend combining many of the spices in curry - cumin, tumeric, mustard seeds - with more French spices like shallots and nutmeg. It's positively seductive, and it works magic on this stew.

Susan on Food52 uses an interesting method for cooking this stew, skipping the browning process and instead simply covering the beef with water and cooking it just so. I'm not so bold; I insisted on browning the beef in just a tablespoon of olive oil, and I was happy to have browned the beef before making the stew. That said, I can't think of a time when Amanda and Merrill have steered me wrong, so should you want to skip the browning, I have every faith you'd make something delicious. Go forth, friends. It's beef stew season.

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Beef Stew with Vadouvanadapted from Food52 Serves 6-8

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 lb. stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks salt and pepper 16 oz. crushed tomatoes 1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed, halved 2 cloves of garlic 1 teaspoon coriander 1 teaspoon cumin 1 tablespoon vadouvan (if not using, increase coriander and cumin to 2 teaspoons each)

Drizzle the olive oil into a heavy bottomed dutch oven or covered pot and place over medium heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper on all sides, and add beef to the pot in a single layer. Sear, turning as needed, until lightly browned on all sides.

Add water to cover beef, the green beans, and the crushed tomatoes, garlic cloves, and spices. Stir to combine, cover the pot, and reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, until beef is very tender and green beans are soft but still intact. Check on stew periodically, stirring and adding more water if necessary. By the time the beef is thoroughly cooked, the liquid will have reduced considerably, so you'll probably have to add water at least once while the stew cooks.

Serve hot over rice, with plenty of sauce ladled overtop.

Curried Cauliflower Chickpea Salad

You might -- as I did -- assume that any recipe written by the likes of Thomas Keller is completely out of reach for us mere mortals. Yes, he of the Best Restaurant in New York publishes books, with recipes in them. I have one of these books, and it isn't even the crazy-complicated one. It's Ad Hoc, the most approachable of his books, which documents the food from his family-style restaurant in Yountville. I've read it through several times; it's a beautiful volume. It's found a permanent home on our coffee table. Unfortunately, I've been too flat-out intimidated to actually make his food. The recipes look simple enough - farro with butternut squash, summer vegetable gratin, etc - but when you dig deeper, every recipe subtly calls for like eight other recipes. I was a bit put off.

You probably think I'm being lazy, or weak, or something. After all, better women have cooked every recipe from his high-end cookbook without breaking a sweat. (Okay, maybe a little sweat.) But I am not so bold. I confess, I tire at the site of long, involved recipes, especially when they're ultimately meant to be eaten as a weeknight dinner. I believe there's plenty of time to cook good food at home, even on weeknights, but multi-step recipes require either lots of time, or lots of foresight. These days, I have neither. But after this weekend, I do have a newfound enthusiasm and can-do spirit: I'm cooking (slightly adapted) Keller, and you can too.

I've been eyeing this salad of chickpeas and curried cauliflower for as long as I've had Ad Hoc at Home on my coffee table. The picture in the book is gorgeous: it features both dried and fresh chickpeas, sliced green and red endive, little coin-sized cauliflower florets, pretty pickled onions, the works. It looks so fresh and colorful, like something I would totally make.

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In reading the recipe, I thought the flavors in the dish seemed really well-balanced, so I hesitated to make any changes. But then I realized that I wanted to actually bite the bullet and make this recipe, so I forged ahead. No fresh chickpeas at the markets these days, and canned chickpeas are really fine: one step eliminated. I happened to have some pickled onions left over from another recipe, so I used those. If I hadn't had them, that step is actually quite easy. As for the wine-soaked raisins, I had only currants and red wine, instead of the white wine and golden raisins called for. Still, the end result was quite delicious. I even added dill, because I didn't have any parsley leaves (nor the time to fry them), and I think the salad benefited from the addition.

Does this prove that you can mess with Keller recipes successfully? N of 1, so I'm doubtful. But it does prove that Ad Hoc is more than coffee table eye candy. It's a book with recipes in it. Those recipes are for making, and after this experience, I'll be making more of them.

Also: One year ago today, I got hitched. Craziness! 10/17/10 was warm and sunny, joyous and spirited, and absolutely unforgettable in every way. Some of you were there in person to share that day with us, others shared it virtually via my post on the blog and your wonderful comments. I'm so happy to find myself in this space one year later, able to reminisce on that wonderful day with y'all. You're the best....and so is my awesome wife. Happy anniversary, D.

Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea SaladAdapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home

For the Cauliflower: 1 head of cauliflower salt 1 tablespoon white vinegar

For the Salad: 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts 3 heads endive (mix of red and green is pretty) 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 4 oz. oil-cured black olives, pits removed 1/2 an onion (red or white), halved and sliced into thin rings 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 cup raisins or currants, plumped in 1/4 cup wine (red or white) 1 tablespoon minced chives 1/4 cup chopped dill salt and pepper

Curry Vinaigrette: 2 teaspoons good quality curry powder (preferably Madras) 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 1/2 cup canola oil 1 teaspoon minced garlic salt and pepper

Prepare the Cauliflower: Core the cauliflower and remove the leaves. Halve the cauliflower, then cut into florets about the size of a quarter or slightly larger.

Set a medium pot full of salted water on high heat and bring to a boil. Add vinegar and cauliflower, and cook until cauliflower is fully cooked but still firm, about 4 minutes. Strain cauliflower into a bowl and cool completely.

Prepare Onions: Combine onions, vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to combine, then set aside for about 10 minutes, longer if you have it.

Prepare Dressing: In a small dry pan over medium heat, toast curry powder until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the Salad: Remove the ends of each endive head, and slice into 1/4-inch rings. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cooled cauliflower, chickpeas, pine nuts, olives, onions (drained of their pickling liquid), raisins, and dill in a large bowl. Add dressing, stir to combine, and adjust salt and pepper levels to taste. Serve with chives sprinkled overtop.

Salad can be kept in an airtight container for a few days after serving, but is best the day it is made.