What salad do you serve with spaghetti?!
Answers: Or meatloaf, potroast? I am trying to create a menu for a six course dinner. I need ideas for seven days.
SICILIAN ESCAROLE SALAD
1 large head escarole (broad leaf type)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced and crushed
a few drops balsamic vinegar
1/3 teaspoon sea salt (adjust if using anchovies)
pinch black pepper
1/3 teaspoon basil leaves
1/3 teaspoon oregano leaves
1/3 teaspoon (or to taste) hot red pepper flakes
1 can medium sized black ripe olives or oil cured, chopped
1 large Vidalia or red onion, sliced thinly
1 large english cucumber, quartered lengthwise, sliced into 1 inch chunks
1 can anchovies (optional)
Add wine vinegar to bottom of bowl.
Peel garlic, and using a garlic press, add garlic to vinegar and allow to sit at least 10 minutes. (Alternatively, if you don't have a garlic press, mince garlic finely and then sprinkle with salt and rub the side of your knife across it to crush garlic to a fine paste, then add to vinegar as above.) Stir pepper, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes into vinegar. Add chopped onion, stir to mix together.
Wash and thoroughly dry the escarole and separate the leaves, tearing them into 1-2 inch pieces. Add to vinegar and garlic, chop the cucumber into one inch pieces and season with black pepper.
If using the optional anchovies, drain, break them into sections and add to the olive oil. Otherwise, pour olive oil over salad, sprinkle with salt and mix gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Escarole salad can be easily varied to suit the ingredients that you have available, or what's seasonal at the market. But remember, it's best kept rather simple, with not too many ingredients, in the Italian tradition.
This can be topped with Parmesan croutons or served with bruschetta.
I just serve a regular garden salad with my spaghetti.
A nice toss salad would be my choice.
I serve a regular garden salad or a caesar salad and toasted bread with spaghetti. For meatloaf I serve mashed potatoes and/or steamed veggies, and for potroast I simply roast onions potatoes, carrots, and celery along with the roast. The simplest way to do that is to get the baking bags and put all of the seasonings, meat, and vegetables in it, or use a pressure cooker.
Edit: Six courses? Please list type of course. Appetizer, dessert, etc.
Spaghetti = either tossed or ceasar
Meatloaf or Potroast = tossed
the best is russian salad sweet ant healthy
Cesar salad
Caesar Salad
or just Romane lettuce leaves add cheese, and some veggies you love, like at olive garden, add olives, tomatoes, red onions and so on!! good luck!! :)
I like a combination of green and red leaf lettuces
Blush wine viniagrette by brianna's ( great bottled dressing )
or the New American - Lightly dressed
Feta cheese ,,, Dried Cranberries ,,,, Toasted slivered almonds
People will think your a GODDESS in the kitchen
Just remember to toss ingredients right before serving and go easy on dressing
Bigger issue is the spaghetti - use italian sausage ( not hamburger ) and if you use bottled sauce ,,, dress it up by sauteing some onions and garlic, zuchini and petite diced tomatoes
and then add your bottled sauce
they will think its homeade
We eat a lot of salads that don't have lettuce in them and I think for what you're planning, that will work well. For example, on spaghetti night, how about just tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, olives, sweet onions thinly sliced, maybe some fresh basil and then any bottled Italian dressing or better yet, balsalmic vinagrette. Another night, you could boil some potatoes, cut them up tiny and add some frozen peas, a jar of artichoke hearts (use the oil they come in too!), the marinated little button mushrooms in a glass jar (use that juice too), mix it all together with a little of your dressing and you're done. Sprinkle some fresh parsley on top!
Another night, you could try slicing up a few cucumbers, then sweet onions, and this dressing is DELICIOUS for cucumber salad (oh, and add a good bit of fresh parsley, just torn off the stems!): Put 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic FINELY CHOPPED in anything you can put a top on and shake. Now, it sounds bad, but add 1/2 cup sugar (trust me!), 1/2 cup any vinegar, but red wine is great and so is the balsalmic) and 2/3 cup olive oil, plus salt, pepper, and about 2-3 TBSPNS of parmesan cheese. Shake it up and pour it all over the cucumber salad. Let it marinate a couple of hours before you serve it. It's REALLY good!
Then you could alternate with the traditional leafy salads and to make them a little more Italian, just add some pepperoni, shredded cheese, olives, and make it like an antipasti.
I hope this helps! Good luck! Enjoy! :-)
Cesar with spaghetti
With meatloaf and pot roast i would just have veggies Italian dressing (cucumbers,purple onions, bell pepper, tomato's)
Mix all together makes a perfect dish
garden salad with arugula and slice purple onion
You do NOT ever, serve salad with cooked food unless it is used as a small garnish, or as a side dish with steak. menu for 6 courses;
soup or shell fish in a cream sauce
a small salad with a light dressing
pate with a small slice of toast
Beef Wellington with roast potatoes and French green beans
A small selection of cheeses to include hard, soft (brie etc) and blue.
A crepe drizzled with hot caramel accompanied with vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. or Creme Caramel with ice cream
The Beef Wellington can be substituted with a breast of duck
ceaser salad