Here is a formal recipe:
Champagne/Balsamic/Red Wine Vinaigrette
1 part champagne, balsamic or red wine vinegar
3 parts pure olive oil
small amount of honey
a dollop of dijon mustard (this brings the oil and vinegar together...in harmony)
salt and fresh cracked pepper
Mix all the ingredients
Put whatever you don't use in the fridge and save for later.
Salad of Fresh Bread and Seasonal Vegetables (gardener's salad)
Serves 4
To the eye, this recipe seems boring. But what could be better than some great crusty bread, toasted and tossed with freshly picked vegetables dripping with flavor?
Ingredients
Any loaf of fresh bread cut into large cubes (enough to fill roughly 2 cups)
head of fresh lettuce
any seasonal vegetables (carrots, squash, peppers, zucchini, asparagus)
2 fresh tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
Red Wine Vinaigrette from above
Pre-Heat oven to 350F
Line the sheet pan with the bread and toast in the oven for 10 minutes.
For the vegetables, be sure to slice according to vegetable type. For example, a carrot is going to take longer to cook than a zucchini so slice it much thinner than the zucchini.
Toss the root vegetables in your vinaigrette of choice and roast in the oven for about 14 minutes.
Meanwhile, mince the thyme, slice the tomatoes, and clean the lettuce.
When the vegetables are finished toss them with the lettuce, tomatoes and toasted bread and serve immediately.
Chef Andrew Gruel