As Aric already said, I can’t believe a week has gone by since the big dinner but to be honest, with the amount of food that was made, it seemed like a daunting task of where to start. Pair that with the 250 or so pictures taken of all the food (courtesy of our dear friend and fellow chef that evening, Tim Ko) and I think it has taken us a week just to sort through it all to bring you the highlights from that evening!
Since Aric already covered the meat (and non-meat for the vegetarian better-halves), I will dive right into the salad portion of the meal. One of my favorite cuisines is Italian, one of Aric’s is Greek. It only made sense to make a salad that evening that combined the two flavors and the first thing that came to mind was Ina Garten’s Greek Panzanella.
Panzanella stems from Italian origins and is typically made with just bread and tomatoes. The Greek influence in this salad comes from the ingredients usually used to make a Greek salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and feta. Put these all together and you have one of my favorite salads of all time. I feel I should also state that I adore Ina’s cookbooks, which are stacked in a colorful line on my bookshelf, so it is only natural that I am biased when it comes to her recipes. But honestly, every recipe of hers that I have tried has always been a success so is that really a bias?
One of the many things that makes this a great dish for entertaining is that you can make it ahead of time. In my opinion, this make this salad even better because it allows all that yummy goodness to marinate a bit and the bread can soak up a bit of the dressing. It also makes for great leftovers!
In the case of our crew that evening, it was also a perfect fit for the mixed palates at the table. We had herbivores (us three ladies) and carnivores (the guys) and, just to keep it interesting, a dairy-free diet to work around. I didn’t have to tweak this salad very much to make sure that everyone would be satisfied; I am not a fan of black olives so I left those out and I just made sure to find a delicious goat’s milk feta cheese to substitute for a standard feta. And to be honest, like Aric said himself, I rather enjoy the challenge that comes with find alternatives as it allows me to branch out and try products that I might not otherwise have stumbled upon.
Feel free to add or substitute the vegetables and cheese as you see fit. And make sure the bread is really toasted so it doesn’t get too soggy once it soaks up the dressing. If you can find a rustic bread, I have found that to be the best as it is very dense, but Ina’s suggestion of a French boule or any other heavy bread works well too.
So without further ado, here is Ina’s recipe, found in her cookbook Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips (Fabulous Recipes and Easy Tips)
Cooking, Food & Wine Books)
Ingredients
Good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted
For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.
Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.
Dawn
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