Salads for any season

On New Year’s Day, I went to the Mummers Parade wearing a cotton turtleneck and a lightweight sweatshirt. It was a record 64 degrees.

I sometimes have trouble deciding what to cook when it is 6 degrees one day and 60 degrees two days later. We have been eating a lot of cold food, like shrimp cocktail and smoked fish on bagels. I’ve also been having fun creating entr�e salads loaded with lots of good ingredients.

One of the first dishes my husband Edward prepared for me was a salad of crisp cold iceberg lettuce topped with warm broccoli with Russian dressing on the side.

Edward never says no to a salad with a mix of warm and cool ingredients. I make a cold Mediterranean seafood salad during the dog days of summer. Although I’ve enjoyed a warm seafood salad in a number of restaurants, I never made one at home until a few days ago. It was uncommonly good.

When I was a girl, we had iceberg lettuce and that was it. Today we have a variety of greens to choose from: spring mix, baby spinach leaves, endive, radicchio, traviso, romaine, green leaf, red leaf, endive, frisee, m�che — the list goes on. These greens have different flavors and textures, so when tossed together, they make quite an impression.

Attention must be paid to the type of dressing used in a particular salad. Russian dressing and blue cheese are classic with iceberg. Extra-virgin olive oil with fresh lemon juice or a dash of vinegar is the best choice for more delicate greens.

Here are recipes for entr�e salads.

Edward’s Salad

Ingredients:

2 heads iceberg lettuce
1 bunch broccoli, cut into lengths, stems peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cut each head of lettuce in half and place on four individual plates or salad bowls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes. Drain well.

Evenly divide the broccoli among the four plates of lettuce. Top with Russian dressing or blue cheese. Recipes follow.

Russian Dressing

Ingredients:

Chili sauce
Hellmann’s mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sprinkling of dried onion flakes

Directions:

This is a freeform recipe, so I cannot give you exact amounts. Blend together the chili sauce and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and dried onion flakes. Blend well. The dressing should be pale pink in color.

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

4 to 6 ounces blue cheese of your choice, such as imported gorgonzola, Maytag blue, Stilton or Roquefort
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 to 3 tablespoons light cream, half-and-half or buttermilk

Directions:

Crumble the blue cheese and place in a bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and cream, half-and-half or buttermilk. Add the mixture to the blue cheese and blend well. You might have to add a bit more liquid or olive oil if the dressing is too dry.

Note from Phyllis: You can make this dressing in a food processor. Process the olive oil, lemon juice and liquid of your choice first. Then add the cheese and pulse. You want the dressing to be slightly chunky.

Smoked Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound smoked chicken, cut into strips
1 (8-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves
1 head endive, sliced
2 romaine hearts, sliced
1 carrot, cut into julienne
1 small head radicchio or traviso, sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place the smoked chicken strips in a glass pan. Microwave on high for two to three minutes. Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss well. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The chicken should be warm, not very hot. Scatter the chicken strips on top of the salad and serve with blue cheese or Russian dressing.

Serves four.

Note from Phyllis: You can substitute smoked turkey for the chicken in this recipe. You also can use leftover chicken or turkey breast and warm it up a bit.

Warm Seafood Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound medium shrimp
1 pound lump crabmeat
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound bay scallops
1 pound spring mix or mesclun
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Place the shrimp in a 3-quart saucepan. Cover with cold water.

Cook over high heat just until the shrimp turn pink, about three to five minutes. Drain in a colander and run cold water over the shrimp. Peel them and set aside.

Place the olive oil in a saut� pan. Add the crabmeat and saut� over medium heat until the crabmeat is heated through. Keep the crabmeat in the pan so it stays warm.

Place the scallops in a 3-quart saucepan, cover with cold water and heat on high until the scallops become translucent, about three to five minutes. Drain in a colander and run cold water over them.

Place the salad greens in a large bowl. Place the shrimp and scallops in a glass pan. Microwave on high just for a minute or so until they warm up a bit. Scatter the shrimp, crabmeat and scallops over the salad. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice and pour over the salad. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves four.

Steak Salad

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 pounds filet mignon, London broil or skirt steak
2 romaine hearts, sliced
1 small head frisee
1 small sweet red onion, diced
3 heads Belgian endive
1/2 pound mushrooms, such as portabello, cremini or shiitake or a mix of all three
1 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Small handful fresh basil leaves, snipped with scissors

Directions:

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and pan-sear the steak to medium rare. Remove from the flame but keep the steak in the skillet.

Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss well. Slice the steak into strips. Scatter the steak over the salad. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Add the basil leaves and blend well. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.

Serves four.