Salad with chicken offers fresh fruit, Thai-style dressing
Q: I recently bought a jar of real maraschino cherries from Italy. Given how pricey they are, I want to savor the cherries and the juice. Any suggestions for cocktails that would show off the juice (as well as the cherries)?
A: Oh yes, don’t waste that syrup! I like to use it to enhance Manhattans, as a syrup substitute in Old Fashioneds, and it’s great mixed into a gin and tonic. I would maybe try it in a martini riff, too — try a couple ounces of gin or vodka, an ounce of dry (or blanc) vermouth, a dash of orange bitters and a spoonful of that cherry syrup and see if it needs tweaking.
Q: I love having raw garlic in dressings such as ranch, but I often don’t need to use all the dressing at once. I would like to save it, but I’ve always heard you shouldn’t touch raw garlic after a day unless it has been in oil. Do other fats, such as buttermilk, also preserve it for longer?
A: I have never had trouble with adding raw garlic to dressings and keeping it for a few days. Maybe my tastebuds aren’t as sensitive. Another way of approaching it is to make garlic confit, which is to slowly cook garlic cloves in a vat of olive oil until they are soft (about 30 minutes) — and then add to dressings and such. It takes the sharp bite out of garlic but preserves the flavor. removed from bones and cut into bite-size pieces (remove skin if desired)
1 cup green and/or red
seedless grapes, halved 1 Granny Smith apple,
sliced
½ cup ginger-sesame
stir-fry sauce
¼ cup creamy peanut
butter
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Slice pineapple pieces into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange cabbage (or romaine), chicken, grapes, apple slices and pineapple on a platter or individual plates.
For dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together stirfry sauce, peanut butter and crushed red pepper. If necessary, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle dressing over salad.
PER SERVING: 529 calories, 45 g protein,
44 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 34 g sugar, 19 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 123 mg cholesterol, 998 mg sodium