The Cooking Critic

If you take a look at my last few posts, you’ll see I’ve been subsisting on cheese, brunch foods and dessert. I suspect my recent eating habits don’t make for a well-balanced diet. As much as I wish brunch foods and desserts had their own little slot on the food pyramid, it’s probably best they don’t. I blame my food intake for my feelings of sluggishness and general ickiness and determined it was high time I ate a salad.

Evidently the universe thought I should eat a salad too because the cosmos aligned so that I rediscovered a Broiled Shrimp and Spinach Salad recipe and happened to have all the ingredients already in my kitchen, surprisingly since shrimp, green beans and fresh dill are not normally staples for me. Therefore, I declare Broiled Shrimp and Spinach Salad a small miracle.

I went about chopping green onions and squeezing lemon with high hopes for this salad. I suspected it would be exactly what I needed to combat the ill effects of my recent sugar overdose and taste fabulous. But immediately after thinking this, I determined I just jinxed my salad. There was no way it could live up to my unreasonable expectations since I do, in fact, have a habit of anticipating far more amazing things than is really fair for the object of my expectations. (Movies and boys are routine disappointments because of this.) But, I needn’t have worried–my expectations were met. The shrimp makes this salad substantial, the green beans add just the right crunch (had I not slightly overcooked them), the lemony dressing is zippy but balanced by the fresh dill. In short, happiness is a Broiled Shrimp and Spinach Salad.

Adjustments: I used cooked, frozen shrimp instead of cooking raw shrimp. So basically, I didn’t broil the shrimp for Broiled Shrimp and Spinach Salad. But this cuts the work you have to do in half (especially nice when your throwing this together for lunch, as I did.) It also means your eating a cold salad instead of a warm one, but that’s fine by me. Also, I added more lemon juice to the dressing.

Assessment: I am completely charmed by this salad and plan on having it again for lunch tomorrow. I wish I hadn’t halved the dressing recipe because I will want this salad again later in the week and will have to make the dressing again. Not that it was any trouble at all. The whole dish was easy, elegant and wonderful. If only life were like Broiled Shrimp and Spinach Salad.

Dill Dip isn’t the most memorable food. People eat it with their veggies, enjoy it, but it’s not as if a few days later they’re telling someone, “I had the most amazing Dill Dip the other day.” Dill Dip is doomed to live a life in the shadow of the preferred Ranch Dressing. Such a shame, because Dill Dip is infinitely more interesting and complex than Ranch Dressing. Ranch Dressing may be the head cheerleader and Homecoming Queen of the dip world, but Dill Dip will end up going much further in life.

Assessment: So easy, so good. Besides serving with vegetables, you can smear this on a BLT, or create a tuna salad sandwich with it.

Jelly is old news. Peanut Butter is moving on, getting his groove back in this Sesame-Peanut Noodles recipe. Since I’m not used to putting peanut butter in foods served at dinner, I felt kind of wacky making this. I think peanut butter is not an uncommon ingredient in Asian food (or is that just peanuts?), but I’m not really sure. Clearly I don’t make a lot of Asian food.

Adjustments: Left out the peanuts because I didn’t have any. Oh and I tossed in some asparagus for blanching while boiling the noodles and mixed them into the final product. (I’m trying to up my daily veggie dose.)

Assessment: I really liked that I had on hand nearly all the ingredients it called for, and it was easy. (No, I didn’t have the mirin, but I had sherry as a substitute.) The dish was a little on the peppery side for me but tasty all in all. Peanut butter lovers should like this one. Those with peanut allergies probably won’t.