When its summer time, you want to be outside. You want food that tastes refreshing and that does not weigh you down. Today I am making Greek Salad with Soft Goat’s Milk Cheese. It is a very refreshing salad, with a strong blend of flavors from the cheese, onion and garlic.

Greek Salad with Soft Goat's Milk Cheese

This is a simple dish to do, and I cant be created in at very short notice. The cheese I am using is a Soft Goat’s Milk Cheese, which should not be confused with Feta Cheese. It has a cream like consistency with an acidic taste. This balances all the flavors out , just like in my Apple Pecan Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette.

For the Salad
1 Head of Romaine Lettuce
1/2 Cucumber
10 Cherry Tomatos
1/4 Red Onion
1/4 Cup of Kalamata Olives
1/2 Cup of Salad Dressing

Wash the lettuce. Cut into small Pieces.  Serve directly in the plates. Peel and slice half a cucumber. Layer the cucumber over the lettuce. Dice 1/4 of red onions. Add over the cucumbers. Cut the Cherry Tomatoes in half. Add over the onions. Add the Kalamata Olives and the Goat’s Milk Cheese. Add 2 or 3 Tablespoons of  the salad dressing per plate.

For the Salad Dressing
4 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar
2 Teaspoons of Oregano
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
Kosher Salt

Finely mince the cloves of garlic. Add the garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and black pepper to a small mix bowl. Mix until you have incorporated all the ingredients. Add  kosher salt according to your taste.

Summer is a great time to enjoy outdoor cooking. One of my favorite recipes is a good old fashioned hamburger. Today there is a large variety of toppings and condiments that are placed over a hamburger. I like to experiment with new flavors, but sometimes I preffer something that brings me back home. It is easy to forget the genius and simplicity of a regular hamburger. Buns, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, it needs nothing more.

Old Fashion Hamburger

When people share their hamburger recipes, I am amazed at how many ingredients they use to prepare the meat. After trying several recipes, I settled with the simplest one. Based on my cooking experiments, the best prepared hamburger meat only requires two ingredients, black pepper and kosher salt.  When I share my recipe nobody believes it is that simple. One thing I have noticed over several years of cooking is that some of the best recipes require the least amount of ingredients. One thing is for sure, a grilled hamburger taste better than anything cooked in a pan.

For Old Fashioned Hamburgers

1 1/2 Lbs Gorund Beef
4-6 Hamburger Buns
American Cheese Slices
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Divide the meat into 4 or 6 pieces depending on the size you want for your hamburgers. Form the hamburger patties trying to press the meat the less than you can. Season the patties liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the meat on the grill for 2 1/2 minutes on each side. If you don’t have a grill you can pan fry them until the meat crust has formed and is brown on each side. Place the meat on the bottom part of the buns, and add the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and the top part of the bun. Condiments like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise can be added by the guests. Variations – You can add bacon, onions or pickles.

So you baked the homemade bread. Your kitchen is smelling great. Now what to do with your rustic bread loaf. Well how about some tortas. Tortas are the Mexican variant of the Hero Sandwich. You can make them in all sorts of flavors and fillings.

Ham and Cheese Torta

Traditionally, a torta is not a torta without out some chicharon. Chicharon is fried pork rinds, which taste better than  how it sounds. The best quality chicharon can be found in Mexican butcher shops. The stuff they sell next to the potato chips is made from flour, and not real chicharon, so it should be considered a poor substitute. For the fillings you can use cooked chicken, ham, bacon, or basically any kind of cold meat.  You can also top with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and especially avocados. Go crazy with the cheese. This is my recipe for Ham and Cheese Tortas.

For Ham and Cheese Tortas.

1 Loaf of Homemade Bread (or store bought French Bread)
3 Pieces of chicharon
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
3 Pieces of ham
2 Slices of American cheese
2 Pieces of Lettuce

Using a serrated knife, slice the loaf of bread lengthwise to the size of torta that you want. Put the Bread sideways and slice to make two pieces. Spread the mayonnaise to the top part of the bread. Break the chicharon pieces and add to the bottom part of the bread. Layer the Ham over the chicharon. Top with the lettuce and cheese. Bring the top part of the bread to complete the sandwich.

If there is one restaurant you will never find in Mexico, it is Taco Bell. There have been two attempts to open franchises in Mexico, and both attempts have failed. The reason for this is that nothing in Taco Bell’s menu resembles Mexican Food. Even though you will see that a Taco Bell has menu many choices, it is usually the same prepared ground meat as the main ingredient. The difference in the menu items is the meat enclosure that can be a hard corn shell, a soft flour tortilla, or a corn basket.

Taco Bell Tostadas

The first time I took my family to Taco Bell I told them not to think about tacos, but to think about deluxe prepared nachos. With that introduction they knew what to expect and surprisingly they enjoyed the meal. I personally like the prepared ground beef that is the basis for most of Taco Bell’s menu.  Even though I know it is a badly Americanized version of a Mexican dish, the same could be said about fast-food Pizza. If you remember the old chihuahua commercials, you know that “Yo quiero Taco Bell.”  After several experiments to find a decent substitute recipe for the ground beef I came with the following. Notice that in the picture I used tostadas which are the same thing as taco shells but flat.

For the Prepared Ground Beef

1 Lb Ground Beef
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 Cup of water.

Mix the ground beef, flour, chili powder, paprika, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder in a bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. In a large frying pan, add the meat and the water. Cook over medium heat until the ground beef is cooked throughly and browned.

For the Fillings and Shells

1/2 Cup Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Diced Onions
1/2 Cup Red Bell Peppers
1 Cup of Lettuce
1 Cup  Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Can of Baked Beans
Sour Cream
Salsa

12 Tostadas or Taco Shells or Soft Tortillas

Scoop the meat into the Taco Shells. Add Tomatoes, Onions, Lettuce, Red Bell Peppers, Beans and Cheddar Cheese according to personal preference. Add a dollop of cream on top. If you want to spice it up add a spoonful of Salsa. You can use tostadas, or soft flour tortillas to make different types of tacos. If you are throwing a party, you can even use nachos chips and make Deluxe Prepared Nachos with the same ingredients.

This salad is a recent invention of mine that combines ingredients of several other salads that I like. It draws its main inspiration from the famous Waldrof Salad. I use three different lettuces to give it variety of color and texture. The romaine lettuce to add to the salad’s crispiness which is further magnified by the apples and the walnuts. Red and green loose-leaf lettuce give the salad some contrast in color, and make it a sweeter, softer flavor that blends perfectly with the honey and the ash covered goat cheese.

Apple Pecan Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Instead of using grapes, like in the traditional Waldrof salad , I preffer raisins. I also omit the mayonnaise dressing in favor of a Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. To top it all up I sprinkle some chopped walnuts, and ash covered goat cheese to give it some tang. Overall I could say that this salad is a very fresh take on contrasting flavors and textures. It is crisp,soft, tangy and sweet all at once. If there is an ingredient that brings the whole salad together it is the pecans. The pecans server as an earthly flavoring that stands in middle ground to balance the crisp from the soft, and the tangy from the sweet. It is crisp,soft, tangy and sweet all at once.

Per request of my readers, I will post the recipe. If you enjoy it please leave me a comment in the bottom of this post.

For the salad
2 cups of Romain Lettuce
2 cups of Red Loose-Leaf Lettuce
2 cups of Green Loose-Leaf Lettuce
1/3 cup of Raisins
1/4 cup of Pecans
3 Apples
3 0z Soft Goat Cheese (ash covered optional)

Wash and disinfect the three types of lettuce. A good tip is to wash the lettuce in ice cold water to give the salad more crispiness. Rinse off the water. Hand shred the lettuce to bite size pieces and add to a big bowl. Peel and core the apples, and cut them up into 3/4 of an inch pieces. Add the apples to the bowl. Chop the pecans in half or into quarters depending on your preference and add to the bowl. Finally add the raisins to the bowl and toss the salad to mix all the ingredients. Serve into plates. Make sure to have good portions of all the ingredients. Add the goat cheese in small slices to the served plates and drizzle with the honey mustard vinaigrette according to your own taste.

For the Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
1/4 cup of Honey
3 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar  (Cider or Red Wine Vinegar can substitute)
1 clove of garlic (optional to taste)
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons of Virgin Olive Oil
1 pinch Kosher Salt
Coarsely ground black pepper (to taste)

Add the honey to a medium size mixing bowl. Add the vinegar and the mustard and whisk until fully integrated. Finely mince the clove of garlic. I would say that the garlic is optional because some people do not enjoy it.  Add the kosher salt and grind some black pepper to the mixture. Whisk it once more. Continue whisking and slowly add the olive oil. You can vary the amount according to the thickness you want for the salad dressing. If you add more oil it will become thinner. If you prefer a thick dressing add less. Same goes for the honey. If you prefer it sweeter add more honey. The final result should be an emulsion that does not separate.