black bean and corn salad

the geek's father was born on december 24. this makes for a doubly festive christmas eve/birthday dinner! for his birthday dinner request, the geek's dad usually goes with either spaghetti & meatballs or enchilladas.

during one enchillada year, i wanted to bring a salady type side to the dinner. a black bean and corn salad sounded like the perfect compliment... a cool and fresh contrast to the warm, saucy goodness of the enchilladas.

potato salad with proscuitto and dijon vinaigrette

i love potato salad. growing up, that meant potatoes with some combination of macaroni, egg, grated carrots, pickles, onions, and peas, always held together with creamy mayonnaise. 

as much as i love potato salad, i was a bit surprised when a friend of mine said he and his fiancée had decided to serve potato salad as the salad course for the wedding reception they were planning at an upscale resort. he said it would be something different, and it was.

eat more salad! abc salad

as a general rule, the geek hates salad. hates it! that being said, there's one salad that he likes (almost loves). he calls it "the best salad ever!" it's based on an apple-bacon-cheddar sandwich served at one of our local restaurants. the sweet, crunchy apple, salty-savory bacon, and sharp cheese all work well together in taste and in texture. 

this is not so much a recipe as it is a recommendation.

somen salad

it's january. we're in the midst of winter. the average high for this time of year is 49 degrees F/9.5 degrees C. it's the least likely time to crave the cool deliciousness that is a somen salad.

i blame the recent emergence of spring-like weather for my somen salad craving. it's been sunny and warm, the perfect weather for a cool noodley salad. surely the cold weather will return, but for now, i think i'll put away my winter coat and enjoy me some somen salad.

if you're not familiar with somen salad, let me take a moment to introduce you. somen salad is made up of cold somen noodles, a variety of vegetables, usually one or more types of protein, and a sweet-soy-sesame dressing. in hawaii, it's popular as a side dish (especially at potlucks) or light meal but it can easily be elevated to entree status with the addition of more protein or vegetables.