Endive Salad Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Endive Salad Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

If endive had been available in Detroit (Michigan) when I was a teen, I would have eaten it all the time for its flavor.  I learned about it when I lived in Paris (France) and cook with it now whenever I get the chance.

This salad is a meal in itself.  I use American products to make it, because they are less expensive than European ones and still taste good. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-4 endive heads with stem cut off, leaves separated and washed, and chopped into ½-inch squares

-I pound crisp and crumbled cooked bacon (It takes about 20 minutes to fry bacon up this way.)

-1 cup blue cheese such as Maytag blue

-3/4 cup heavy cream

Steps:

1-Mix endive pieces and crumbled bacon together.

2-Mix blue cheese and cream together.

3-Combine the endive-bacon mixture with the dressing.

Serve with your favorite toast.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Cobb Salad Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Cobb Salad Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

I ate Californian Cobb salads all the time when I went out to diners in Detroit like Syros, the Econ, and Nemos for lunch with my mom on the weekend.  I loved having a working mom who had her own money.

You will need a large serving bowl for my jumbled salad.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-1 head washed and drained iceberg lettuce

-1 (4-ounce) can California black olives

-1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese like Maytag blue

-1/2 cup chopped chicken

-1/2 cup sliced Monterey Jack cheese

-1/2 cup cooked, crisp bacon

-1 cup chopped avocado

-1 cup Ranch or blue cheese dressing

Steps:

1-Tear iceberg lettuce into small pieces and mound up in a large bowl.

2-Mix the rest of the ingredients together except for the avocados.

3-Top with the avocados and serve dressing on the side, so people can choose their favorite.

Elli’s in Salinas, California makes a great Cobb Salad as well as a pistachio-crusted grilled chicken salad.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Egg-Salsa Dip Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Egg-Salsa Dip Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

I use up leftover rice from Mexican restaurants to make this easy dip.  Choose a salsa you like for spice level and ingredients.  I like salsa with corn, if I can find it.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 cups leftover Spanish rice

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-2 beaten eggs

-1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

-1 cup salsa of your choice

-1 (40-ounce) bag tortilla chips

Steps:

1-Sauté Spanish rice in olive oil for 5 minutes.

2-Stir in beaten eggs and Monterey Jack cheese.  Stir till the eggs are cooked and the cheese is melted.

3-Stir in the salsa and heat thoroughly for 5 minutes.

4-Place dip in a bowl on a platter and surround with tortilla chips.

Serve before fish or seafood.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Egg-Rice Dip Hors d'oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

Egg-Rice Dip Hors d’oeuvres Recipe Created by Ruth Paget

I make this dip with leftover rice from Chinese restaurants.

I also make it with rice I make at home in a mini rice cooker. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-2 cups cooked rice

-3 tablespoons olive oil

-2 chopped Serrano peppers (optional)

-2 beaten eggs

-1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

-1 (40-ounce) bag tortilla chips

Steps:

1-Sauté cooked rice and Serrano peppers for 5 minutes in olive oil.

2-Add eggs and cheese and scrambled eggs.

3-When eggs are cooked and the cheese is melted, place egg-rice mixture in a bowl on a platter.

4-Surround the bowl with tortilla chips and serve.

Serve before fish or seafood.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Roasted Potatoes and Cheese Hors d'oeuvres Created by Ruth Paget

Roasted Potatoes and Cheese Hors d’oeuvres Created by Ruth Paget

I would make a recipe similar to this one when I lived in France and Germany called gratin Dauphinois.  It is made with crème fraîche, an ingredient which can be expensive in the United States.  I have used sour cream in this recipe and changed the Emmenthal cheese to Monterey Jack.

This version is a great as an hors d’oeuvres or as a side dish for steaks or beef or pork roasts.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-4 large, washed, peeled, and sliced Idaho potatoes

-2 teaspoons dry garlic

-4 cups sour cream

-2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

-Pam® for spraying baking dish

Steps:

1-Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray Pam© on baking dish.

2-Spread some of the cheese mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.  Place a layer of potatoes on top of the cheese mixture.

3-Spread some cheese mixture on top of the potatoes and layer with more potatoes.  Spread cheese mixture on top of this.  Repeat and finish with a layer of the cheese mixture.

4-Bake for 1 hour.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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