GASTRONORMOUS

This is a salad inspired in part by one my mom makes and in part by the specialty oils and vinegars I happened to have in my kitchen cupboards on a recent evening.

A salad of avocados and oranges may sound like an odd combo, but the creaminess of the avocado balances out the bright acid of the orange in such a blissful way that I think it must be no accident that the two fruits grow in the same climes–it is as if Mother Nature intended them to be eaten together.

The mandarin oil I mentioned in a previous post I thought would work well here for obvious reasons, but since it was a little too orangey last time, I decided to cut it with another oil. I was just going to use some good quality extra virgin, when a tin of chili-flavored olive oil on the shelf caught my eye. (I am not so into store bought flavored oils generally–these were both gifts, actually–but these from O&CO. are of very good quality, and the chili one especially is very versatile.) The slight spiciness would add just the touch of intrigue I was looking for. But then! I saw that I was completely out of white wine vinegar. Quelle dommage! And the cider vinegar I had just would not do. But what was the slender orange-capped bottle stashed in the verrry back of the top shelf of the cupboard? Ah! It was rice vinegar with chili flakes! That might just work, it might just work perfectly.

The salad ended up being a great combination of sweet-salty-creamy-fresh-and-spicy (whew!), with none of the tastes or textures overpowering the others. I hope you try and enjoy it.

Sweet and Spicy Avocado-Orange Salad

For the dressing:

2 T. chili-flavored olive oil
2 T. mandarin-flavored olive oil
2 T. seasoned rice vinegar with pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. chili pepper paste
A few grinds black pepper
a pinch of salt, optional

For the salad:*

4-6 cups of mixed salad greens, cleaned and spun/dried
2-3 scallions, sliced
1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1 large orange, sectioned, then sections cut crosswise in half or thirds

Whisk together in a large glass bowl all the ingredients for the dressing, except for the salt. Taste dressing, then add a pinch of salt (and adjust other flavors to your taste), if needed.**

While the dressing rests, slice the scallions, cube the avocado, and section the orange (I did this the fancy way, which makes for better eatin’–no tough membranes. Psst! It is also faster than peeling by hand!). When you cut the sections out, hold the orange over the dressing bowl to catch all the juices.

Give the dressing another quick whisk before throwing in the avocado, scallions and orange sections. Toss very gently so as not to mush the avocado. Put the greens in a salad bowl, spoon the avocado-orange mixture onto the greens and toss. (You don’t want to just dump the entire bowl’s contents into the greens as it may be very liquidy.) After you toss with the greens, assess the dressing situation and add some of the reserved dressing from the glass bowl if necessary.

*Next time, per the good suggestion of the Hubs, I would add some sliced celery and toasted nuts (pecans or walnuts would be especially good). That would add a nice bit of crunch that this salad lacked. Add the celery with the avocado-orange-scallion step; the nuts should be tossed in right before serving.

** The rice vinegar I used has salt and corn syrup in it (I know, yuck, bad for you.), so be sure to taste the dressing before adding salt.  If you use an unsweetened rice vinegar, then add a couple pinches of superfine sugar too.

I can’t tell you how many times I have looked at a delicious-looking ice cream recipe and resented my kitchen’s lack of an ice-cream maker. Well, the Accidental Hedonist offers an ice cream recipe that doesn’t need any special equipment. Plus, the Mascarpone iced cream with amaretti cookies and a sauce of cherries and wine looks amazing. I can’t wait for a special occasion to make it. A hot Friday night counts as a special occasion, right?

Mark Bittman suggests using a way-too-sweet and ridiculously cheap ($4) rosé to make sangria. Not quite a sangria using a box of wine, but I respect him for it. (Plus, he uses fresh mint in the beverage, which is a great idea.)

And in the realm of the ridiculous: The British are for some reason more offended by a gay kiss than the clearly heinous Heinz squeeze-bottle mayonnaise, as reported on Epicurious’ blog. A commercial for the product is like My Two Dads meets The Odd Couple, but featuring a gay kiss.  I personally object to the fake New York accent of the sandwich-maker. I think the ad is actually rather sweet. Judge for yourself.

I don’t have that much counter space, but I might be able to make room for this cute little bread maker. Amy claims to have a just sliver of counter space, and still enough room for it.

A story that hits close to my heart: David Chang bans photography at Ko, and people react. I am sick of hearing about David Chang and his Momofuku iterations, so that isn’t the part that hits close to my heart, but the debate about the practice of taking pics in restaruants in general does. Apparently many people are up in arms about it (read the comments after the post). I never use my flash in restaurants, so I assumed that my photo-taking didn’t bother anyone. I recently committed one of the cardinal sins, though. I took a picture of the dining room at Lodge, including other patrons. I guess I understand now why that would be a no-no, but I didn’t think much about it at the time–I thought about all the print restaurant reviews I have read that include pictures of patrons sitting at the table. In any case, I won’t do that again, though I can’t promise to stop taking pics of my food.