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Salads: Beyond the Bowl: Extraordinary Recipes for Everyday Eating

by Mindy Fox

Review
I thought this would be more salad-y. Like souped up strawberry and spinach, etc. It's not anywhere near that. It's much more creative. I wouldn't say that I would make every one of these, but I would probably make about 70% of them. I bought this for my cousin, who just eats salads and she loves it. All in all, I am happy with the purchase.
Bonnie, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (amazon.com)

Description
For many home cooks "salad" evokes the image of an unimaginative mix of lettuce and tomatoes, yet Mindy proves that it takes just a bit of craft to create truly sensational salads that will inspire home cooks at all levels to make salad an everyday affair. In her new book 'Salads: Beyond The Bowl', Mindy takes the art of salad making to remarkable heights.

Among the lessons that Mindy shares are the basics for creating what she calls the "elemental salad." Perfect for a quick and simple weeknight meal yet elegant enough to serve to company, Mindy transforms basic ingredients into delicious dishes: a lone bulb of fennel, perhaps, with its pretty fronds attached, thinly shaved and dressed with a healthy drizzle of good olive oil, a grating of lemon zest and a generous squeeze of the juice, then sprinkled with good salt, coarse pepper, and its delicate fronds proves, in mere minutes, a single ingredient can be transformed into a show-stopping dish. Her elemental salads, such as Fresh Figs, Shaved Celery and Prosciutto; Green Melon, Cubanelle Peppers and Ricotta Salata; and Cara Cara Oranges, Celery Leaves and Smoked Almonds, can be eaten on their own or paired together for a larger meal.

About the Author:
Mindy Fox is the food editor of La Cucina Italiana magazine, a cookbook author, food writer and teacher. Formerly on staff at Saveur, she has also written for Every Day with Rachael Ray, Prevention, Time Out New York and Edible Manhattan magazines. Her recipes and freelance work have appeared in The London Times, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, Gourmet, Country Living and Parenting magazines, and on BonAppetit.com. Mindy appears regularly on the Martha Stewart Living Radio program, "Everyday Food." Her first book, 'A Bird in the Oven and Them Some' (also published by Kyle Books), was included in The New York Times' 2010 Best Cookbooks of the Year and Food & Wine magazine's Best of the Best. Mindy is the co-author with Chef Sara Jenkins of Olives & Oranges: Recipes and Flavor Secrets from Italy, Spain, Cyprus & Beyond, and co-author with Chef Karen DeMasco of The Craft of Baking, a 2009 New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Early in her career, Mindy cooked professionally in Boston restaurants, training with James Beard Award nominee chef Stan Frankenthaler and others. Mindy's cooking and writing has been inspired by extensive travels in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey.