NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS
Ugh. I screwed up. I somehow put cantaloupe on my shopping list instead of honeydew. And of course, at the grocery store, I thought that it should have been a honeydew, but picked up cantaloupe instead. So, this recipe is going to have a major substitution. Also, I couldn't find anise seeds (I'll talk about that later) so I substituted out a very tiny drop of anise extract.
Speaking of class, the field trips went fine (sorry I was so short yesterday). Nothing major to report. Just did a huge amount of walking and was beat from that and the constant wrangling of students. We visited a bunch of cool bakeries in the Chicago area, but I didn't grab my camera! Ugh. Some really tasty things, though. If you're in the Chicago area I recommend Bittersweet, Bleeding Heart Bakery, and Twisted Sister. Three very different bakeries with some very different pastries!
Speaking of class...again, this morning I was lucky enough to attend a "Summer Pastry" class at the Callebaut Chocolate Institute downtown. Mmmm just think mangoes and white chocolate and strawberries and dark chocolate goodies! It was great. Learned a lot of info. I'll post pictures once they e-mail them to me (again, forgot the camera).
THE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
Sherry wine vinegar: had
Honey: had
Anise extract: $1.99
Mint: (from garden)
Olive Oil: had
Baby Greens: (from garden)
Cantaloupe: $1.19
Prosciutto: $2.29
TOTAL: $5.47
THE RESULTS
FAST: The whole salad, from dressing to finished plate, took under 10 minutes. It's a real quick throw together salad, so it shouldn't take you any longer than that (unless your catching up on season finales on hulu, then it'll take you a bit longer).
EASY: The hardest part of this recipe was cutting up the melon. Again, need to pay attention to the recipe because it calls for sliced melon and not cubed. DUH MARK!
FRESH: Are ya kidding me? Do you have to ask? Fresh baby greens from the garden, topped with fresh mint and really ripe cantaloupe with a slightly sweetened honey anise vinaigrette. This is the epitome of fresh and by which all other dishes should be judged!
OVERALL: Meh. It's okay. I think the substitutions got in the way of this one. I've really been trying to find anise seeds (I guess I'm not looking hard enough) for the last month because I have a great biscotti recipe that uses them. They would add a much better texture and anise flavor to the salad than the extract would (it's a little too stong for me..even though I put in only a drop). I actually prefer cantaloupe and the nutty/salty prosciutto together, but I can see why this recipe calls for the honeydew (because it's milder and would take on the flavor of fresh mint really well). It's a nice change from the norm and would be a great summer starter.
Yeehaw! This weekend we've got us some dessert and maybe a surprise recipe or two (or maybe I'll leave those for Tuesday...I'm not sure). See ya Sunday!
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