Copycat version of Cheesecake Factory's Fresh Kale Salad

Earlier this month, my husband and I had dinner at Cheesecake Factory at the Indianapolis Fashion Mall.  Instead of ordering a fattening appetizer or gorging on bread, we decided to split the Fresh Kale Salad from the Small Plates and Snacks section of the menu.  According to the description, the salad was going to contain apples, marcona almonds, golden raisins, and green beans tossed with buttermilk-black pepper dressing.  We were expecting a little side salad.  When it arrived, it was a mountain of kale and ingredients, although the apple was conspicuously absent.  As it turned out, the salad didn't need the apple--it was perfect as is.  If you like apple, or you dined at Cheesecake Factory and they remembered to put the apple in your salad, feel free to add some diced green apple.  The golden raisins gave the right amount of sweetness and the marcona almonds were pleasantly salty.  I like kale salads because the greens are firmer than spring mix.

My husband insisted that I make this salad for him at home.  I didn't mind because with five ingredients, and a little salt and/or pepper to taste, you have a nice light meal or a fantastic side dish.  And the best part?  This copycat version tastes just like the real thing.

All you're going to need:

fresh kale
green beans
marcona almonds
golden raisins
Ken's Steakhouse peppercorn ranch dressing

The marcona almonds will be the most difficult ingredient to locate.  They do not sell them at the two Marsh stores closest to my office, so I purchased a container of them for about $6 at Fresh Market.

Start by washing all the produce.  Trim the ends from the green beans.  Using kitchen shears, cut them into a microwave safe container in small rounds.  I used two handfuls of green beans for two salads.  Once green bean circles are sliced, top container with water and microwave for three minutes.  Taste the green beans.  They should be blanched but still firm.  If they are the desired firmness, immediately drain in colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Here's what the little green bean rounds look like.  The smaller the better.

While the green beans drain, tear the kale into small pieces.  I used about four huge leaves.  Omit out the ribs--just tear the leaf away from the center of each leaf and any coarse veins.  Add these to your colander of green beans.  Using the kitchen shears, give the kale a few chops to make sure all your pieces are really small.

Add one handful of golden raisins to your colander.

Transfer one handful of marcona almonds to a ziploc bag.  Cover with a towel and crush with mallet or back of a large spoon.

To cut down on dishes, I did not move the contents of the colander to a bowl for the next step.  The holes in my colander are small enough that nothing fell through.  Next, this step is a matter of preference.  Add one to two tablespoons of the Ken's Steakhouse peppercorn ranch dressing to the colander and stir everything around so the dressing is distributed.  I do not like a wet salad, so about two tablespoons was just right.  You may want more.  Just remember to add dressing sparingly.  You can always add more, but once you put in too much, you have a soggy, ruined salad.

See--nothing is falling through the colander.

Last step, add the crushed marcona almonds and stir.  Again, they didn't fall through because they stuck to the dressing.  Taste a bite--if you really like the peppercorn flavor, add some fresh cracked black pepper to taste.  (I did.)  I usually salt salads lightly, but this one did not need it because of the almonds.  If you need a pinch of salt, add it now.

Serve by piling the salad into a high pyramid.  Enjoy!

My finished product!  It looks and tastes just like the Fresh Kale Salad from the  Cheesecake Factory.

Copycat version of Chef Gerald Chin's apple salad

Early this fall, I saw the most beautiful salad on the Food and Wine magazine Instagram. Per the photo, it was an apple salad with endive, radicchio,toasted pecans, white cheddar, and a maple emulsion made by Chef Gerald Chin.  Chin is Executive Chef at Chef Michael Mina's Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Bliss in my Instagram feed.

I immediately knew that I wanted to try this with the apples in the overflowing bowl of produce on my kitchen counter.  My husband and I had just driven from Indianapolis to where he grew up in Evansville for the town's annual fall festival.  On the way, we stopped at Slater Farms Market, a cute farm stand alongside U.S. 41 outside of Terre Haute, Indiana.  Outside, there were rows of mums and bins of pumpkins for sale.  Inside, there were all kinds of fruits, vegetables, preserves, and cider.  I didn't even know there were so many types of Indiana apples!

Rows of mums and pumpkins greeted us at Slater Farms Market.  Stop by for a visit!  They're located at 15102 U.S. Hwy 41, Terre Haute, Indiana 47802.  Call for hours since they're open seasonally--(812) 696-5122.

Almost ten kinds of Indiana apples for sale at Slater Farms Market.

More Slater Farms Market scenery--mums and huge pumpkins.

Loads of pie pumpkins, just $.79 each at Slater Farms--last time I bought one, I paid about $3.00 at Kroger.

Huge pumpkins at Slater Farms Market.

We ended up buying a butternut squash, cooking pumpkin, a zucchini, big bag of Granny Smith apples, a tutti frutti candy stick (for me), and a root beer candy stick (for my horse) for less than $10.00.  In hindsight, I wonder if something was rung up incorrectly because that much produce would be more like $30.00 at Fresh Market.  The apples were begging to be transformed into the gorgeous apple salad, so I got to work on my imitation.  With more methodical cutting of the produce, I could have better mimicked Chef Chin's dish.  Regardless, mine tasted amazing.

I started by washing all produce, preheating the oven, and whisking together a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar.  I adjusted the proportions to taste slightly, then repeated to double the amount of dressing.  Last, I added a dash of salt and white pepper.  While my version of maple emulsion sat on the counter for the flavors to meld, I started on the salad.  I put a pan of crushed pecans in the oven to toast for about five minutes at 300 degrees.  After trimming away the bottom of the apple and stem, I sliced horizontally in thin slices.  The seeds and core were visible in the center of the slices.  With more patience, I should've tried for thinner slices.  I was hungry though!  Then I cut away the center of each slice to remove the core and seeds.  It looked like a donut of apple when I was done.

Next, I tore the endive and radicchio leaves into small pieces.  To the novice cook, here is an important note--don't substitute red cabbage for raddichio.  When I went to Marsh for ingredients, they didn't have radichio and endive, so I ended up making a stop at Fresh Market.  The difference matters.  Radichio has a clean but bitter-ish flavor and delicate texture.  Red cabbage is thick and waxy.  I added these to a bowl and chopped a few chives into the mix.  Then I grated some white cheddar--just a little bit--about one ounce.  Last, I added the pecans and two spoonfuls of the dressing and combined the ingredients to make sure the dressing was incorporated.  I diced up the little remnants of apple and a slice that went awry so they wouldn't go to waste and added them to the mix.

To assemble the salad, I drizzled a spoonful of the maple emulsion on the plate.  You can't see it because our plates are red, but it was a very pale yellow.  Then I added some salad mix, topped with an apple slice, and built the salad using a smaller slice of apple each time.  Last, I added an extra sprinkling of chives over the top of the salad.  The presentation was pretty, architectural, but invitingly fresh.  Be sure to include a knife in your place setting so this is easier to deconstruct.

My husband was impressed.  We both enjoyed the light sweetness, punctuated with the flavor of chive or the white cheddar.  We enjoyed this so much that I made it again a few nights later, but with some butternut squash soup.  This is definitely a first course or snack, not an entree salad.

The finished product--my layered apple salad with maple emulsion.  Chef Chin's was definitely prettier.  How it could taste better is beyond my comprehension though since this was amazing, even with my non-chef touch.

Beautifully bright and fresh.  This would be beautiful on a white plate so you can appreciate the pale color of the maple emulsion.

The next time I made this, I served it with a big bowl of butternut squash soup.  It isn't enough for a meal.

Also of note, I tagged Chef Gerald Chin and Chef Michael Mina in my photograph of the imitation version of the salad.  I was a little worried they wouldn't take me trying to copy them at home so kindly, but it was quite the opposite.  They both responded with follows and kind words, which made me a little starstruck.  Yes, you can be chef starstruck!  It also made me happy that they took my imitation as flattery.  I bet they're really nice guys in person.  One of my new travel goals is to get back to Vegas so I can go eat at Stripsteak now.  

Insider tip: use your sharpest knife and cut the apple slowly, or you'll end up with slices that are too thick to be aesthetically appealing.  If you're having vegan guests, omit the white cheddar.

Food and Wine Magazine Recipe Test: Green Pea and Fava Bean Salad with Sliced Speck

I'm still working my way through the August 2014 issue of Food and Wine magazine. The next recipe I'm testing captured my attention because it had a huge photo that looked really fresh and bright. I was a little leery of a salad that doesn't have any lettuce or spinach...it seems like a lot of strong flavors and no where for my palate to rest. Nevertheless, I was ready to try this recipe. It wasn't a slam dunk like the Grilled Skirt Steak with Fruit-and-Green-Tomato Salsa. This salad was an interesting mix of flavors that made sense together, but I'd tweak slightly next time.


The recipe calls for:

3 cups shelled fresh English peas (about 3/4 pound)
4 pounds fava beans, shelled (4 cups)
1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
Pepper
1/3 cup snipped dill sprigs
1/3 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup snipped chives
1/3 cup small basil leaves or torn basil
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage
20 thin slices speck (1/2 pound)
4 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled (1 cup)

For how to prepare, check out the original recipe from Food and Wine magazine here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/green-pea-and-fava-bean-salad-with-sliced-speck

Like usual, I had to make a few substitutions based on what was available. I couldn't find fava beans and speck at the Broad Ripple Fresh Market, so I substituted white beans and serrano ham. I prepared the recipe as instructed with one exception--I didn't measure the ricotta cheese. I just liberally dolloped it on the plate to make sure my husband would eat it. "Salad" to him means meat, cheese, and ranch with a side of lettuce. I wanted to make sure there was something that he'd like to bait him!

The finished product...my salad with the salad pictured in Food and Wine.

I took a bite, and the taste was really fresh and bright. The salty of the ham worked with the sweet of the peas and the boldness of all the herbs/aromatics. Occasionally, I'd get a bite that was heavy on the parsley. These bites were bitter and unpleasant. To make this recipe really tops, I'd reduce the amount of parsley to just a dusting of chiffonade and add a handful of arugula. With all the distinct flavors like basil, sage, and chives, it would be nice to have a little break from time to time.


I enjoyed this recipe. I'd make it again with the reduction in parsley and perhaps a handful of arugula. This probably isn't one to experiment with the more picky eaters in your circle. The bold flavors may come across as disharmony. Not bad, but not one that drew highest accolades.