Summer is right around the corner and that means barbecues, parties and ball games. So who wants to be slaving over a hot stove while the rest of the world is having fun in the sun?

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad (video)

But, alas, your family has to eat. Telling them that salad is on the menu will probably elicit cold stares. The meat-and-potatoes camp will surely mutiny when faced with a pile of rabbit food. That’s why we’re talking about hearty, satisfying (and meaty) meal salads. These make-ahead salads are easy to prepare and will get you out of a steamy kitchen at the hottest time of the day.

Presto, Dinner is Served!

Even without a recipe, you can create your own meal salad by adding some of the following ingredients to a bed of lettuce and other vegetables. Leftover pasta, rice or couscous can also be the basis of a meal salad.

• Protein sources like marinated grilled chicken breasts, strips of lean flank steak or low-fat cubed deli ham can really jazz things up. Hard-boiled eggs, cheese and even tofu can add considerable amounts of protein to a main dish salad.
• Fish and seafood rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, crabmeat, scallops and fresh grilled tuna will turn a plain salad into a classy dinner that you'll be proud to serve to guests.
• Good carbohydrates include lots of colorful vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grain breads and pastas.
• Save time and buy your favorite bottled dressing or save money and with just a few ingredients, you can make your own!
• Buy a big loaf of whole-grain bread or delicious focaccia and you have a complete and balanced meal on every plate!

Meal Salad Recipes

1. One of the most popular salads is Chicken Caesar Salad, and it’s also easy and inexpensive to make. Serve this with a big loaf of crusty French bread and a plate of ripe heirloom tomatoes on the side. Short on time? Buy a rotisserie chicken and a good bottle of Caesar dressing, and you're good to go!
2. Get your omega-3 quota with Grilled Scallops over Mixed Greens and Herb Salad. This recipe is quick to make and will really impress your guests. Substitute cooked shrimp or salmon if you prefer. Pretty on the plate too!
   
   
3. Another salad with lots of eye appeal is Salad Nicoise. You can make a beautiful arrangement of vegetables, tuna, olives and hard-boiled eggs and take a picture before you eat it. And with only five ingredients, you can afford to make your own Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.
   
   
4. Make your own Taco Salad! There are tons of twists on this salad, including this one that can be set up buffet style. Invite the neighbors over and let the kids help themselves! Just about everything, including the ground beef, can be chopped, sliced or made ahead and assembled just before dinner. Serve with a big bowl of chips and a side of salsa.
5. This Grilled Steak Salad is so quick and easy, your guests will think you've been busy all day! You can grill the meat in advance on a grill pan and let it chill until ready to serve or arrange it when it's done marinating. The meat is so tender and tasty, you'll forget it's a salad!
6. Just because you're a vegetarian doesn't mean you can't sit with the meat lovers! This Chilled Tofu Salad with Miso-Ginger Vinaigrette has plenty of taste and pizzaz. Rich in protein, this salad takes roughly 20 minutes to make, including the dressing. Serve with a side of crispy chow mein noodles.
7. Red Bliss Potato Salad can be a side dish or beefed up with grilled chicken, bacon or beef fajita strips, hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes for a hearty meal. The vegetables on the side can be varied. Why not try tender steamed asparagus or baby corn? Make it in the morning to serve at lunch or dinner.
8. Serve this Chicken Salad with Grapes on a bed of leafy greens, bring along a basket of pita pockets and you have an instant picnic lunch. Too hot in the kitchen? Buy a rotisserie chicken or thaw a bag of frozen chicken breast strips. Don't like grapes and walnuts? Substitute craisins and chopped pecans. Experiment and make it your own!
   
   
9. A picture perfect edible landscape, this gorgeous Cobb Salad, with its colorful rows of vegetables, meats and hard-boiled eggs looks too good to eat! Low carb and easy, too!
10. Layered Salads are impressive and delicious. Here's a selection of Layered Salads that are perfect for make-ahead summer entertaining! A delicious Overnight Pasta Salad with ham and eggs or the ever popular BLT Salad will please everyone. Add some salami or pancetta to the Italian Layered Vegetable Salad and these three salads will feed a crowd.
    
    

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

Artichokes are big thistle plants that originated in Italy and were brought to the United States by Spanish settlers in the 1600s. Artichokes might look intimidating, but learning to cook them is worth it, because the scales (leaves) and heart are delicious and tender, with a somewhat nutty flavor. With this guide to buying, preparing and cooking artichokes, you’ll be an expert in no time, impressing your taste buds with your new found talent!

How to choose a fresh artichoke

• Hold it! It should feel dense, or heavy, for its size.
• Its leaves should be firm (never spongy) and tightly packed, either bright green or green with purple undertones.
• Any size is OK, as long as it meets the above criteria. Different varieties come in different sizes. Larger ones take longer to cook, though.
• If the leaves are loose, dry, splayed, spongy, split, or pitted, put it back. This artichoke is overripe and will be tough.

When you get home, store the artichokes in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh this way for 4-5 days.

How to prepare artichokes for cooking

1. First, take a look at this diagram to familiarize yourself with the anatomy of an artichoke. Note that the choke is inedible. Some people eat the stem after removing the fibrous outsides of it.
2. Rinse the artichoke in the sink, and tap it, pointy-side down to remove any critters that may be hiding in the leaves, especially if you purchased organically-grown artichokes.
3. Now, cut off the top quarter of the artichoke with a knife. Then, cut off the stem if you want. Some people like to leave it on because it tastes good!
4. Using kitchen shears, snip off the pointy ends of each leaf; you don’t want to get pricked!

That’s all you need to do before cooking the artichokes, but if you plan to stuff them, or if you want eating them to be more convenient, you’ll also want to remove the choke from the center. Foodblogga has posted an excellent tutorial including all of these steps (along with photographs). She also shows you how to eat an artichoke (after you cook it, of course) by scraping the leaves against your bottom teeth. Most of the edible portion of the leaves is on the bottom third. After you’ve eaten all of the leaves, the heart is a yummy reward!

Artichoke Recipes

Those of us who aren't up for culinary adventures on weeknights will be happy to learn that artichokes can be steamed in the microwave quite quickly! Just serve them with a dipping sauce like flavored mayonnaise, sour cream, butter or a salad dressing, and enjoy!

Artichokes with basil mayonnaise is another simple (simply delicious) recipe.

You’ll find lots of artichoke recipes here, including several dipping sauces, focaccia-stuffed artichokes, fried artichoke hearts, baby artichoke chicken sauté, and more.

This turkey-stuffed artichoke recipe has an Indian twist, with seasonings like turmeric, chili, and garam masala.

Can you make rice? Then you can make this impressive walnut, bacon, and rice stuffed artichoke. It has a beautiful presentation… just right for having company over!

Did you know that baby artichokes are completely edible? They are fully mature, but since they grow low to the grown in low light, the fuzzy, gross “choke” part never develops in the center. Try this shaved artichoke salad, made with baby artichokes and parmesan cheese, and topped with olive oil and lemon juice.

Kate at GlutenFree Gobsmacked shows us how she made roasted artichokes after a long, tiring day of errands.

Cooking For Engineers has a great recipe for grilled artichokes, including step-by-step photos.

Deep-fried baby artichokes stuffed with pepper jack cheese sounds like the recipe in which artichokes cut loose and hang out with the guys. Quite possibly the “bar food” incarnation of this delicious veggie.

If you are more interested in buying canned or jarred artichoke hearts (either packed in water or marinated), there are many recipes that use these convenient tasty guys. Check out allrecipes for tons of artichoke recipes, and be sure to look at Kathy’s artichoke dip recipe here on startcooking.com.

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

What is balsamic vinegar anyway?
Balsamic vinegar is a reduction made from grapes, but it is not considered a wine vinegar because the grape juice used is unfermented. The unfermented white sweet grape juice that is used is called “must” and comes from Trebbiano grapes.

First, the grape juice is cooked slowly in a copper cauldron until it is reduced by 35 to 50 per cent. Then, the reduction is placed (along with a bit of already-aged vinegar to get the process started) into oak barrels to age. Each year, some of the vinegar evaporates, and the vinegar is transferred into a smaller barrel made of a different wood (chestnut, cherry, juniper, mulberry, cacia, and ash are commonly used). Each wood used infuses a different flavor into the vinegar, making it more complex and interesting. And as the vinegar ages and becomes concentrated, it becomes thick, sweet and dark.

This process originated in the northern Italian city of Modena. If balsamic vinegar is made following the standards of Modena (which includes each type of wood barrel) and passes a rigorous taste test, it may be deemed Tradizionale di Modena. Reggio-Emilia is another Italian city where traditional balsamic vinegar is made (vinegars made here would be called tradizionale di Reggio-Emilia). These vinegars are expensive and are wonderful for flavoring meat, as a dip for strawberries, and even as a flavoring for a sweet beverage. Some desserts, including panna cotta, crème caramel and zabaglione, may call for this vinegar.

You might be more familiar with a more commercial version of balsamic vinegar, which has a much shorter aging process. Often, some of the traditional barrels are skipped (and in many cases, only oak is used). This vinegar is fantastic for using in salad dressings, marinades, sauces, and pastas. Deborah of Play with Food has it on her list of essential pantry items.

How can I use balsamic vinegar in my cooking?

There are three basic age groups of balsamic vinegar, and each is used differently:

The youngest group, 3 to 5 years, is good for salad dressings, dipping sauces for vegetables and bread, sauces and marinades.

The middle age group, 6 to 11 years, is more viscous and is quite versatile. Use it in sauces (at the end of cooking), in risotto and pasta dishes, in marinades and mixed with mayonnaise or sour cream for a sandwich condiment.

Well-aged balsamic vinegar (12 to 150+ years) is best used after the cooking is finished, and in otherwise mild dishes (nothing spicy or heavily seasoned), so it can shine on its own. Use it to flavor meat like chicken, steak, fish or veal. It is well-suited to fruit and cheese pairings, such as strawberries, peaches and pears, along with ricotta or feta cheese. It may be enjoyed by itself (just a tiny amount) or added to water (or sparkling water) for a refreshing beverage.

OK, it's on my grocery list. What's the best kind to get?

If you want the thick, sweet, complex Tradizionale, look for a label that has the phrase Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, which is a term applied only to the best balsamics. Expect to pay a good amount for this vinegar. You will only use it in drops, so it will last a while. Condimiento vinegars will also be high-quality, as they are made in the same way as the tradizionale, though they may be produced outside Modena.

If you are looking for a more accessible balsamic, check the ingredients to make sure no sugar is added. Often, low-quality vinegar is bitter, and brown sugar may be added to help mask its inferiority. True balsamic vinegar only has one ingredient: must.  You may also note the age of the vinegar, if the bottle is labeled with this information. In general, more aged balsamic vinegar is better.

Some markets will have balsamic vinegars that you can buy by filling glass bottles yourself. Often at these shops, you are able to taste the vinegars before buying. This is the best way to make sure the vinegar you are taking home with you agrees with your palate and has a balanced flavor.

It's in my pantry now. Know any good recipes?

Pork chops and spinach with balsamic reduction is a quick and simple recipe for a weeknight dinner. Don’t be scared off by the term “reduction” – it just means that the balsamic vinegar gets simmered, and thickens into a saucy consistency.

Asparagus, pea, bruschetta pasta uses balsamic vinegar in a different twist on the bruschetta topping.

Chicken and Peppers with Balsamic Vinegar is a colorful dish that would be perfect for a summer potluck.

Grilled Eggplants with Fresh Mint and Balsamic Vinegar sounds like the perfect spring dinner, maybe served with risotto!

Mascarpone Mousse with Balsamic Vinegar Caramel is a light, delicious dessert.

Italian chef Giada de Laurentiis gives several suggestions for using balsamic vinegar, including using it as an ice cream topping, making a reduction to drizzle over steaks, a chicken marinade recipe, drizzling toast, and sprinkling over berries.

Phantom Gourmet’s Tuscan Sliders are topped with gorgonzola cheese and a balsamic pomegranate reduction.

Strawberry Risotto with Balsamic Vinegar looks and sounds amazing!

And since strawberries and balsamic vinegar seem to be a match made in heaven, you may want to try Strawberry Balsamic Sherbet.

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.