Many Americans want healthier foods and more veggies in their diet. Yet, many of us are in a rush and prefer to grab grub at fast food restaurants.
Wendy’s has merged the two concepts with its reinvented Garden Sensation Salads line: a fresh and flavorful quartet featuring Apple Pecan Chicken, BLT Cobb, Spicy Chicken Ceasar and Baja.
The goal was to bring the quality of a restaurant salad to fast food so each salad is made to order. There’s no premade salad waiting in a refrigerator case. As a result, the warm chicken, bacon and other proteins make these freshly-made salads real comfort food, as well as a fiber- and vitamin-packed meal.
We recently tasted three of the four new salads, and give them a thumbs-up. Each contains one-to-two cups of vegetables. Atop a mixture of crunchy romaine and other lettuces and greens are:
Three of four fast salads, made to order.
Photo courtesy Wendy’s.
Apple Pecan Chicken: This fan favorite combines fresh-grilled chicken, chopped red and green apples, crumbled blue cheese, dried cranberries and spiced pecans.
Baja Salad: Instead of chili with a side salad, here the chili and cheese go atop the salad. Pico de gallo, guacamole and tortilla chips add south-of-the-border flavors.
BLT Cobb Salad: Our personal favorite—we’re happy to know that we can enjoy a Cobb Salad wherever our travels take us. The ingredients include grilled chicken, crispy applewood smoked bacon, crumbled blue cheese, hard-cooked eggs and tomatoes. Avocado, an ingredient in the classic Cobb Salad, appears here in the form of avocado ranch dressing.
Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad: We didn’t try this one, but Caesar salad fans are in for a treat. The Asiago cheese is fresh shaved—no powdery Parmesan from a can; the croutons are made from baguettes.
Next time you want a crunchy salad for lunch—or are having a snack attack—you can head to Wendy’s. The chain will continue to offer its Garden Side Salad and Caesar Side Salad.
Save your investment: Freeze meat properly!
Photo courtesy Allen Brothers.
Do you purchase meat and toss it straight into the freezer in the flimsy packaging it came in? If so, you’re leaving it subject to freezer burn— dehydration and oxidation from the air that gets in through non-airtight packaging.
Follow these steps to conserve that pricey meat:
1. Discard the supermarket packaging.
2. Rewrap the meat tightly with plastic food wrap or aluminum foil.
3. Place it in a heavy-duty plastic freezer bag. While sealing the bag, squeeze out as much air as possible.
4. Remember to slowly defrost the meat in the fridge prior to cooking (see why in this prior post).
5. You can re-use the heavy-duty plastic freezer bag—it’s environmentally-friendly and cost-saving. Wash the bag with soap and water, rinse thoroughly and invert it on a tall bottle to dry.
Want to know more about the cuts of meat? See our:
Early this year, one of our favorite star chefs, Giada De Laurentiis, launched a line of cookware and specialty food items with Target.
The cookware in the Giada De Laurentiis for Target collection is, alas, the same bakeware, cutlery, frying pan, utensils and food processor that you can buy anywhere. Giada didn’t design any of these products—and we wonder if she even uses them in her own kitchen (we’d imagine that a successful professional chef uses top-of-the-line professional products).
But, we thought, at least she could put her famous imprimatur on the food products.
Unfortunately, the pasta sauces and pasta are also the same that you can buy anywhere else. It’s a disappointment that Giada would put her name to them (and if you taste them, you won’t believe that she’d even eat them).
The best of the group. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.
The one product we tried that does deserve a shout-out is the Raspberry Vinaigrette. Made from champagne vinegar, raspberries and a blend of canola oil and grapeseed oil, it is tart, tasty and less acidic than the raspberry vinaigrette we make with raspberry vinegar and olive oil.
However, we couldn’t find the vinaigrette on the Target.com website. You may have to take a trip to the bricks-and-mortar to find a bottle.
There’s a moral here: Just because your favorite chef has a line of products doesn’t mean the line is as good as the chef’s repertoire. This is the fourth “celebrity chef”-endorsed line that fails to please. In fact, we approach each new chef-endorsed line with trepidation.
On the other hand, hats off to Emeril: We seem to like everything he puts his name to.
Tip #2: Garnish sorbet with simple cookies.
Photo by Bruce Shippee | CST.
Sorbet is a popular, easy, light and lower-calorie dessert. The only challenge is that if you’re serving a table full of people, the first dishes can start to melt while you’re still scooping.
The solution: In advance of dessert, scoop balls of sorbet onto a tray, cookie sheet or plate covered with waxed paper. Keep in the freezer.
When you’re ready to serve, just plop the balls into a bowl, sundae dish, parfait dish or wine goblet.
We like to serve three scoops with contrasting colors. Add a crisp, elegant cookie or shortbread to the service plate, or garnish with fresh fruit.
What’s the difference between sherbet, sorbet, granita and Italian ice and water ice? Find out in our Ice Cream Glossary.
if you only use chocolate sauce and caramel sauce on ice cream, you’re missing out.
A fine dessert sauce is so much more than an ice cream topping. It can transform an everyday brownie into a deluxe dessert, it can be a dipper for fresh strawberries or it can be a garnish that makes your desserts look like those from fine restaurants.
We were thrilled to discover Sassy Sauces, a line that currently has four chocolate sauces—Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce, Milk Chocolate Caramel Sauce, Peanut Butter Chocolate Sauce and Spicy Dark Chocolate Sauce—plus Rum Caramel Sauce. They’re fabulous.
From stuffing French toast to rolling truffles, we’re having a great time with Sassy Sauces. Read the full review to see how you can make desserts and entertaining easier (and tastier) with them.
