KAREN WIGHT -- No Place Like Home

“Main Dish Salads” was the name of the cooking class I took last week

at Sur La Table. It sounded like the perfect way the get ready for warmer

weather and outdoor dining.

Louise Fiszer, author of several cookbooks, including her latest

“Tradition with a Twist” was the guest chef of the day. She prepared five

hearty salads, all worthy of dinner on their own: fresh spinach and

salmon salad; curried couscous with smoked duck sausage and dried

cherries; a Tucson-style salad of pesto prawns, white beans and arugula;

composed salad of asparagus, papaya, and scallops with papaya seed

dressing; and triple mustard chicken salad with broccoli.

Louise is my kind of cook. She believes that you need to taste

everything as you go. This is also my personal philosophy. I think I

learned it from my grandmother.

Whenever she would cook, tasting was a big deal. She carried the

tasting enthusiasm into all areas of culinary serendipity. She would even

cut a piece of the “heart” out of every watermelon and eat it to make

sure we made a prudent purchase. Maybe that’s why I like to cook.

Louise has a very “hands on” philosophy. And I mean that literally.

Every salad that she made was hand tossed. She swears that this prevents

bruising. I’m a little more of a neat-nik, but I’m open to suggestion.

I’m not sure how my kids will feel about the mom literally getting her

hands on the dinner, but it’s worth a try.

I learned cool words like “chiffonade” and “rasp.” I feel like my

culinary vocabulary doubled. A chiffonade of basil is a beautiful way to

garnish to salad. You roll up basil leaves and slice them very thinly.

This leaves you with long, wispy strings of basil that you can arrange on

the top of your salad. I feel so clever to know that.

A rasp is a tool used to scrape the skin off of citrus, leaving the

bitter pith unscathed. I don’t have a rasp, but now that I know what it

is, I’ll add it to the wish list.

Louise is big on large serving platters. Toss the salad in a bowl,

then transfer the mixture onto a shallower serving piece. I have to say

her presentation was wonderful. And I heartily believe that aesthetics

count when serving a meal.

Most of the women in the cooking class could be spotted buying at

least one platter after the class was finished.

I’m a firm believer that you eat with your eyes before you put a bite

in your mouth. I plan on taking Louise’s philosophy a step further. I

think the first outdoor meal of spring is a cause for celebration.

Votives on the table; flowers for the centerpiece; a fresh menu.

I’m not sure my kids will go for an asparagus, papaya and scallop

“composed” salad, but I’m going to try. It’s time to retire the chicken

nuggets and quesadillas, at least for awhile.

This spring break I’ll be hand tossing, rasping, chopping and making

chiffonades. If the kids come to you begging for heartier fare, tell them

to eat some couscous, or better yet, send them home so they can clean the

pool and set the table.

We’ll be eating stylish fare, served from a platter, with our votives

glowing. We’ll be dining alfresco and celebrating spring with a few main

dish salads.