Meaty Cobb Salad...with Meat in it.

If you're as desperate as I am to get more meat into your diet, don't ignore the almighty salad. A double dose of meat here can easily be tripled if your beef deficient, but I'm keen on the two-tone selection of chicken and pancetta Jamie Oliver's chosen, although I did double up on the chicken.

We used to summer in the Hamptons Spokane during Nordstrom's summer sale season. During my Dad's frequent power breaks between transactions, he'd head to Nordstrom's cafe for a wedge salad covered in blue cheese dressing. I just didn't get it. Why would you eat something that's clearly gone bad?! Now I can't get enough of the stinky stuff.  Substitute the dressing for another creamy variety if preferred, but note that you won't be able to shop as hard as you would with the powers of Stilton in you. As you wish.

Adapted from: http://www.jamieoliver.com/

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 head Romaine lettuce
• 2 handfuls of mixed greens
• 2 tomatoes, sliced in wedges
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 2 avocados, sliced in wedges
• 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced in wedges
• 2 ears of corn
• 4 chicken thighs, skin on
• olive oil
• paprika
• sea salt
• 50 g pancetta

Dressing

• 50 g Stilton
• 1/2 bunch fresh chives
• olive oil
• 50 ml buttermilk
• 2 T Greek yoghurt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 t Worcestershire

Method

Heat your barbecue to medium-high. Prepare the chicken by sprinkling the thighs with a generous dose of paprika, sea salt, pepper and a few lugs of olive oil on both sides. Place the chicken thighs, skin side down on the bottom grill for about 10 minutes on each side. Once cooked, remove from the barbecue, place the pancetta around the thighs and return to the heat for about 5 minutes each side. Check to ensure the thighs' centres are cooked through before removing them permanently from the heat. If you don' t have a barbecue, bake the thighs in an oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F, remove and wrap them in the pancetta to be returned to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Once cooled, chop up the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.

The corn can be prepared a number of ways, but if you're barbecuing the chicken, strip the cobs of their skin and rub a small amount of olive oil all over them. Wrap them in foil and grill them on the top rack for about 15 minutes. I unwrap them near the end end place them directly on the bottom grill for about 3 minutes to blacken some of the ears. Alternatively, you can boil the corn for 5 minutes or use the frozen variety.

To cook the eggs, heat a pot of water until almost boiling. When the water's about to boil, add the eggs and set your timer for 6 minutes. This will get you a soft boiled egg assuming the eggs were refrigerated prior to being boiled. Add another 2 minutes if you prefer a hard-boiled egg. Once you've reached your desired time, remove from the heat, dump the water and replace with cold water to stop the eggs from cooking.

For the dressing, begin by crumbling the Stilton into a jug or container. Chop the chives and add them to the jug. Follow with the remaining ingredients and whisk well until all combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To prepare the salad, wash, dry and tear the Romaine leaves into bite-sized pieces. Combine with the mixed greens in a large salad bowl. Strip the corn from their ears and distribute on top of the salad along with the sliced tomatoes and avocado. Add the sliced chicken and peeled/halved eggs as well. I included some of the remaining chopped chives in the salad and dressed each portion individually. Don't forget that crusty bread and a little beer to accompany your healthy meal!!

Cajun Blackened Fish with Corn & Black Bean Medley

Ruedi went on the hunt for some white fish fillets, but had trouble finding anything fresh and worth the purchase. He came home with two rainbow trout and I think he may have gotten a little too attached. He got over his crush and proceeded to do a fantastic job of deboning these fish. Once prepared, the result was a light, summer meal, worthy of repeating itself.

From Bravo! Best of Bridge Cookbook. pp 150-151

Serves 4

• 4 skinless firm white fish fillets (each about 5 oz/150g)
• 4 t cajun seasoning
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 T butter
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 4 tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups drained rinsed canned black beans
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or greased foil. Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. Rub tops with cajun seasoning. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add fish, seasoned side down, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until quite dark brown. Transfer fish, browned side up, to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Meanwhile, in another large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute corn until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and black beans; saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in green onions and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. To serve, spoon corn medley into the center of each plate and place a fish fillet on top.