Happy New Year! and Tofu Nicoise Salad of Roasted Red Onion, Potatoes, Green Beans, and Olives

Happy New Year and welcome to 2011! We had a quiet celebration with a visit from Jess, a friend from college, with whom we went to see Harry Potter, ordered in Mexican food, read aloud and watched Sherlock, a splendiferous new series from BBC. All in all, a quiet, restful beginning to what I sincerely hope will be a wonderfully delicious year.

In response to all the rich foods we've all been eating this month (and with an eye towards healthy New Year's resolutions), today's recipe is for a delicious main course salad we enjoyed a few weeks ago. It's my take on a Salad Nicoise, made vegetarian by substituting tofu for the tuna, with a few other tweaks as well. Great with a sparkling wine. Enjoy!

Tofu Nicoise Salad of Roasted Red Onion, Potatoes, Green Beans, and Olives

adapted from the Vegetarian Times

• 1 red onion, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 purple potato
• 1 red-skinned potato
• 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
• 10 ounces green beans, trimmed (I used frozen ones which worked great)
• 1/4 cup Italian dressing
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed (in a garlic press)
• 1/8 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 5 ounces spring salad mix
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes, quartered
• 2 8-ounce packages baked tofu, cut into 1-inch slices
• 4 white mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 1/4 cup Manzanilla olives, pitted and halved
• 1/8 teaspoon Fleur de Sel

Preheat oven to 400F. Rub onion with olive oil, place on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and roast 40 minutes. When lightly charred, remove and let cool. Peel off outermost layer and cut into 1-inch chunks. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place potatoes in large saucepan with cold salted water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-high and cook about 20 minutes. Drain and, when cool, cut into 1-inch chunks. Set aside.

Boil green beans in a small pot of salted water for 5 minutes. If whole, cut into 2-inch pieces and set aside.

Whisk together Italian dressing, lemon juice, garlic and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Let stand 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together salad mix, tomatoes, tofu, green beans, mushrooms, olives, onion, potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and dressing. Toss thoroughly to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Links to other salad Nicoise noshes:

• Nicoise Salad from Simply Recipes
• Nicoise Salad from No Recipes
• Salade Nicoise from YumSugar
• Nicoise Salad from Guilty Kitchen
• Quick and Easy Nicoise-Style Salad from The Kitchn
• Salad Nicoise, American Style from Tea & Cookies
• Seared Swordfish Nicoise Salad from Stephencooks
• Nicoise Pasta Salad from Treat a Week Recipes
• Nicoise Salad from Macheesmo
• Classic Salade Nicoise from David Lebovitz
• Nicoise Salad from Je Mange la Ville
• Comme Ci Comme Ca Salade Nicoise from KarmaFree Cooking

Blancs de poulet et cotelettes de porc braises, avec des olives manzanilla et kalamata et des capres

Sometimes, you're at a complete loss as to what to make for dinner. You know what you have in the fridge and you know the kind of food that you want to make, but when you go to the supermarket to pick up some essentials, nothing strikes your fancy. That's what happened to me the other day. It was quite cold out, so I wanted something slow-cooked and warming. I had quite enjoyed the last braise I made, so I considered just repeating it, but that seemed rather boring. Plus the Boy announced he didn't particularly want Chicken for dinner. So I bought some Pork Chops and figured I'd braise them. Unfortunately, I didn't read the package carefully, so, when I opened it up, I realized that if I was going through the trouble of slow-cooking something, I wanted to make more than just two pork chops. So I defrosted a couple of Chicken Breasts and added those as well. It was truly delicious, the pork falling off the bones after the long cooking. Definitely something I'd make again, but with one change--because it's cooked with two kinds of Olives as well as Capers, go easy on the Salt. You really need very little (something I didn't realize until too late). Ah, well. I'll remember next time!

Blancs de poulet et cotelettes de porc braises, avec des olives manzanilla et kalamata et des capres

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Pork Top Loin Chops
• 2 Chicken Breast Halves
• Pinch Kosher Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground
• 4 slices Bacon, diced
• 1 Green Onion, chopped
• 7 Carrots, diced
• 1/8 cup Manzanilla Olives, pitted
• 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted
• 1/4 cup Capers, rinsed if packed in salt
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 cups Chicken Stock

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pour Olive Oil into large, oven-proof pot and heat over a medium-high flame until it slides around easily. Season Pork Chops and Chicken Breasts with Salt, Poultry Seasoning and Pepper. Add Pork to pot and cook 5 minutes, until browned. Turn over and cook 5 more minutes on opposite side. Remove to a plate and add Chicken Breasts to pot. Brown about 5 minutes on one side, then turn over and repeat on other side. Add to Pork Chops on plate.

Add Bacon, Green Onion and Carrots to pot and cook 2 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add both kinds of Olives, Capers, Bay Leaf, Chicken Stock, Pork and Chicken Breasts. Submerge Meat in liquid as much as possible, then raise flame to high and bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot and place to oven to braise for 45 minutes, until Meat is cooked through and Carrots are soft.

Remove from oven and return pot to stove, over a high flame. Boil 5 minutes, to concentrate braising liquid. Lower heat and cook another 5 minutes, to better combine the flavors. Serve, preferable over pasta to soak up the extra liquid. Enjoy!