Wet Salad!

What is "Wet Salad"?

What I call "wet salad" is when you make a salad using cabbage (sliced, diced, or shredded) in place of regular lettuce. You then saturate your salad with your choice of dressing (I usually use vinegar). Wet salad has a great crispy texture. It could stand for hours even days without becoming soggy like a salad made with regular dressing would.

For an ideal wet salad, after you mix all of the ingredients together, let it stand for about 2 hours. This will ensure the flavors of the dressing are being worked in to the cabbage and the other veggies. Below is a wet salad that I love to make.

Mix together the following:

Shredded Green Cabbage
Sliced Cucumbers
Sliced Carrots
Sliced Green Peppers
Sliced Vidalia (red) Onions
Fresh minced Garlic
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Salt
Balsamic or White Vinegar

I was inspired to create the wet salad above when I ate something similar to it at a really great restaurant in NJ called “Harold’s of NYC”. This salad makes for a huge flavor blast! It is also very healthy. Use the wet salad as a side dish to sandwiches such as subs/hoagies or even hamburgers.

If you notice I did not tell you how much to use of each ingredient above. I have done this on purpose so you can control your own taste pallet. In other words, use as much or as little of everything as you would like. For the olive lovers out there, feel free to throw a few olives in.

Enjoy!
Very Truly Yours,
Britnee Timberlake

P.S. Play around with wet salad, replace the lettuce in some of your ordinary favorite salads with cabbage.

Moist Meat Balls!!!!!

Hello Home Cooks!

I wanted to let you in on a little secret that you can use whenever you are cooking meatballs!

If you desire those moist meatballs that easily break open when you gently press them with your fork... the key is to add sliced crust less bread pre soaked in milk (I use white bread). When you add this soggy ingredient, it will "dry proof your meatballs" (2 slices per pound). Use this technique in place of the bread crumbs you were using before. My mother always says "why add dry ingredients to a meat that you are expecting to be moist". Also try to stay away from dried powder like Parmesan cheese. Instead, use fresh shredded Parmesan. This will release the natural oils within the cheese thus releasing moisture.

Never forget your egg. The egg is what will hold the meat together in whatever shape you bake/fry it in. Acting like a glue agent, the egg is what ensures the meat does not break a part in the sauce pot. If you leave out the egg, your meat balls and spaghetti meal would be turned into a meat sauce and spaghetti meal. Be careful the egg is very strong (too much glue can ruin a project). You do not need a lot of eggs... I would say to use 1 large egg (2 small/medium) per every 3-3 1/2 pounds of ground meat. But you must make sure you mix the meat consistently and evenly. If you add too much egg your meat balls will become firm and tough.

BY THE WAY! These tricks work for meatloaf and homemade hamburgers too!

Very Truly Yours,

Britnee Timberlake