Denny's Fried Cheese Melt Pushes Gooey Cheese Tolerance To New Levels - The Consumerist

The Consumerist posted an article today that I just couldn't believe - not that I haven't been shocked by the donut burger and its genre before.  Is anyone surprised that our country's health has serious issues when clearly there is a "market" for food like this?

Denny's Fried Cheese Melt Pushes Gooey Cheese Tolerance To New Levels
By Chris Morran on August 11, 2010 1:15 PM

Have you ever been eating mozzarella sticks and thought, "these would be soooo much better in a sandwich"? Or maybe you've been snacking on a grilled cheese sandwich and wondered how improved it would be if it also had fried cheese sticks between the bread? If so, then Denny's is about to roll out the perfect sandwich for you.

Read the rest: Denny's Fried Cheese Melt Pushes Gooey Cheese Tolerance To New Levels - The Consumerist

Product Review: Brianna's Champagne Caper Vinaigrette

Ever since I lived in France, I've been a vinaigrette dressing fan.  Many Americans don't like vinaigrette - mostly because I think that American-made vinaigrette are too much like us: harsh, wild and unrefined.  A classic French vinaigrette is relatively mild and has only a little bite to it.  The acid doesn't make you cough or hit your nostrils the way a harsh vinegar does.

IMHO, most commercially available vinaigrette is downright awful so my solution has been to dress my greens in a little extra virgin olive oil - I like a nice, buttery one instead of the more green piquant olive oils - and some wonderful Balsamic vinegar from Trader Joe's tossed up with a little salt and pepper.

However, I recently found this Champagne Caper Vinaigrette from Brianna's - not all stores carry this particular flavor; I found mine at QFC.  It is just lovely, particularly on a baby spinach salad with Costco's roasted chicken on top along with some grape tomatoes and slivered almonds.

My overall recommendation, though, no matter what dressing you are using, is to very lightly dress your greens.  You'll find that the American habit of slathering on the dressing probably originated with trying to make iceberg lettuce taste like something other than water.  If you use baby spinach, mache, or butter lettuce (my favorite), you'll find that these greens taste wonderful if you don't mask their flavors with dressing.

The Best Salad Ever: Nordstrom Cafe Salmon Nicoise

Last week I went shopping with Marlo and we stopped at the Nordstrom Cafe in Bellevue Square for a quick lunch.

Marlo had the turkey cranberry sandwich, which she said was really good.  I had the Salmon Nicoise (pronounced NEE-swahze) and was BLOWN AWAY.

It was, quite simply, the best salad I have ever had in my entire life.

It was comprised of mixed greens dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette - mine could have been much lighter dressed, which I will specifically request next time I go.  On top of that there was new potatoes (pretty sure these were Yukon Gold), steamed green beans, tomatoes, capers, Nicoise olives, and hard-boiled eggs.  All of this was topped with a piece of herb grilled salmon.

I wish I had thought to snap a picture of the salad before Marlo and I dug in - maybe on a future visit.  It was pretty, but it tasted even better.  I don't particularly enjoy shopping; however, I'll at least have something to look forward to when taking a break from a future shopping excursion.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ordering this salad from Nordstrom's Bistro. At less than $10, it was a bargain as well.