A few weekends ago, Chad and I were feeling adventurous on a Friday night, and decided to try someplace kind of trendy for dinner.  We stopped into one of our usual special-occasion spots on the way home, only to find that they were completely full for the rest of the night.

So we tried a total longshot: Minetta Tavern, the Keith McNally restaurant that was one of the last spots that Frank Bruni rated before stepping down as the restaurant critic for the New York Times.  For as long as I can remember, it’s been the type of spot you have to call a full month in advance to get a reservation at, and even then, you’ll probably be eating dinner at 5 or 11 pm.

But for some reason, I was feeling lucky.  Rumor has it that Minetta Tavern keeps a few tables open for walk-ins, and we figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.  And to our (incredible) surprise, they led us to a fabulous table the second we walked in.

The meal was fabulous, but we both agreed that the best part was the crab, avocado and grapefruit salad that we shared as a starter.  It was so good that I found myself craving it afterwards, and I decided to try to recreate the same dish at home.  I accidentally left out one important ingredient (hearts of palm) because I forgot to pick them up in the grocery store, and the restaurant version used delicious baby watercress and chives as the garnish, not parsley, but I think overall, this came pretty close.  Which is good, because I’ll probably never pull of that kind of restaurant coup again.

Crab and Avocado Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 grapefruit
1/4 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
1 avocado
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper
Parsley, watercress, or chives, as a garnish

DIRECTIONS
Cut the grapefruit in half, and section it horizontally.  Peel or cut away the rind.  Reserve 1tbsp grapefruit juice.  Cut the avocado into thin slices.

Whisk together the grapefruit juice, olive oil, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper.  Arrange the avocado slices on two plates, top with the grapefruit sections, and then the crabmeat.  Drizzle with the dressing, and serve.

Serves two.

Ok, so, I’m officially that girl who got up at six in the morning to watch William and Kate tie the knot yesterday (and then got home at 7:30 pm and watched the whole thing all over again, not even kidding).  And I wasn’t even remotely disappointed — everything was a beautiful as I expected.  I’ll admit, though, I’m a little bit of a wedding sap — I don’t think I’ve ever been to one without crying! 

And on a fashion note… I wonder if hats will make a comeback this year?  All those crazy fascinators, part of me kind of wants one!

But on to more important things — like this recipe!  The weather finally took a turn for the better this week in NYC, and I celebrated by breaking out the sundresses and LOTS of fresh veggies.  This spicy, healthy salad is perfect if you’re looking to be bathing-suit-ready in a month or so, or just if you’re looking for something quick and delicious!

Corn and Jalapeno Salad

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 ears), boiled for about 5 minutes
1 plum tomato, diced
1 shallot, peeled and diced
2 jalapeno peppers (use only one if you want it mildly spicy)
1 small can water chestnuts (available in asian sections of grocery stores)
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Slice the jalapeno peppers in half.  If you prefer a less spicy salad, remove the seeds from the peppers.  Cut the peppers into thin slices.  Drain the water from the water chestnuts can and dice them as well.  Toss together the corn, tomato, shallot, peppers, water chestnuts.  Add the olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice, plus any salt and pepper, and toss again.  Serve.

Ah, August.

It didn’t seem this year, like you’d ever come.  The weather, as I’ve complained here so regularly, was April rain for the entire month of June, and I missed July on my honeymoon.

But August I’ve seen.  August has come in full force this year.

For all of you non-New Yorkers, August in Manhattan is sort of a phenomenon.  Everyone you know is out of town from Friday to Sunday, so good luck making plans or trying to host a dinner party.  You’ll go on a normal errand that you plan your weekend around, and you’ll find out that the store you were hoping to visit is, doh, shut down until Labor Day.  The sidewalks are so empty that you can actually walk through most neighborhoods without having to elbow your way past oncoming pedestrians, but you wouldn’t want to walk anywhere, because the city is so full of rank, muggy heat that you really can’t leave your apartment.

But, most important of all (arguably), the farmer’s market is full of cucumbers, bell peppers, and gorgeous, fresh husks of corn.   Can you guess where I’m going with this?

After picking up our CSA box and getting a grocery delivery early in the weekend, I actually conceived this salad without realizing that all the ingredients were sitting in my refrigerator, waiting to be assembled.  I breaded the scallops in panko and seared them for extra crispiness, and Chad, who is usually not the hugest scallop fan, actually went back for seconds on this.  If I’m totally honest with myself, I think he even liked it more than the peanut butter cake.  Men and their lack of sweet tooths, I will never understand it.

But I would happily serve this salad at a dinner party, once everyone comes back into town in September.  Hopefully the corn will still be around, because my future guests will really be missing out if I had to use frozen corn.  If you have to be stuck in New York City in August, at least we get a few perks.

Seared Scallop Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS
3 cobs of corn, boiled and kernels cut off the cobs
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
8 large sea scallops, patted dry
1/2 cup panko
2 addition tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Mix the cut corn kernels, cucumber, bell pepper, 3 tbsp olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and set aside.  Divide the salad into four bowls for serving.

Dip the scallops in panko until lightly crusted.

Heat the additional 2 tbsp of olive oil (you don’t need to use extra virgin for this) in a large skillet over high heat.  Sear the scallops for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through.  Place two scallops over the salad in each bowl, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves four.