MIXED CITRUS AND AVOCADO ON A BED OF FRISEE

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Serves 4-6

Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.

Socrates 470 BC – 399 BC

I like that quote. It makes me feel better about myself because, apparently, children have always behaved badly. They are no worse today than yesterday. When all Hell breaks loose here at home, it is just due to the nature of the beast(s). All Hell broke loose tonight at dinner. Why does it always happen at dinner? My children love and enjoy each other. They also torcher each other. Tonight, it all began with a little fun that quickly escalated into antagonizing cruelty. Then there were tears, yelling, even screaming. In out of control situations such as this, only parental intervention will bring them back. CLEAN UP YOUR PLATES AND GO TO BED; STRAIGHT TO BED; NO SCREENS; LIGHTS OUT!! They fell in line with growls and sniffles. When they got to the “straight to bed” part, they became buddies again. Bonded in their punishment, they sneaked up to our bedroom to quietly watch television together while Mr. PLK and I ate a lovely dinner…..alone at last.

There is nothing like winter citrus fruit to brighten up a cold day. Citrus makes a beautiful salad. Its tangy sweetness marries well with creamy avocados and bitter greens. How nice that they are all in season together. This version of citrus salad calls for a mixture of oranges and grapefruit. We served it with steak, but it would go well with anything from roast chicken to lamb chops.

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 clementines

1 mineola orange

1 cara cara orange

2 ruby grapefruits

4-6 handfuls frisee

2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pit removed, and sliced into thin wedges (do this just before you serve or the avocado will brown)

1/4 cup pistachios, lightly toasted

From the top: clementine, cara cara, mineola, and ruby red grapefruit segments. Feel free to use whatever types of oranges you like.

1. MAKE VINAIGRETTE: Place lemon juice, mustard, salt,and pepper in a small bowl. Add the oil in a slow and steady stream whisking until it is emulsified. Set aside.

2. PREP THE CITRUS: Using a sharp knife, peel the skin from each piece of fruit. The goal is to remove not only the skin but also the white pith that covers the fruit just under the peel. Cut between the segments. Place the citrus segments in a medium bowl. Gently toss.

Note: Here, you are trying to remove the membranes and leave only the segments. Eating grapefruit segments this way is preferable and removing the membranes is not hard to do. The smaller citrus fruits are not as easy. Skip it if it seems like too much trouble.

3. TOSS FRISEE: Place frisee in a large bowl. Toss with enough vinaigrette just to moisten, about 1-2 tablespoonfuls.

4. COMPOSE SERVE: Divide frisee among the plates. Top the frisee with citrus mixture. Divide sliced avocados among plates. Spoon vinaigrette on top. Sprinkle pistachios on top of that and serve.