Creamy Grape Salad with Pecans

Web Admin 0 237 Article rating: No rating

Sweet grapes, crunchy pecans, and vanilla bean sour cream are combined in this unexpected and delicious creamy grape salad. My boys went nuts over this the first time I made it and I couldn’t stop eating bites of it myself.

I’ve made this simple grape salad with pecans countless times now and my youngest son still can’t get enough of it. Every time he sees grapes in the store or in our refrigerator, he asks if we can make “the really good grape salad” again. How could I ever say no to that?

Grape Salad with Vanilla Bean Sweet Cream - get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

Creamy Grape Salad

There’s no big secret here. Just tasty fresh grapes and pecans covered in creamy, tangy, very lightly sweetened sour cream. Sometimes the simplest recipes really are the best!

This is a popular dish to bring to gatherings with friends, but it’s also great served with a sandwich or wrap for an easy family lunch.

Grape Salad with Pecans

Salads with grapes are classic potluck and party dishes. If you’ve never tasted one, this recipe is the perfect one to make first.

Or, if your experiences with grape salad call to mind overly sweetened, gloppy dishes at family reunions or work picnics, I promise you this particular grape salad recipe is so good it will have you scraping the bowl and going back to the buffet table for seconds.

The pecans in this recipe add great texture and crunch to the salad. As far as I’m concerned, they aren’t optional. If you really dislike pecans, slivered or sliced almonds will also work, though they are not my first choice.

I’d suggest swapping in walnuts before almonds, but in my experience, if someone is averse to pecans, they almost never enjoy walnuts. Just use whatever nut you like best for crunch here, if you don’t care to include the pecans.

Grape Salad Recipe Without Cream Cheese

This grape salad is NOT your average potluck dish. The recipe features a lightly sweetened sour cream dressing and I’m happy to say that this salad trumps any other grape salads I’ve tasted.

Years ago, we made versions of this salad with cool whip or vanilla pudding. They were fine but nothing spectacular so I wasn’t in any rush to make them again.

I’ve also tasted grape salads made with yogurt or cream cheese dressings. Again, they tasted okay but didn’t leave any big impression. I could take them or leave them, really.

Sour Cream Grape Salad

Then, I discovered lightly sweetened sour cream. Several years ago, I made these Layered Lemon Cheesecake and tasted sweetened sour cream for the first time. I was impressed by the difference a tiny sprinkling of sugar made in the typically tangy (and sour) cream.

If you haven’t tried lightly sweetened sour cream before, you’re in for a fun treat. I have served this salad to several people who were shocked that the creamy dressing was simply sour cream.

Sour cream with just a to

Jalapeno BLT Pasta Salad

Web Admin 0 152 Article rating: No rating

Crisp bacon and lettuce, tart tomatoes, creamy hard-boiled eggs, and jalapenos combine to create this creamy, slightly spicy Jalapeno BLT Pasta Salad.

pasta salad in white bowl with blue towel

BLT Pasta Salad

Why make another version of the already popular BLT Pasta Salad? Because that recipe became even more delicious when I made it with added eggs and jalapenos! I immediately wanted to share it with you.

And let me tell you, adding creamy eggs to this pasta salad adds a whole new dimension of flavor. With some spicy jalapenos in the mix too, the recipe has become another favorite for the whole family.

BLT with Egg

BLT sandwiches and eggs are a match made in heaven. Ever since I first bit into a warm egg on a crunchy, hot and cold BLT sandwich, I was sold on BLT + Egg combination.

The egg in this recipe contributes texture and depth to the pasta salad and the added fat and flavor make it even heartier as a meal. This is a pasta salad I could very happily make on a weekly basis.

close up photos of pasta with dressing and tomatoes

Pasta Salad with Lettuce

Have you tried a pasta salad with lettuce? If not, you’re in for a treat. A little bit of lettuce adds terrific crunch and texture, along with the juicy grape tomatoes, there is a freshness here that can’t be beaten.

I really enjoy all of these flavors together and I’m willing to bet that after you taste it, you’ll be adding some greens to a lot of new pasta salads too. This spinach pasta salad is another great example of the freshness that a handful of greens delivers.

Tangy, crunchy, slightly swe

Reverse Sear New York Strip

Web Admin 0 152 Article rating: No rating

The perfectly even doneness of a reverse seared New York strip steak makes every single bite a mouthwatering slice of heaven.

Reverse-seared steaks can be started in the oven and finished either on the stove or on the grill. Or they can be cooked using only the grill. Full directions for both methods are included below.

sliced steak on plate next to green beans and carrots

Reverse Seared Steak

Oh my goodness, this was the BEST steak ever cooked in our home, or technically, in our backyard. After doing a bit of research, my husband wanted to try the reverse sear technique.

Edited to add: We’ve been reverse searing steaks for over ten years now and swear by this method as the best and only way to ensure perfectly cooked steaks every single time.

Are you reading this wondering, “what is reverse searing?” It sounded pretty weird to me too the first time I saw it mentioned.

Contrary to conventional methods, reverse searing simply means roasting the meat very slowly at low temp first and then searing it at the end. This method delivers the most evenly cooked steaks you can imagine.

How to Reverse Sear a Steak

The first time we reverse seared steaks we followed the directions from Chris over at Nibble Me This and we were absolutely thrilled. My middle son, who had never been excited about eating steak, even asked for seconds. I could hardly believe what a difference the reverse sear technique made!

Over the years, I’ve followed the tips and advice over at Serious Eats and figured out how to reverse-sear steaks in the oven for an even easier and faster path to perfectly cooked steaks.

New York strip steak sliced to show interior with butter melting on topRead more

German Potato Salad

Web Admin 0 162 Article rating: No rating

German Potato Salad

a photo of a bowl of german potato salad with golden potatoes, bacon bits and chopped fresh parsley.

German potato salad is served warm with tender potatoes, crunchy bacon and a mustard vinegar dressing that is everything a potato salad should be!

Don’t get me wrong, we love our traditional potato salad! And it always has a place as a favorite side dish at the picnic table, but if you want to change things up and ditch the eggs and mayo, then this is the potato salad for you!

I start by boiling some golden and red potatoes, then I cook the bacon on the stove in a dutch oven. Once the potatoes are fork tender, I combine them with the bacon and some garlic with a little of the bacon fat (hello flavor town!!) and then top it all with a tangy mustard (2 kinds!) and apple cider vinegar dressing.

The ingredients are so few and so simple that it seems impossible it could be so good, but it is heaven! It’s all topped with a little fresh parsley on top because, while it seems useless, it actually freshens the whole dish up. Trust me, you need to make this.

Ingredients for German Potato Salad

  • Potatoes: We love the combo of some Yukon gold potatoes and red potatoes, but you could do all of one or the other. Just avoid the russets!
  • Salt: adds flavor to the potatoes as they boil
  • Bacon: adds flavor and a crunchy texture to the dish. Don’t forget to reserve some of the bacon grease left behind.
  • Butter: use unsalted so that you can control the saltiness of the dish
  • Olive Oil: extra virgin is preferred
  • Apple Cider Vinegar: adds acid to the dish
  • Garlic: adds flavor, be sure to use fresh garlic
  • Sugar: mellows out the vinegar
  • Mustards: we use a combo of stone ground mustard and Dijon for maximum flavor
  • Salt and Pepper: just enough until it tastes perfect to you
  • Parsley: some is going to get mixed in while everything is cooking and some is going to be added fresh on top at the end so make sure you follow the instructions

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

What Kind Of Potatoes Do You Use For Potato Salad?

For potato salad, you’ll want to stay away from starchy, thick-skinned potatoes like russets, which will fall apart during the cooking process.

Red potatoes or golden potatoes maintain the perfect texture for salad.

Variations for German Potato Salad

There are a few options for changing this recipe up. You can always try different combinations of potatoes, though we really love the combination of reds and Yukon golds.

If you want to lighten things up a little, try using turkey bacon. You’ll be losing a lot of flavor if you go with this option because you won’t have the bacon grease to add to the dressing. Turkey bacon is quite lean and doesn’t leave much, if any, grease behind.

Feel free to play with the mustards that you use. If you want to add a little heat, try using a little s

Cowboy Butter

Web Admin 0 132 Article rating: No rating

Loaded with robust garlic, zesty lemon, and a kick of red pepper flakes, Cowboy Butter is absolutely crave-worthy on steak, vegetables, or fresh bread.

steaks on cutting board with compound butter

What is Cowboy Butter?

My brother Karl first told me about this spread. I had never even heard of cowboy butter. He assured me that this spicy, garlic herb compound butter was indeed a real thing.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I was visiting my friend Sandra and she mentioned making cowboy butter for our steaks that night. It was love at first taste! Juicy, grilled meat topped with scoops of slowly melting cowboy steak butter is pure heaven.

Cowboy Butter

This isn’t your average butter. It is a zesty, garlicky, citrus-kissed, spice-tickled creamy concoction with irresistible flavor. I found myself begging her for the recipe.

Lucky for me, it’s about as easy as can be to make. You can mix this compound butter together in barely 5 minutes. The hardest part is waiting while it chills and firms up again in the fridge.

If you’re serving this over meat, it’s well worth the wait. You want the butter to slowly melt over your steak instead of immediately dissolving. Still delicious after it melts, just better when served chilled over hot steaks.

compound butter with cowboy knife spreader on wooden table next to vegetables

How to Make Cowboy Butter

One of my favorite things about compound butter recipes is that everyone can adjust the ingredients to suit their taste. You can make it spicier with the inclusion of cayenne pepper or by adding more pepper flakes.

Or, you could increase the lemon juice or even use limes to give it a more prominent citrus flavor. I’ve seen variations with mustard and horseradish, and others that include a host of fresh herbs.

This recipe is for how to make cowboy butter the way that I fell in love with it, the one that my kids go cra

RSS
First5152535456585960Last