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Anytime El Nino has the price of a head of lettuce breaking the $2 barrier, it's time to march to the cookbook shelf for inspiration. Reaching for Salad Days is well in order, for Marcel Desaulniers has produced an elegant little book that gives salad a refreshing spin.

A lovely chapter on greens leads the book, and Desaulniers follows right along with chapters on beans, grains, and fruits. But these are only the baseline ingredients, the bedrock on which a grand, dinner salad might be built. This book is all about building, about mixing and matching. One is tempted to believe that Desaulniers played with paper dolls as a child, for the same theory is at work: Once the outfits are cut out, it's simply a matter of assembling the final production according to one's taste.

Take, for example, the salad of sliced beets, curly endive, red bliss potato salad, honey mustard roasted walnuts, and meaux mustard vinaigrette.There are four separate recipes at work here, which might seem intimidating at first. But it's all really quite short and sweet. A minimum of muss and fuss, and then on to the assemblage.

But here's the kicker, having given you the recipe for the baseline assembled salad, Desaulniers gives the reader two ways to stretch, in this case with recipes for walnut-crusted stripped bass on the one hand, and honey duck stir-fry on the other. By adding either ingredient, what started as an elegant dinner salad changes into an entrée salad. A main course.

Desaulniers' primary and obvious point of concern is the home cook. He works up his recipes in a home kitchen, with home kitchen equipment and appliances. He writes clear and encouraging recipes, lists all the tools a cook will need, and slathers on the insider tips. The net effect of all this is to bring the home cook right into the heart of real cooking. And there's a whole world of difference between that and following a recipe.--Schuyler IngleBook Description
Marcel Desaulniers, the prizewinning, bestselling author of such classics as Death by Chocolate, The Burger Meisters, Desserts to Die For, and Death by Chocolate Cookies, has finally had his fill of sweets -- at least for a while -- and he's ready to get to the main course. In the same way that Marcel turned chocolate on its head, with Salad Days he expands our idea of what salads should be: not salad-bar fare, but full meals melding the flavors of such savories as grilled eggplant, scallions, and plum tomatoes with leaf spinach, herbed couscous, and roasted garlic dressing.

We are all now aware that to improve our diets and our health, we need to boost our vegetable, fruit, and complex carbohydrate intake. With Salad Days, Marcel makes that easier to do and more fun and delicious in the process. Organized into four main sections -- Greens, Beans, Grains, and Fruits -- each of the thirty salad recipes is accompanied by two variations. These variations, like the original salads themselves, show the real care Marcel has taken to tantalize even the most finicky eater. For example, he rounds out the Roasted Root Vegetable Slaw by adding either Spiced Pork Burger or Ale-Steamed Chicken Breast. Likewise, the Oven-Roasted Fruit with Belgian Endive is still deliciously light enough for a summer afternoon when accented by either Lamb with Jicama and Anaheim Peppers or Pan-Seared Maple-and-Ginger-Coated Sea Scallops.

Salad Days makes a great addition to any cookbook collection because there's something for everyone. Each element of the salads is so delicious and clearly detailed that you just might want to make the Grilled Skewer of Ginger Chicken, the Crispy Corn Biscuits, the Panfried Black Turtle Bean Cakes, or the Peppered Honey-Lime Dressing on its own and forget about adding the leafy greens. As in his previous award-winning cookbooks, Marcel tells you exactly what equipment to use and which pantry items to stock; in his Chef's Touch section following each recipe, he supplies additional cooking tips, shares personal anecdotes of a lifetime of food, and complements each meal with a wine or beverage selection.

Whether you need an impressive dish for special guests or simply a delicious indulgence for one, Salad Days provides the inspiration and instruction for a first-class meal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Easy and interesting
I love this cookbook. I have been using it for about 5 years and still find things of interest. I particularly like the fact that the book tells you how to prepare and present the whole meal, with each menu broken down into: the dressing, the salad itself, assembly of the dish and always two choices of meat or fish to accompany the meal. I often spice up a meal with just a part of a salad - ratatouille tonight and maybe saffron infused arborio rice cakes another day. The ingredients are easy to find and the methodology easy to follow. If you like salads and want something a little different, then this is the book.

No little diet salads here...
These are main-dish salads. Each recipe has several components to it, and two variations on top of that to top things off. One of my favorite recipes in this book is "Sliced Beets with Curly Endive, Red Bliss Potato Salad, Honey Mustard Roasted Walnuts, and Meaux Mustard Vinaigrette." I'm not normally fond of beets, but they're fantastic in this recipe. The honey mustard roasted walnuts have the perfect blend of sharp and sweet tastes. There are a couple of ingredients you might have trouble finding, but they're generally things you can easily substitute for. The first variation for this recipe is the Walnut-Crusted Striped Bass, and there's also a Honey Duck Stir-Fry variation.

Each recipe has the same "Chef's Touch" section as in "Death by Chocolate," giving suggestions for substitution (the aforementioned mustard), storage, and so on, including even wine suggestions in some cases. My only negative comment on this recipe was that the vinaigrette was too oily for our taste, but it's easy enough to reduce the amount of oil. Each recipe serves four hungry people, and could easily be stretched to 6 or 8 as a side dish.

If you're familiar with Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" series, then you're already familiar with his cookbook style. He describes everything in detail, not because it's necessarily complex, but because he wants to make sure he doesn't leave anything out or confuse the reader. Also, while his recipes are usually calculated to be not overly difficult, they do tend to be time-consuming, and often involve a handful of different components that need to be put together. You don't need to be an expert to use his cookbooks, but you do need to be willing to spend time and effort in the kitchen.

But as always, he truly comes through in the flavor department. Peppered Honey Peaches with Warm Pecan Cakes, "Bitter" Salad Greens, and Sour Mash Vinaigrette. Variations: Turkey Scallopine with Basil and Zinfandel; Pecan-Crusted Soft-Shell Crab. Or maybe you'd prefer Mandarin Orange Basmati Rice with Sesame Stir-Fried Vegetables, Tangy Red Cabbage, and Szechuan Peppercorn Vinaigrette. Variations: Orange and Cilantro Barbecued Catfish; Charred Flank Steak. Truly, there's something in here to appeal to almost anyone.

Good for rainy-day cooking, NOT for beginners
Marcel Desaulniers, author of some of the most wickedly good dessert cookbooks in my cupboard, releases a cookbook full of more virtuous dishes, probably for those of us who've indulged one time too many in his myriad chocolate desserts.

One thing I particularly like about this book is the serving sizes.Unlike many cookbooks, where the number of servings listed is sometimes (or usually) optimistic, when a recipe in THIS book lists 4 servings, it means 4 VERY generous servings.Also, love or hate the ingredients that go into the salads, all of them turn out looking so delicious that it's (ironically) almost a shame to eat them.

Be warned, however - I would NOT recommend this cookbook to beginners.It can take several hours to prepare one of these salads.When I purchased it, I was expecting dozens of recipes for salads consisting of 6 or 7 ingredients, tops, which you can toss together and serve with a dressing.Wrong.Many of these salad recipes are actually 2 to 4 small recipes combined into one dish (even more if you decide to compliment the salad with the extra "variation" recipes), and the number of different ingredients required for these recipes easily goes from 12-15.Also, many of these ingredients are not things casual cooks will have lying around the house (I have no idea where to find Moutarde de Meaux Pommery mustard), so you have to specifically be in the mood to make a certain salad - you can't just whip one of them together right when you come home from work.Rainy weekends are ideal for many of these recipes.

One thing that I don't believe this book tells you (I may be mistaken), but which many people should guess anyway, is that all of the pasta recipes in this book can easily be substituted with the plain dry kind you buy in supermarkets.If the pasta is flavored (green onion fettucini, for example), you can simply add a bit of the herb/vegetable that was to go in the pasta directly into the salad.

One minor quibble with this book is that compared to other books by this author, there doesn't seem to be as many recipes, perhaps because due to the fact that each salad recipe is composed of several smaller recipes.Most of these are quite good, and the dressing recipes can obviously be made on their own for every day salads.Also, a grilled lemon chicken breast recipe accompanying one of the pasta salad recipes makes an outstanding ciabatta sandwich.In the end, the recipe(s) that make up one salad can often be made on their own for any number of occasions, which is a major plus.

Overall, the salad recipes as a whole are too difficult to make for me to recommend it to beginners, but cooking enthusiasts and/or people looking for substantial, nutritious meals should definitely give it a whirl!

Salad extravanganza for many days!
This is just a marvelous example of the chef who is inventive and researches the items and prep with the at-home type cook in mind.He presents very original, creative salad entrees with a huge array of ingredients, e.g. nuts, berries, fish, fowl, beef, etc. but then adds item options as well as prep and presentation advice along with two additions to the basic salad recipe if so inclined.The possibilities are endless!So good to those of us who enjoy just a great salad as the meal!Marcel is one of the best cookbook producers around .... from chocholate to burgers to salads.

Why go out for a fancy salad?
Do you love ordering meal-sized salads at restaurants but never make them at home? Then this is the book you need to buy. The salads in this book are scrumptious and colorful. The interesting thing to me about this book isthat it presents a couple of variations on each salad. For example one ofthe recipes in this book is Penne Pasta and Spinach with Oven-Roasted PlumTomatoes, Toasted Walnuts, Curly Endive, and Cracked Black PepperVinaigrette. It has two variations, the grilled chicken breast variationand the pan-seared salmon variation. I would consider this book appropriatefor someone with intermediate cooking skills but if you are a novice cookthe instructions are excellent and would help you build your skill set. ... Read more

Book Description
The author of Potato Salad is back with 50 of the best recipes for this old-time crowd pleaser. For potlucks and parties, luncheons and lunch boxes, chicken salad is the perfect solution for today s busy cook. Classics like Waldorf Chicken Salad, bursting with fruit, walnuts, and savory blue cheese, and spicy specialties like Curried Chutney Chicken are irresistible and sure to impress at the family reunion. And fabulous tips for making basics like homemade mayonnaise and vinaigrette make it that much easier. Barbara Lauterbach has fired up her test kitchen, bringing the best of today s ingredients and techniques to bear on a tried and true favorite. The result is fresher, faster, and even more delicious-plain ole poultry just got a whole new attitude. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Regional References
While the best quality of this book is the recipes, the second best part is the references to local places throughout the book.Living in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire when I found the book made it all the better because I know where Moulton Farm is and where she has tea in Meredith. Definitely a must have for all of the fabulous New England cooks, and those of us not in New Hampshire any longer but welcome the references to a beautiful area.

Chicken Must Have
There's more to chicken salad than mayo and celery.This book has many new angles proving that there's more than one way to pluck a chicken.

We particularly liked the "Birds of Another Feather" chapter which uses other poultry in its recipes.

good chicken recipes
If you like chicken, this is a good book for you to have.We have only made a couple of the recipes, but they were easy and delicious.Although most are salad, there are other chicken and poultry recipes here, too, so you can satisfy diverse appetites.This book would make a good hostess gift, since everyone can use new chicken recipes. ... Read more

Book Description
Whether it's grilled chicken over romaine lettuce tossed in a garlicky Caesar dressing, or roasted vegetables over greens, or tuna with crunchy vegetables, salad is a cook's quickest, coolest option for a complete meal. Chesman includes scores of healthful possibilities, from Warm Asparagus and New Potato Salad with Pan-Seared Trout to Vietnamese Beef Salad, plus a host of dressings, from Buttermilk-Dill to Mango Chutney Vinaigrette. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fabulous Summer Meals!
This is my favorite summertime cookbook.When the weather turns warm and the garden is in full swing, this is the book to have.Every recipe I've made from this book has been excellent.There are delicious combinations and helpful comments throughout. The recipes are not difficult and feature many common, easy-to-find ingredients. I also love the lighthearted sketches.WE LOVE Salad Suppers!!

ps-and don't worry, not every salad is "lettuce-based".Many include beans, rice, pasta, and cabbages.

yummy salads
Being a carnivorous soul I expected this cookbook to leave me out but I was wrong.Delicious meaty salads.I haven't eaten this much salad ever!!! VERY TASTY! ... Read more

Book Description
WHAT IS LATENT DEMAND AND THE P.I.E.?

The concept of latent demand is rather subtle. The term latent typically refers to something that is dormant, not observable, or not yet realized. Demand is the notion of an economic quantity that a target population or market requires under different assumptions of price, quality, and distribution, among other factors. Latent demand, therefore, is commonly defined by economists as the industry earnings of a market when that market becomes accessible and attractive to serve by competing firms. It is a measure, therefore, of potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) or total revenues (not profit) if a market is served in an efficient manner. It is typically expressed as the total revenues potentially extracted by firms. The “market” is defined at a given level in the value chain. There can be latent demand at the retail level, at the wholesale level, the manufacturing level, and the raw materials level (the P.I.E. of higher levels of the value chain being always smaller than the P.I.E. of levels at lower levels of the same value chain, assuming all levels maintain minimum profitability).

The latent demand for edible cottonseed cooking and salad oil that has been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment is not actual or historic sales. Nor is latent demand future sales. In fact, latent demand can be lower either lower or higher than actual sales if a market is inefficient (i.e., not representative of relatively competitive levels). Inefficiencies arise from a number of factors, including the lack of international openness, cultural barriers to consumption, regulations, and cartel-like behavior on the part of firms. In general, however, latent demand is typically larger than actual sales in a country market.

For reasons discussed later, this report does not consider the notion of “unit quantities”, only total latent revenues (i.e., a calculation of price times quantity is ne ... Read more

Book Description
What foods radiate good health and wellbeing better than salad? A dish that needs no fuss, yet can contain the tenderest of greens, the leanest of meats, wholesome grains, nutritious seafoods, perfect pasta and a great expanse of vegetables and fruits. In Salads, hot & cold you will find many delightful surprises, especially those who thought that salads could only be served on a hot summer's day, and for those too, who imagined a salad to be the usual greenery served time and time again. You will love this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This study covers the latent demand outlook for edible cottonseed cooking and salad oil that has been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment across the prefectures and cities of Japan. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 1,000 cities in Japan. For each city in question, the percent share the city is of it’s prefecture and of Japan is reported. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a city vis-à-vis others. This statistical approach can prove very useful to distribution and/or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each prefecture and city, latent demand estimates are created for edible cottonseed cooking and salad oil that has been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved. ... Read more

Product Description
This study covers the latent demand outlook for edible cottonseed cooking and salad oil that has been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment across the states and cities of the United States. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 9,400 cities in the United States. For each city in question, the percent share the city is of it’s state and of the United States is reported. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a city vis-à-vis others. This statistical approach can prove very useful to distribution and/or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each state and city, latent demand estimates are created for edible cottonseed cooking and salad oil that has been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved. ... Read more

Product Description
This study covers the latent demand outlook for edible mixtures of vegetable cooking and salad oil that have been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment across the states, union territories and cities of India. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 3,900 cities in India. For each city in question, the percent share the city is of it’s state or union territory and of India as a whole is reported. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a city vis-à-vis others. This statistical approach can prove very useful to distribution and/or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each state or union territory and city, latent demand estimates are created for edible mixtures of vegetable cooking and salad oil that have been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved. ... Read more

Product Description
This study covers the world outlook for edible mixtures of vegetable cooking and salad oil that have been fully refined and deodorized at the same establishment across more than 200 countries. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a country vis-à-vis others. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each country and across countries, latent demand estimates are created. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved. ... Read more