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Chopped Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette + a Calphalon Giveaway

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Chopped Salad with Goat Cheese and Tarragon Vinaigrette

A few weeks ago, our house was selected for a Calphalon photo shoot. As part of their digital media campaign, they were photographing their Calphalon Elite Nonstick Cookware. Roughly 15 people, including an Ad agency executive, a Calphalon executive, a food photographer, a food stylist, a prop stylist, and a hand model, took over our kitchen for a four-day shoot.

As a food blogger, I was excited to see the process of professional food prep, styling, staging and photography. The level of excellence of the team was impressive, and the photographs were stunning. As an added bonus, we got to share the scrumptious food they prepared.

After chatting with the Calphalon representative and telling her about my blog, she arranged for me to receive a Self-Sharpening Cutlery Set with SharpIN™ Technology to review. The set includes and 8-inch Chef’s Knife, a 6-inch Serrated Utility Knife, a 5-inch Santoku, a 4.5-inch Parer, 6 Steak Knives, Kitchen Shears, and a Sharpening Knife Block.

 

Calphalon 12-PIece Cutlery

The Knife Block has built-in ceramic sharpeners that automatically hone the knives every time you remove them from the block. The knives are made from high-carbon, no-stain forged steel and feature full tang construction and a comfortably balanced, triple-riveted handle.

I’ve been using the knives for a couple of weeks. Out of the box, they are razor-sharp. The knives are well-balanced and feel good in the hand, particularly the chef’s knife. I’ve made a point of using all the knives and I’ve been impressed with all of them. I especially like having another pair of kitchen shears.

To take full advantage of the sharpening feature, you have to make a conscious effort to pull the knife straight in and out of the block so that it makes contact with the ceramic sharpener. You almost need to slightly press down on the knife as you pull it out of the block. If you lift the knife out of the block, it doesn’t make contact. It only takes a little time to adjust to the correct way to remove the knives from the block.

Chopped Salad with Goat Cheese and Tarragon Vinaigrette

So far, the knives have remained very sharp with fairly heavy use. Only time will tell how they fare in terms of sharpness, but kudos to Calphalon for designing an ingenious way to prevent dull knives.

For more information on this self-sharpening technology, check out this video, or you can buy the knives here.

For today’s post, I put the knives to good use with this Chopped Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette. You can serve this salad as an pre-dinner appetizer, or pair it with a grilled chicken breast and you have a delicious and light meal.

Calphalon has offered to give one lucky reader a set of these knives. Leave a comment below by Thursday, June 4th at 11:59 p.m. to enter the giveaway. The winner will be chosen randomly from the comments.

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Coffee-Ancho Rubbed Filets with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 servings

Coffee-Ancho Rubbed Filets with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Ingredients

For the sauce:

4 cups low-sodium beef stock

1 large carrot, cut into 2 or 3 pieces

1 medium onion, cut into quarters

1 stalk of celery, cut into 2 or 3 pieces

2 cloves garlic

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 tablespoons canned green peppercorns, drained

1/2 cup brandy or cognac

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt to taste

For the filets:

1 tablespoon coffee beans, finely ground

1/2 ancho chili

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 8-ounce filet mignons

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

For the sauce:

1. Bring beef stock, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf to a boil in medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until reduced to about 1 cup. Remove from heat.

2. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots and green peppercorns and saute for 1 minute. Add cognac and carefully tilt pan toward flame. Allow cognac to burn off. Stand back when igniting the alcohol. If cooking on an electric cooktop, just allow cognac to reduce before proceeding.

3. Add heavy cream and 1 cup of reduced stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt to taste.

For the filets:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place coffee beans and ancho chili in a coffee or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Combine coffee mixture with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl.

2. Season filets with rub. Heat olive oil in a large iron skillet over high heat. Sear filets for 2 to 3 minutes on each side (including edges) until browned. Transfer filets to oven and cook until internal temperature reaches 130 degrees for medium rare and 140 degrees for medium. Remove from oven, tent with aluminum foil, and rest for 5 minutes.

3. Serve immediately with Green Peppercorn Sauce and your favorite vegetable.

https://southernboydishes.com/2015/05/29/chopped-salad-with-tarragon-vinaigrette-a-calphalon-giveaway/

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Bill Harris

I grew up in small town Mississippi eating traditional southern fare.A lifelong foodie, I started cooking and experimenting with food at a very young age. I started Southern Boy Dishes as a creative outlet and a way to share my love of food.

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Comments

  1. Such pretty images – I can almost taste the freshness of the beautiful salad. I need a new set of knives and these would make a nice addition to my kitchen.

    Reply

  4. That must have been such a wonderful experience to have the peeps from Calphalon take over your kitchen! A good knife cannot be beat – I had to buy me a good one recently as I was tired of squeezing in a workout everytime I tried to cut butternut squash! I love the sound of those built in ceramic sharpners in the wood block of these Calphalon knives!

    Reply

  7. Thank you so much for offering such a wonderful giveaway. I love that the block has a built in sharpener!

    Reply

  8. All I can say is “wow”! I just ran across your site by accident this morning and have spent several hours here now. I love your recipes! Full of flavor and freshness, and beautiful to boot! Well done! I will be returning here often, thank you.

    Reply

  16. The photography drew me in – very well composed and quite beautiful! I LOVE salads, so I will be giving this a go this weekend. It’s hot here – perfect timing for this dish.

    Reply

  21. I love a salad in the summer loaded with fresh vegetables like this chopped salad! The addition of tarragon to the salad dressing sounds incredible. I simply can’t wait to make this salad

    Reply

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