Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad AND The OXO Mandoline Slicer Giveaway!

Before I begin this week’s post, I’m thrilled to announce that the amazing folks at OXO have sent me another wonderful kitchen gadget to give away to one lucky reader! I’ll feature the fantabulous (and I’m not just saying this because they gave me one) Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer in today’s post and then before the recipe, I’ll give you the scoop on how you can win one of your very own! (This giveaway has ended.  Thank you for your entries!)

Call it Kismet, call it dumb luck, call it perfect timing. Whatever it was, it worked out just right. I have held onto this recipe for a while. Years ago, I saw Michael Chiarello make this on his Food Network show and I tucked it away in my “I’ll Make it Someday” binder. I forgot about it for years, and during a recent recipe purge, came across it again. I set it aside, to keep in that binder, because I knew I really wanted to try it out. The next day, I got a note from OXO telling me that they’d love to share their new Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer with me. I knew instantly the recipe I’d try out first!

I know I’m pretty safe in saying that all of us had a pretty abnormal winter. Sure, a few people got some snow, but for most of us, winter was pretty mild. Now, in March, we’ve moved into almost summer-like temperatures. Warm weather means it’s time to lighten up that menu. When it’s nice and sunny, I want fresh and light. It appeared that this grilled zucchini salad would fit the bill perfectly.

I started by slicing up four zucchini using my new, handy-dandy mandoline. I easily set the slicer at the size I desired and it was as easy as that! If you don’t have a mandoline, you could easily just slice the zucchini by hand. Just go for thin slices. Not paper-thin, but less than 1/4 inch.

The slicer made quick work for me, and once they were ready, I tossed them with just a bit of olive oil, and some salt and pepper.

I could have used my outdoor grill, but I have a little indoor grill that worked perfectly for this. A grill pan would work just as well. I took a few minutes and quickly grilled up each slice of zucchini, just on one side of each piece, until they were soft and had nice little grill marks on them

After about ten minutes, I had grilled up the whole bunch. I set them aside to let them come to room temperature.

While the zucchini were cooling, I whipped up a quick, flavorful dressing. Lots of fresh lemon juice, garlic, fresh basil and parsley, and just a hint of red pepper flakes all whisked together with some olive oil.

I knew just by looking at it that it was going to be packed with flavor and exactly what I was looking for to help welcome in the summer weather.

When we were ready to eat, I carefully tossed the zucchini in the dressing, piled it all on a plate and topped it with some shaved Parmesan cheese a few toasted pine nuts.

I have to admit, it was really pretty. It looked so summery and fresh. Even better, it was really, REALLY tasty. My husband said it was the perfect salad for summer and my daughter (Can you guess which one?) said that just when she thought she couldn’t like zucchini any more, this recipe came along! We enjoyed it with some beautiful steaks, fresh off the grill. It may be March, but it seemed an awful lot like summer at dinner last night! Oh, and as an added bonus, I had the leftovers for lunch today and it was delicious! I’m pretty confident in saying you could make this up quite a bit ahead of time to serve for a party. It was delicious chilled, or you could prep everything up, keep it at room temperature and then just toss it together right before you serve it. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Would you like one of these wonderful OXO Hand-Held Mandoline Slicers for yourself?

If so, simply leave a comment after this post on Chew Nibble Nosh!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

**Tell me, what’s your favorite thing to cook once the weather starts warming up?**

Want another entry? If you follow Chew Nibble Nosh on Facebook, leave a second comment and let me know! If you follow my Twitter feed (@chewnibblenosh), leave yet another! The winner will be chosen via a random number generator software program, so each comment will serve as a separate entry. Each individual may have no more than three entries (assuming main comment, Twitter and Facebook comments/entries are all utilized). Make sure you leave separate comments if you’re a Facebook and/or Twitter follower to up your chances!

The Nitty Gritty Important Stuff:

– The giveaway is only open to US residents who are 18 years of age or older.

– Entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, March 31, 2012.

– The winner will be chosen at random and contacted via the contact email left with the winning comment. The winner will be asked for their name, age and mailing address. If the winner does not respond by 12:00 PM on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 with the requested information, a new winner will be chosen.

– The winner will be announced on Chew Nibble Nosh, Facebook, and Twitter on Sunday, April 1, 2012 (and I promise, it won’t be an April Fool’s joke :)).

– The giveaway prize has been provided at no cost to Chew Nibble Nosh by the wonderful people at OXO.

GOOD LUCK!

GRILLED ZUCCHINI RIBBON SALAD

Adapted from Michael Chiarello

( The original recipe feeds 12-15. I was feeding 4, so I cut the recipe in half. I am posting the halved recipe that I used. If you need more, just double it!)