I made Ina Garten's 4-ingredient vinaigrette, and it's now my secret sauce for upgrading just about any dish
Garten's lemon vinaigrette recipe calls for four simple ingredients — freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
Like Garten, I used a glass measuring cup to simplify the measuring and pouring process.
First, I used the vinaigrette as a marinade for salmon.
I poured half a cup of the dressing into a plastic bag with 2 pounds of salmon and shook it thoroughly to ensure the fish was evenly covered.
I then placed the salmon in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Later, I arranged the pieces of salmon on a baking sheet and roasted them for 30 to 35 minutes until they were lightly browned.
When I tasted it, the salmon was moist and perfectly flavored.
Next, I used the vinaigrette to season some Broccolini.
First, I washed and dried 1 ½-pounds of Broccolini and tossed it in a mixing bowl with a quarter of a cup of dressing. I arranged the seasoned Broccolini on a large baking sheet and put it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
I roasted it for 25 minutes, but recommend keeping it in the oven longer if you prefer a crisper texture.
Once the Broccolini cooled, I sprinkled it with Maldon salt. The dish was super flavorful and had a tangy finish.
Then, I mixed the vinaigrette into a quinoa salad.
For the quinoa salad, I combined sliced red onions, hearts of palm, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl with a cup of cooked quinoa.
I drizzled a quarter of a cup of the lemon vinaigrette over the combined vegetables and quinoa.
Before serving, I let the salad chill in the fridge for 15 minutes to enhance the flavor. When I tasted it, the dish was incredibly light and fresh.
Finally, I added scallions to the vinaigrette to make a dipping sauce for sweet potatoes.
Finally, I decided to make the vinaigrette into a dipping sauce for sweet potato wedges.
I sliced four scallions, added them to one batch of the vinaigrette, and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. This allowed time for the scallions to soak up the flavor.
While the scallions were soaking, I sliced two large sweet potatoes into 1-inch wedges.
I then placed the sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl, added olive oil and garlic salt, and mixed it all together.
After arranging the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, I placed them in a 375-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Once cooled, I plated them with the scallion dipping sauce. My husband and kids devoured the entire plate in one sitting.
My favorite way to use Garten's vinaigrette was as a dipping sauce.
Out of the four different dishes I made using Garten's lemon vinaigrette recipe, the scallion dipping sauce was my favorite.
My kids had a great time dipping their sweet potatoes in the sauce, which made dinner interactive and enjoyable.
I'll definitely be making this vinaigrette again, as it's the perfect dressing to enhance a dish.
Next time, I'm using it for spring rolls.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Geographic
a day ago
- National Geographic
80 years later, you can still see the shadow of a Hiroshima bomb victim
In the wake of the blast, these eerie shadows were left etched into surfaces across the city—almost like a photo negative of those who were lost. When the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima, it left behind haunting reminders of people who died in the August 1945 blast. Whoever stood on the steps of Sumitomo Bank at the time of the blast created a shield of sorts against the radiant light and heat that bleached everything in its path. Photograph by Universal History Archive, UniversalIt was business as usual in the morning of August 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, Japan. In the city's financial district, bankers prepared for the day and customers queued up to deposit money or apply for a loan. At 8:15 a.m., someone was either standing or sitting on the steps of Sumitomo Bank when the Enola Gay, a U.S. Army Air Force plane, flew overhead and dropped an atomic bomb that detonated 1,900 feet above the city. Aerial view of the first atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. The Enola Gay dropped the bomb 1,900 feet over the city—unleashing an explosion of intense heat, light, and radiation that washed over the city in a fraction of a second. Photograph Courtesy U.S. Army, A.A.F. photo, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division This official U.S. Army photo shows the devastation in Hiroshima after the bomb. The explosion killed upwards of 80,000 people in a flash and thousands more would die in the subsequent days and months. Photograph Courtesy U.S. Army, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division That person likely died immediately, as the intense heat at the center of the blast would have been in excess of 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to swiftly kill anyone. But a shadowy imprint of their body was left scorched onto the stone steps. And this mark wasn't alone: The intensity of the bomb created so-called nuclear shadows throughout the area on the ground beneath the explosion, as if freezing the city in time. Now, 80 years after the bomb, Hiroshima's nuclear shadows remain a chilling, poignant testament to one of the most consequential days in human history. The 10,000-pound atomic bomb that detonated over Hiroshima unleashed a massive amount of energy—the equivalent of around 15,000 tons of TNT—in a fraction of a second. That energy took the form of several things: light, heat, radiation, and pressure. The explosion's intense heat washed over Hiroshima at a pace of 186,000 miles per second and was over as quickly as it had begun, according to the United States Strategic Bombing Survey, an official report on the effects of the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The explosion had flash-burned everything within 9,500 feet, charring trees and casting UV light so powerful that it bleached non-combustible surfaces like stone and concrete. This process is what created the nuclear shadows—they aren't the remains of people and things that were destroyed in the blast but rather they were etched like a photo negative in places that had been protected from the destructive path of radiant heat and light. Sumitomo Bank, only 260 meters from the bomb's hypocenter, was one of about 70,000 buildings in Hiroshima that the bomb damaged or obliterated. '[The bank's] reinforced concrete outer walls remained, but most of the interior was completely burned out,' says Ariyuki Fukushima, curator at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. And while the bank's granite steps retained their shape, Fukushima points out that 'the intense heat rays from the atomic bomb caused them to become pale and discolored.' The person who had been on the steps during the explosion shielded a section of them from the heat rays, thus creating the shadow. The same process created shadows of nails, ladders, and other objects on streets and buildings across the city. What Hiroshima's nuclear shadows reveal While most of the nuclear shadows depict inanimate objects, a few of them are believed to represent people who were killed. For example, the Yorozuyo Bridge, 910 meters from the hypocenter, appeared to bear shadows of people who may have been on their way to work or school when they were killed. (The shadows are no longer visible on the bridge, which was later rebuilt.) 'Almost everyone who was within a kilometer was killed,' says Robert Jacobs, emeritus professor of history at the Hiroshima Peace Institute and Hiroshima City University. The shadow of a handle on a gasometer located two kilometers away from the hypocenter of the explosion left an imprint behind. The angle of the nuclear shadows left behind allow scientists who arrived in Hiroshima after Japan's surrender to locate the hypocenter of the explosion. Photograph by AFP, Getty Images The explosion killed upwards of 80,000 people in a flash, and thousands more would die in the subsequent days and months. Among the victims were workers inside Sumitomo Bank. Fukushima notes that only 'three individuals are known to have escaped,' though 'one of them died a few days later.' These shadows also helped scientists solve one major question when they descended on Hiroshima in early September 1945, shortly after Japan's surrender, to study the weapon's effects. The angle of the shadows 'enabled observers to determine the direction toward the center of explosion,' allowing them to locate the bomb's hypocenter 'with considerable accuracy.' The legacy of Hiroshima's nuclear shadows Although we'll never know the stories of those who were killed in the bomb's hypocenter, their shadow endures. In 1971, Sumitomo Bank donated its steps to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where the silhouette remains a haunting symbol of what happened 80 years ago. It is believed to be one of the only remaining nuclear shadows of a person. Indeed, many of the shadows no longer exist given the decades of rebuilding that the city had to do in the wake of the bombing. Still, Jacobs says the shadows remind us of 'the impermanence of humans and civilization.' 'If a person could be reduced to their shadow by a weapon, […] that carries a profoundly existential message to human beings—you and your whole world could be gone in the blink of an eye.' The shadows are also a solemn reminder of the horrors people faced that day in Hiroshima. The white shadow of a man remains on the surface of a bridge in Hiroshima. As the city rebuilt after the bombing, many of the nuclear shadows on its buildings and sidewalks were lost. One famous exception are the Sumitomo Bank steps, which were donated to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Photograph by Keystone-France, Gamma-Keystone/ Getty Images While walking through the ruined city minutes after the bombing, photographer Yoshito Matsushige encountered children who had evacuated their school just before the explosion. 'Having been directly exposed to the heat rays, they were covered with blisters, the size of balls, on their backs, their faces, their shoulders and their arms,' he later recalled. 'The blisters were starting to burst open and their skin hung down like rugs.' These scenes were so horrific that Matsushige couldn't bear to take any photographs. When he 'finally summoned up the courage to take one picture' and then another, he realized 'the view finder was clouded over with my tears.'
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Missile silo for sale? No real estate magic can erase the nuclear history
Way out in the Kansas prairie, 140 feet below ground, a concrete-lined relic of Cold War annihilation has received a literal — and metaphorical — coat of 'fresh paint throughout.' It's not being preserved as a museum or memorial. It's being sold on Zillow. Welcome to 1441 N. 260th Road, Lincoln, Kan., now rebranded as Rolling Hills Missile Silo, because nothing says 'pastoral charm' like 600 tons of 2-inch rebar wrapped around a void where a thermonuclear intercontinental ballistic missile once waited. The property listing for the decommissioned Atlas F missile silo doubles as a brainstorming list for entrepreneurs: 'party venue,' 'art gallery,' 'climate-controlled wine cellar,' 'mushroom farm' and 'the most insane Airbnb on the planet.' Also included: twin above-ground concrete pads, 75-ton blast doors and an escape hatch for that 'dramatic exit.' It's less home than Bond starter kit. Reading the Zillow listing, one might ask: Why does such a structure exist at all? Why was this much steel and concrete poured into the prairie in the first place? The answers are well-documented but absent here. Those questions appear to belong to a time when decisions were made with slide rules and fear. Now, the future is up for grabs. The property boasts a 'private driveway' and underground temperatures between 54 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit, described as 'nature's free HVAC.' At $520 per square foot, it is 'NOT your typical fixer upper' and is 'waiting for your vision.' The listing hints only obliquely at the original military purpose by noting the property is 'a piece of Cold War history.' Of course, Atlas F silos were not just bunkers. They were built to enable the erasure of life at scale, not to shelter. The Atlas F program, deployed in the early 1960s, was part of the United States' first operational generation of ICBMs. Each missile site — 12 in Kansas alone — was designed to house and deliver a 4.5-megaton nuclear warhead to the other side of the world. Unlike earlier Atlas models, the F variant was stored vertically underground and was elevated to the surface on a hydraulic elevator for fueling and launch, the latter of which required 10 vulnerable minutes. By 1965, the Atlas F system was retired, replaced by faster-launched Minuteman missiles. None of this shows up in the real estate listing. There's no mention that the Atlas F warhead was more than 250 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. No hint of the terror that surrounded these sites — only the promise of limitless business opportunity. The ad seems to scream: Admire the feat of engineering! (But forget the existential terror it embodied.) Marvel at the blast doors! (But ignore how they recast unthinkable violence as routine.) Think of the Instagrammable photos! (But don't summon images of what nuclear bombs did to people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945.) Prospective buyers must sign a waiver before entering. Though the missile is gone, the site presumably has remaining hazards: Perhaps a guest could fall down a shaft engineered to handle a nuclear detonation? Beneath the novelty, however, lies a deeper truth: Missile silos are not neutral spaces for creative reuse. They are monuments to a moment in human history when extinction was first built into the architecture of national security doctrines. Their ability to be repurposed as luxury bunkers is not just bonkers; it's symptomatic of an inability to reckon honestly with inherited structures of violence. This is nostalgia without memory, and fetishism without context. And it's not merely retrospective. Today, the United States has an estimated 1,770 deployed nuclear warheads, of which 400 are land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. The logic that justified Atlas F — deterrence through the prospect of instant retaliatory destruction — remains embedded in U.S. strategic doctrine. Missile silos are not just Cold War relics. They are living artifacts of a strategy the United States and other nuclear-armed countries have yet to relinquish. One could argue that repurposing these sites is better than letting them rot. Maybe so. But if we are going to inhabit these places again, if we are going to live in the shadow of their history, then we ought to bring the memory with us. We must carry forward not just the concrete, but the cold calculus — and the human cost. Susan D'Agostino, a mathematician and science writer, was the nuclear risk editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
I tried Ina Garten's scrambled eggs recipe inspired by a famous pasta dish, and now it's my favorite breakfast
I tried Ina Garten's recipe for scrambled eggs cacio e pepe, inspired by the famous pasta dish. Garten said her recipe makes "the most delicious scrambled eggs ever." The scrambled eggs were creamy, fluffy, and rich — and looked beautifully golden. I've been slowly making my way through Ina Garten's breakfast recipes, trying everything from her blueberry-ricotta cake to her fancy spin on avocado toast. As I turned the pages of Garten's cookbook "Go-To Dinners," I was delighted to see a recipe for "scrambled eggs cacio e pepe," inspired by the traditional Roman pasta. "Eggs are always my go-to breakfast for dinner because they're substantial without being heavy, but I like to dress them up, like adding spicy Italian pecorino cheese and pepper," Garten writes. "Just take your time with the cooking and you'll serve the most delicious scrambled eggs ever." I'm also a huge fan of Garten's pasta dishes (I've made over a dozen!), so I knew I had to try this. Garten's scrambled eggs cacio e pepe only require a few basic ingredients. First, I cracked the eggs into a bowl. Then, I added the whole milk. I gave everything a quick whisk and, just like that, my egg mixture was ready. I placed my butter in a cold, large pan. I then placed the pan over medium-low heat and allowed the butter to melt almost completely. Then, I added the egg mixture. Garten says you should cook the eggs on medium-low for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. If, like me, you decide to cut the recipe in half, the cooking time will be shorter. Just keep an eye on the texture of the eggs, and you'll know when it's time for the next step. While my eggs were cooking, I popped my bread into the toaster. I stirred my eggs more rapidly as they began to make small clumps. Once the eggs were almost cooked, I turned off the heat. I continued to stir the eggs rapidly until they were soft and custardy. It took me about eight minutes total to cook the eggs. "When you pull the spatula through the eggs, they will still be soft, but they will stay in place," Garten writes in her cookbook. I sprinkled the pecorino cheese over my eggs and seasoned them with some freshly ground black pepper. My eggs looked silky, golden, and creamy — the three things I always want in a great scramble. I was so excited to dig in. I spooned the eggs over toasted bread and served them hot with extra cheese. Garten's scrambled eggs cacio e pepe are indulgent in the best way. I loved the salty sharpness from the pecorino, which also made them deliciously cheesy and creamy. The fantastic texture was similar to the eggs I made using Gordon Ramsay's and Martha Stewart's methods, but with less work. I tried this recipe while visiting my parents, and they were both big fans. My dad also had the great idea of pairing the eggs with toast and jam. We used plum preserve, which worked well with the flavor, cutting through the salty pecorino with a delicious hit of sweetness. I'm definitely going to make Garten's scrambled eggs cacio e pepe again. I make eggs almost every day of the week, so I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to switch things up. Garten's scrambled eggs recipe isn't just quick and easy — the eggs are also rich, delicious, and filling. The dish tastes really elevated, and I could easily eat these eggs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Whether you're craving a rich pasta at 8 a.m. or don't have the energy to whip some up at 8 p.m., Garten's delicious scrambled eggs cacio e pepe will satisfy all your cravings.
