A New Take
February 24, 2020
My favorite Winter salad usually shows up at Thanksgiving and Christmas and perhaps again at the New Year. It’s a simple combination of Frisee’, Bosc Pear, Red Onion, Blue Cheese and toasted Walnuts lightly dressed in a vinaigrette of Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and a touch of Garlic. While I love it’s combination of seasonal ingredients it seems like it’s always been allocated to the category of ” holiday “. While craving it recently, and having no luck finding Frisee’ at the market, I decided to switch it up a bit and substituted Shaved Brussels Sprouts for the greens and have it as an entree salad one night for dinner. The surprise I didn’t see coming is that it’s almost better than the original. Then a few days later I switched it up again using Honeycrisp Apple for the Pear, Maple Cayenne Glazed Walnuts and an even simpler dressing of Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar with a splash of a Maple Syrup. Again…success. Good thing there is plenty of Winter left to add this salad to the weekly rotation.
No measuring here, add as much or as little of each as you’d like. Cutting the pears or apples into small batons compliment the thinly shaved Brussels Sprouts and red onion. Keeping the blue cheese chunky and the Walnut halves quartered results in sort of chunky chopped salad that hits all the right notes…sweet, savory, creamy and crunchy.
The simplest recipe ever for Maple Cayenne Glazed Walnuts can be found here. https://simplequietmodern.com/2013/11/30/mmmm-maplely/
photos: gp
I don’t love brunch…
November 11, 2012
but I love the idea of serving a modern Salade Lyonnaise for breakfast or even whipping up a batch of pancakes for dinner. Also known as Frisee with lardon and poached egg is where we’re going to start. Frisee, which runs neck and neck with my other green fave~ Arugula~ is the bitter green of choice. For a single serving you’ll need 1/2 bunch of Frisee washed and torn, a slice of hearty artisan bread grilled or toasted and rubbed lightly with a clove of garlic, a slice or two of crisp thick cut bacon ( from the Whole Foods meat counter preferably), a poached egg and a splash of warmed Maple Vinaigrette. To present, plate the grilled bread, top with the frisee that had been tossed with the Maple Vinaigrette, next the poached egg and finish with the placement of your bacon, coarse salt and ground pepper to your taste. Done and done. How easy was that? Add a bowl of clementines or pears and a pot of coffee and you might just want to entertain friends with this, eh?
The Maple Vinaigrette is simple: 2 Tablespoons General Use Olive Oil, 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup ( Dark amber Grade B preferred). Whisk it up…that’s it.
simplequietmodern 