Category Archives: Vinaigrette/Dressing

Curried Cashew, Grape and Pear Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

January 10, 2010

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I’m catching up on what was supposed to be yesterday’s post. You see, the day got away from me because I was cooking a feast. Around Thanksgiving, I bought a turkey that I never got to cook (we spent the holiday with my family). By the time January rolled around I was ready for another turkey dinner. (Truthfully, I could eat oven-roasted turkey every week. It’s one of my favorite meals ever!) So I spent all of Sunday afternoon hopping around my tiny kitchen, basting a bird, concocting the stuffing, peeling potatoes, rolling out pastry, and steaming vegetables. It was an excuse to try out a bunch of Thanksgiving recipes I’ve been drooling over for months. And afterwards I was exhausted… but I was happy. Because it was so good!

All of those recipes, well, they’re coming soon! (Sorry, I’m such a tease!) I’m quite excited about today’s yesterday’s post, though, because this salad is spectacular! And different than any other I’ve made. The curried cashews make it unique- a careful balance of spicy and sweet. It’s difficult not to eat them all before they make it to the salad bowl! The vinaigrette is something new too. Dustin and I are not usually honey mustard fans. But this dressing is different. Instead of mayonnaise, it is vinegar-based, and I loved it! Put it all together- the lettuce, pears, grapes, curried cashews, and tangy honey mustard vinaigrette- and you have a beautiful salad with an intriguing combination of flavors!

Curried Cashew, Pear, and Grape Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

6 oz. mixed greens (I used both romaine and classic mixed greens)
1 Bartlett of Bosc pear, thinly sliced
1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved

Curried Cashews:
1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashew halves
1 tsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp. white wine/white balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Toast cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, until browned. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, rosemary, curry powder, brown sugar, salt, and red pepper. Add cashews and shake to coat. Cool.

2. To make the vinaigrette, whisk to combine vinegar, Dijon, and honey in a small bowl. While whisking, slowly stream in the olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Toss greens with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Top with pears, grapes, and curried cashews. Drizzle with extra vinaigrette if desired.

Serves 4.

(Adapted from All Recipes)

Spinach, Apple, Almond, and Manchego Salad with Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette

September 14, 2009

I’ll never share a recipe with you that I don’t feel is worth your time. In my opinion, they’re all outstanding. But some are even better than others. Some I get jittery and excited just thinking about (nerdy, right?) and can’t hardly wait to post. Like this one. It is extra outstanding. I’ve concluded that Manchego is going to be good any way you have it. But cut it into little squares and toss it with baby spinach, crispy apple cubes, Marcona almonds (a new treat I discovered), and a honey-lemon vinaigrette, and it’s a tantalizing experience.

About those almonds: “The Marcona variety of almond, which is shorter, rounder, sweeter, and more delicate in texture than other varieties, originated in Spain and is becoming popular in North America and other parts of the world” (Wikipedia). Until I just looked this up I didn’t realize that Marcona almonds came from Spain. It makes sense. Manchego is a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese and nestled in a bed of greens with its native brother, Marcona, it feels right at home. Perhaps I’ll call this my Spanish Spinach salad.

INGREDIENTS
baby spinach
Braeburn or Granny Smith apple, cored and cubed
Manchego, cubed
salted Marcona almonds

Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 tsp. honey
1 lemon, juiced (I used a small lemon-no more than 2 Tbsp. juice. If you use a larger lemon you will probably need to add more honey to balance the taste.)
1 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Vinaigrette serves 4.

(Adapted from Whole Foods Market)

Spinach Pomegranate Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

September 9, 2009


I think I’ve finally done it. I’ve perfected the simplest honey balsamic vinaigrette. Sure, there are other ingredients you could add to make it more complex, more intricate. But this dressing hits a note of sweet beautiful balsamic that seems just right.

And then there’s this stunning spinach salad to accompany it. Pomegranate arils make the dark green spinach pop and contrast with the creamy white feta, purple-red onions, and rustic brown walnuts. I promise it’s as pleasing to eat as it is to look at.

INGREDIENTS
baby spinach
red onion, thinly sliced
pomegranate arils
walnut pieces
feta, crumbled (optional)

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Layer spinach, onion, arils, walnuts, and feta. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss and serve.

2. To make the vinaigrette, combine vinegar and honey in a small bowl. Whisk together while slowly adding the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 2.

(Adapted from All Recipes)

Spinach, Pear, and Walnut Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

March 21, 2009

I’ve been eyeing the bottles of POM juice at the grocery for some time now, trying to figure out what use I could put that much pomegranate juice to (besides just drinking it of course). Pure pomegranate juice is expensive and I didn’t want to have any excuse to waste it. On our trip to the Outer Banks last week we had lunch at a little gourmet deli where I ordered a spinach salad and pomegranate blueberry vinaigrette. After one bite I knew I had to create my own! While I found the vinaigrette recipe on a web search (at Oprah.com of all places), I put together my own ingredients for the salad base. Baby spinach, semi-firm pears, tart dried cranberries, crumbled feta cheese, and crunchy walnuts combine beautifully together. The bright ruby pomegranate vinaigrette is aromatic, sweet, and my favorite dressing yet! I’ve had this salad every day now since I first made it. I can’t stop eating it. I can’t stop thinking about eating it. Thank goodness there is some left from dinner last night…lunch can’t come soon enough! Because I’ve still barely made a dent in the bottle of POM sitting cheerily on the top shelf of my fridge, there will be more pomegranate recipes to come. I’ll probably experiment with a few more dressings as well. Until then, happy POM dreams!

INGREDIENTS
6 oz. baby spinach
2 ripe (but still firm) Bartlett pears, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. pomegranate juice
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Divide spinach among 4 serving bowls. Top with pears, walnuts, feta, and cranberries.

2. To make the vinaigrette combine pomegranate juice, vinegar, honey in a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTE: DO NOT use a food processor to make this dressing. It will completely change the color and texture of the dressing- it just doesn’t work!

3. Serve salad drizzled with vinaigrette, or on the side.

Serves 4.