Spinach, apples and bleu cheese.

(Marukan) Seasoned Rice Vinegar makes an excellent, no-fat dressing...

I'd eat the salad Very Happily with only those three ingredients.

Wolfgang Puck agrees - check it out!

Oh Oh! Spiced pecans were in my mind when I was in the grocery store, but I couldn't find the nuts and left in a huff. I have a recipe for spiced pecans somewhere.....

SP, I'm not sure I can find that particular ingredient in these here parts, i.e. out in the middle of nowhere.

Seriously, Swimpy? you wouldn't be able to find basic ingredients like seasoned rice vinegar? I guess i need to get out more.

I need to get out more too. <sigh>

Check out the page of desserts at the Wolfgang Puck site - wow!
oops i'm in quick reply so ... http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipelist.php?Course=17

Found this- Doesn't say anything about bleu cheese, but you could use it as a dressing.
Link to spinach and apple salad

Spinach, Blue Cheese Salad w/Sliced Apples & Spiced Peca
Will this do????

1 apple chilled
1 small lemon juiced
8 oz spinach, washed, dried and stemmed
1 small head (about 3 ounces) radicchio, cut into chiffonade
5 ounces blue cheese crumbled
kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup Lavadawn's house dressing, recipe follows
1 1/2 cups Spiced Caramelized Pecans, receipe follows

Cut the apple into quarters, remove the stem and the seeds, and cut into very thin slices. Sprinkle lemon juice over the slices and set aside.

When ready to serve, in a salad bowl, combine the apple, spinach, radicchio, and blue cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss with the dressing. Adjust seasoning to taste.

To serve, divide the salad among 4 plates and sprinkle the pecans around each salad.

House Salad Dressing

2 large shallots, minced (1 heaping tablespoon)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons zinfandel vinegar
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots and the mustard. Whisk in the vinegars, and then the olive and vegetable oils. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.

Yield 1 1/4 cups

Spiced Caramelized Pecans:

3 cups peanut oil
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

in a deep-fryer or a deep pot, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. (A deep-frying thermometer can be clipped to the side of the pan so that you can tell when the proper temperture has been reached).

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the pecans and boil for 2 minutes. Drain in a large strainer, shaking off all excess water. Sprinke the salt and cayenne pepper over the nuts and then coat with the confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, allowing the sugar to melt into the pecans. Toss the nuts by shaking the strainer, adding a little more sugar each time, until all the sugar is used and all the nuts are coated. Do not use hands or a spoon to toss. The nuts should have a uniform glaze of sugar.

Carefully add the nuts to the heated oil, keepingthe oil at 350 degrees F. Cook until goldern brown, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon to a baking tray to cool.

Yield 2 cups

Yield 4 servings
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

ENJOY

APPLE SPINACH BLUE CHEESE SALAD
COURTESY OF WOLFGANG PUCK.

lavadawn, good recipe. I make spiced pecans to add to salads but not quite as elaborately as in your entry above. I spray on some oil, toss on spices -- dash of sugar, onion salt, garlic salt, paprika, etc. -- and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. They add a lot to any salad.

that's the Wolfgang Puck recipe from the link i posted.

Swimpy... just check your grocery store. Might just be hidden there among the other vinegars...

SP, I'll check. Maybe they will surprise me

Kara, the spiced pecan recipe I have is more sweet and cinnamony. I think that might be a good foil for the bleu cheese.

Hi all!!

The recipes posted so far sound great!!

I'll add a personal favorite, I usually use pears, but I'll sub apples fer ya!:

Salad of Spinach, Bleu Cheese and Apples with Warm Bacon Vinnaigrette

For the dressing:
1/2lb bacon, finely chopped
1/2 of a medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbls. Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbls applesauce
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon til it renders most of its fat. Drain off the fat, returning two tablespoons of it to the pan with the bacon. Add the onion and saute til translucent, add the garlic and continue cooking for a minute or so. Add the mustard, vinegar and applesauce, then crank up the heat. Allow the liquid to reduce by about a quarter. (High heat, maybe 3-4 minutes). Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly, before whisking in the oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Dress the salad JUST BEFORE SERVING, as warm dressings will wilt the greens very quickly.

Salad:
1 lb baby spinach, washed and dried
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and medium diced
1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1/2-3/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese

You can toast the walnuts by putting them in a large skillet, over medium heat, stirring or tossing constantly til they begin to brown lightly. Remove them from the heat and cool completely. Peel,core and dice the apples. Keep them in a bowl of water, with a squeeze of lemon til you are ready to assemble the salad.
In a large salad bowl, toss the spinach, walnuts and apples. Add the bleu cheese and about half of the dressing,..toss well. Taste for salt and pepper, add more if it needs.
Drizzle more of the dressing over the top of the salad and serve imediately.

MMM
Bacon makes everything good! :wink:

don't know a thing about Spinach , just that if I eat it I get very sick(allergic)

spinach, blue cheese & apples
ehbeth,

I dug the Wolfgang Puck recipe ouf of the askmama.com site - good site - has a little of everything.

lavadawn

spinach, blue cheese and apples
jerryr

This is getting better all time !!!!!!!

lavadawn