Recipes - Good Food we can all agree on

Belgian endive or other crunchy salad green (Romaine works well)
a perfectly ripe pear or a crisp, not-too-sweet apple
toasted walnuts
a small amount of really good blue cheese, at room temperature
Tellicherry pepperaged sherry vinegar
a flavorful extra virgin olive oil (I like a not-too-strong Tuscan for this) or roasted walnut oil, or a combination
Dijon mustard (please use a real one like Fallot or Maille)
one shallot, minced
sea saltFor the dressing (this makes enough for two):In your favorite salad bowl, put the minced shallot and a scant tablespoon of sherry vinegar and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Add about a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of Dijon, a generous pinch of sea salt and whisk with a fork until salt is dissolved and all is combined. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of oil while whisking. The mustard will help it to emulsify. Taste and adjust the tartness and the salt to your taste, but be very careful with the sherry vinegar, as it is powerful stuff.For the salad:Cut the pear or apple into quarters, remove the core, then slice thinly. As you slice, toss the fruit into the bowl with the dressing gently. This will keep it from getting brown. It is not important that it gets coated completely. If the pear is too fragile for tossing, just set it aside.Trim the endive and cut it crossways into 1/2" pieces. One large or two small per person for a generous side salad portion. Put the endive in the bowl on top of the fruit slices.When ready to serve, toss the salad with the dressing, making sure everything is coated. Grind on a generous amount of Telicherry pepper and toss once more. Add the pear on top at this point if you haven't already. Top with toasted walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.Devour immediately!

If you do the frying in a cast iron skillet, you can put the whole shebang in the oven instead of transferring to another baking dish, thus eliminating a dish to wash.I'm all about the lazy when it comes to cleanup.

quote:

---

What on Earth can I do with a basalmic apple/onion mixture?

---

Sounds like a yummy, chutney-like sandwich condiment to me.Try it with turkey, chicken, meatloaf (especially if it is made with lamb), and a grilled cheddar cheese would be fantastic. Open-faced, under the broiler.Would also be nice, I think alongside stronger fish like salmon and bluefish, or conversely with crispy breaded and fried fish.