The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
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Food and Life

Fall Fest 2010: Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing

October 5, 2010 · Narrative

Heaven on a Plate-1

When I saw that this week’s Fall Fest topic was calling for Fall Salads, I knew exactly the recipe to contribute.  This Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing has been in our Fall rotation (and really, all the other seasons too), for a few years, and the first time I heard about it was when someone on the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards dubbed it “heaven on a plate.”  He was not too far off!  I mentioned it to a friend of mine today and was promptly met by a chorus of “ewwws,” along with a very polite no thank you.  He doesn’t know what he’s missing.

The maple flavor definitely screams Fall, and with the addition of crumbled bleu cheese and some candied walnuts, it’s a wonderful salad that you can throw together in minutes, and I bet you have the dressing ingredients right in your cupboard now.  With dressing recipes like these, you can just skip that bottled salad dressing aisle in your local grocery store.  It’s pretty enough to use when you’re entertaining company, and simple enough that you can have it on a crazy sports-scheduled weeknight when time is short.

Perfect Fall Flavors-1

This Honey-Cinnamon Vinaigrette recipe from last week would be another wonderful Fall salad alternative.  Need more Fall Salad flavor options?  Go on and take a look at what my fellow Fall Festers are serving up tonight (more to come tomorrow):

  • Gilded Fork: Red & White Salad with Candied Pecans, Figs & Chevre
  • Margaret at A Way to Garden: Why Beets Make the Salad
  • Caroline at the Wright Recipes: Salt-Roasted Beet and Potato Salad
  • Michelle at Cooking Channel: 5 Fab Fall Salads
  • Liz at Healthy Eats: 5 Favorite Fall Salads
  • Alison at Food2: Fall Salads, Deconstructed
  • Alana at Eating From the Ground Up: Kale Salad
  • Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Arugula, Bacon and Fig Salad
  • Caron at San Diego Foodstuff: Wheat Berry Salad with Apples and Pomegranate Seeds
  • Nicole at Pinch My Salt: Spinach Pomegranate Salad with Apples and Walnuts
  • Paige at The Sister Project: Chopped Salad That’s Also an Hors D’Ouevre

Project 365
October 5, 2010, Photo #173

Good Times-1

With six kids crowded around the dining room table tonight, I just may need to lug the leaf and extra chairs up from the basement. The salad? Kid-approved. Even by the littlest at the head of the table.

A year ago today… the end of Gourmet magazine.
Two years ago today … glittered skulls and a menu plan (those were the days!).
Three years ago today … an OMG recipe from The Neighbor Husband.
Four years ago today … comfort food at its best.
Five years ago today …a picture of Nick and The Girlfriend at our first dinner together, and a bittersweet memory.

Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray.

1 10 oz. package of baby spinach
1/3 lb bleu cheese, crumbled
6 oz. walnut halves, toasted if desired (I used candied walnuts)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1-1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Place spinach on a large platter. Top with bleu cheese and walnuts. Warm maple syrup in a small saucepan. (I nuked in microwave) Pour vinegar into a small bowl. Whisk oil into the vinegar in a slow stream. Whisk maple syrup into dressing in a slow stream. Pour dressing over the salad platter and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Bleu Cheese and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing, Fall Fest 2010, fall salads, Rachael Ray

Comments

  1. Joanne says

    October 6, 2010 at 6:16 am

    How could anyone say EWW to something like a maple infused dressing? To me that sounds like heaven on a plate. I bet it would be great with some winter squash and chickpeas for lunch!

    Reply
  2. Julie Church says

    October 6, 2010 at 7:16 am

    Here is one of my favorite fall salads.

    Apple-Pear Salad

    Ingredients:

    1 (16 oz.) package Romaine lettuce, washed and broken into bite-size pieces
    1 (6 oz.) block Swiss cheese, grated
    1 C cashews
    1/2 C sweetened dried cranberries
    1 large apple, chopped and rinsed in lemon water to keep from turning brown
    1 large pear, chopped and rinsed in lemon water to keep from turning brown
    Poppy Seed Salad Dressing (recipe below)

    Directions:

    Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl. Yield: 6-8 servings.

    Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

    Ingredients:

    1/2 C sugar
    2/3 C oil
    1/4 C vinegar
    1 t mustard
    1 t salt
    1-2 t poppy seeds

    Directions:

    Place in jar and shake to combine.

    Reply
  3. Kris #40 says

    October 6, 2010 at 8:56 am

    Looks yummy! Add some grilled chicken and it’s the perfect meal!

    My favorite lately has been mixed greens with feta, dried cranberries, diced apple and candied walnuts or pecans and the bottled Panera Balsamic dressing.

    Reply
  4. sandhya@vegetarianirvana says

    October 6, 2010 at 10:06 am

    As a vegetarian that could be my complete meal, maybe add something carby like beets or potatoes and I would be done.
    Some salad toppings are good to have in stand by mode to dress up any salad or even as munchies! Please check out here at
    http://vegetarianirvana.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/homemade-salad-toppings/

    Reply
  5. Ranjani says

    October 6, 2010 at 10:19 am

    This salad looks great! I bet that maple dressing is delicious, I’ll definitely have to try it.
    This week I made a beet and apple salad:
    http://4seasonsoffood.blogspot.com/2010/10/beet-and-apple-salad.html

    Reply
  6. Purple Cook says

    October 6, 2010 at 10:36 am

    For Fall Fest:
    This simple Arugula and Mustard Salad captures the taste of fall.
    http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/10/arugula-mustard-salad.html

    Reply
  7. Kathleen says

    October 6, 2010 at 11:26 am

    This salad is right for me, I think you may enjoy mine too. My fallfest salad contribution is a favorite I first had in Paris.
    http://dejavucook.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/monsieur‘s-salade-of-carrots-walnuts-and-bleu-cheese

    Reply
  8. Sarah Caron says

    October 6, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    His loss! I will take his portion. That sounds (and looks) like something I could eat daily for weeks and weeks.

    Reply
  9. Rachel says

    October 6, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    Yum! I all made a salad for Fall Fest that has walnuts and blue cheese… well, it called for Stilton but I used Danish Blue instead.

    Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton
    http://rachelsbite.blogspot.com/2010/10/fall-salad-with-apples-walnuts-and.html

    Reply
  10. Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says

    October 7, 2010 at 11:35 am

    I love blue cheese and walnuts. Yum. My post for Fall Fest is for http://www.ingredientsinc.net/2010/10/fall-fest-fall-salad-black-eyed-pea-salad-over-arugula/

    Reply
  11. Ramona says

    October 7, 2010 at 1:18 pm

    It sounds good except for the blue cheese. Substitute it out for me!

    Reply
  12. Briana says

    October 12, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    Please try out my harvest orzo salad for a healthy and hearty fall entertaining dish: http://kitchenjourneys.com/2010/10/12/harvest-orzo-salad/

    Reply

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The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛

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The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨

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