Arugula Salad with Grapes, Gorgonzola, and Apricot-Fennel Dressing

This is a recipe my mom procured from a friend after being served this salad, an excellent indicator of the dish's credibility (and I might add these particular friends who have great taste in most things). Recipe unseen, she had to have it.

Fortunately, our friends were more than willing to share this gem of a recipe and gave us a copy from their Cook's Illustrated Cookbook.

It's an easy recipe to put together and has wonderful flavors. I love the apricot jam and fennel, I think these ingredients are less intuitively matched with the other flavors here, which is why this is somewhat of a show-stopper salad. The kind of salad someone will ask, "What is in this?!" And my mom did.

The dressing is key to the flavors of this salad. Combine the following:

• 4 teaspoons apricot jam
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper 

The Dressing

Next, chop the fennel fronds (leafy greens) to amount to about a 1/2 cup.

If you have a fennel bulb, dice it into small pieces and include them as well.

Add the fennel to the dressing 15-20 minutes before serving, you don't want it to wilt too much.

Finally, combine dressing and fennel with:

• 1 cup red seedless grapes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
• 3/4 cup gorgonzola or blue cheese
• 8 cups arugula

Grapes, Dressing, Pecans, and Fennel from Mom's garden

Toss and serve. You may not think it looks like much but your tastebuds will beg to differ...this salad possesses an elegance of simplicity.

Red Grapes, Parsley, Pecans, and Quinoa Salad

Another quinoa recipe! I promise the last for a while but these colder days make me want grain, so I decided to look for a new way to prepare quinoa. This recipe is inspired by several others, as well as ingredients I have on hand.

1. Cook quinoa on high heat until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water (boil water and quinoa together in 2:1 water to quinoa ratio)
2. Take off heat, let cool or refrigerate to allow quinoa to cool.
3. Combine the following with 1 bowlful/plateful of quinoa:

• half a juice of lemon
• 1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar (white or red wine vinegar would work as well)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 1/2 cup minced parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (almonds or other nuts would work also, adapt to your taste)
• 1 cup red grapes, quartered
• salt and pepper to taste
• goat cheese or feta cheese optional

I'm totally happy with discovering this new combination of yummy flavors. The acidity and bitterness of the lemon juice and vinegar combine nicely with the sweet grapes, and contrasts the hearty quinoa and pecans. I would imagine carrots could also be a nice addition to this recipe.