Wednesday, September 23, 2009

It's now officially autumn....


YOO-HOO! It’s officially autumn and that makes me want to do somersaults. Fall is such a welcome change from the heat of summer in the San Joaquin Valley. Even though the weather here today is still in the triple digits, the calendar says it’s fall and I’m going with it.

I’m ready to enjoy one of the foods of autumn….apples. Not only do I love the flavor of apples, I love them because they are so versatile. They can be eaten fresh, cooked, baked, canned, pureed, and fermented. Apples can even be used to make wine!

According to Wikipedia, popular Christian tradition holds that the forbidden fruit Eve tempted Adam with was an apple, but in reality it was really never named in the Bible. As a result of the Adam and Eve story, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, evil, and the fall of man into sin.

Does that mean eating apples is a sin? I certainly hope not. But even if it is, I’m willing to take my chances. Besides… they can’t be all bad if they do such a great job of keeping the doctor away.


This recipe is a twist on the traditional Waldorf salad, and was created by my trusty friend, connoisseur and follower, Cyren. It adds Bleu cheese to the salad and creates a phenomenal pairing of flavors. Apples don’t get much better than this… except when baked with cinnamon, sugar, and a crust.

WALDORF BLEU SALAD

-1 large crisp red apple ( Fuji,Gala ) cut into bite-size pieces
-1 large crisp green apple (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious) cut into
bite-size pieces
-Juice of one fresh lemon
-20-25 seedless red flame grapes, halved
-2 ribs celery, finely diced
-2-3 strips cooked, cooled, crumbled bacon
-1/4 cup Bleu cheese dressing of your choice
-½ cup grossly chopped walnuts or pecans
-3 Tbsp. sugar
-Crumbled Bleu cheese

Place bite-size pieces of red and green apple in medium bowl and squeeze juice of lemon over the top. Stir to coat apples with juice. This will keep apples from turning brown. Add celery, grapes and bacon to apples, and stir to combine. Add Bleu cheese dressing and refrigerate.

Add 3 Tbsp. sugar and chopped nuts in dry non-stick frying pan. Stir constantly over medium heat until sugar caramelizes and sugar sticks to nuts. Remove from heat and cool.

When ready to serve, garnish with sugared nuts and crumbled Bleu cheese.

Serves 4

Pair this salad with a crisp Sauvingnon Blanc.

3 comments:

  1. This looks beautiful on the purple cabbage! I had to whip another batch last night, as I was still craving the blending of all these delishious flavors. I'm so glad you liked this recipe and included it in your blog. What's great is how easy it is...gotta love that part, and the Sauvingnon Blanc!

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  2. This looks like a scumptious fall meal. Thanks for the recipe.

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  3. It's autumn and now it 's going to be pouring down rain this next week. We went from 104 degrees, to a little bit of autumn, and now bad weather. I want my autumn back.

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