RECIPE in a FLASH: Fresh Corn Salad

Here in the New Jersey/New York area, we are just hitting our stride with sweet local corn. We go to the Paterson Farmer’s Market almost every Saturday or Sunday to buy corn from upstate NY farmers. Then we grill it in the husk and savor it’s crisp, delicious flavor “a la natural.” Meaning, this corn is so good, it needs no enhancements.

When we have leftovers, we use it in a salad to accompany a main dish. Last week, we made Ina Garten’s “Fresh Corn Salad” and used it as a side for a wonderful Pork Milanese. 

The recipe directs you to boil the corn, but we always grill our corn because we love the nutty flavor grilling imparts.  I liked the fact that it also calls for fresh basil, which is abundant in our gardens this time of year.

It’s quick, easy, and delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients

•   5 ears of corn, shucked

•   1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)

•   3 tablespoons cider vinegar

•   3 tablespoons good olive oil

•   1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

•   1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•   1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

 Print recipe here!

Walkin' in Memphis

Every city has a feel to it. A vibe. New York has the hustle and bustle of the "city that never sleeps." New Orleans has that Creole/Cajun laid back-have a good time feel. San Francisco is the cool "city by the bay." Memphis is the blues city; birthplace of Stax Records, Sun Records, home to Elvis, and BBQ. Every year, Memphis puts on a grand show called "Memphis in May," and a key ingredient to that festival is the World Championship BBQ Competition, an event that draws the BBQ elite from all over the world. And this year, we were among the throngs of visitors that descended on the town to feast on some of the best pork to ever be thrown on a smoker!


Over 250 teams compete for prizes in three different categories: whole hog, shoulder, and ribs. This is serious business. Alot of time and money goes into preparing the entry, elaborate tents are set up, teams stay up all night tending the pork; all for 15 minutes with the judges to determine who is the best at Memphis style BBQ. 

The average visitor to the competition (held over three days) does not get to taste the competitive entries, but we purchased VIP tickets which enabled us to get up close and personal with the teams and their pigs. Some of the best 'que we sampled came from teams with names like "Cool Smoke," "Natural Born Grillers," "Yazoo Delta Q," "Fatback Collective," and "The Shed BBQ." 


BBQ royalty was also on site in the form of Myron Mixon, whom some of you might know from his show on The Learning Channel (that's him in the photo below). Myron put out quite the spread for our VIP group - pulled pork with his own BBQ sauce, some of the best beans I've ever tried (made with peaches), and top-notch cole slaw. 

Since this was our first time in Memphis, we did a little sightseeing, too.  The city has a wonderful trolley system that will take you all around for a buck. It's a quaint throwback to a simpler time. Riding the trollies, we got a look at the swollen Mississippi River that has wreaked havoc up and down its shores.

Of course we didn't eat BBQ the whole time. We had a terrific dinner the first night at Sweet Grass, a neighborhood bistro offering low country cuisine. We sampled the Low Country Shrimp and Grits, overflowing with shrimp (natch), scallops, house made sausage, and Benton's country ham. 


Another fine dish was the Pork Osso Bucco, served with collard greens, smoked bacon shitake grits, bourbon peach butter, and mushroom jus (I just love what those Southerners can do with grits and bourbon!).

And for dessert, a twist on traditional Carrot Cake - more like a carrot cupcake, split in half with cream cheese frosting in the middle, a scoop of vanilla gelato on top, and a caramel swoosh across the plate!

We had breakfast more than once at the Blue Plate Cafe.  It was a nice walk from our hotel to their location on Court Street, and a good walk back to help us feel slightly less guilty about devouring the feather-light biscuits that come with almost every order.

Memphis is more than just blues and BBQ. It's also home to the St Jude Children's Hospital. Founded in 1960 by Danny Thomas, it is now a world-class research center and beacon of light to many families dealing with devastating diseases. No child is denied treatment due to the family's inability to pay. 

And no trip to Memphis would be complete with a visit to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. However, not being big Elvis fans, we opted for a drive-by, and a lovely photo of the landscaping visible from the street.

We also got a good look at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated. The hotel is now part of the Civil Rights Museum and still a powerful presence. A simple white wreath hangs on the balcony where he was standing when he was shot. The motel was used as low income housing until it was turned into a museum, and the last person to live there still goes there every day to protest the fact that the motel would have been put to better use as a home for the less fortunate, rather than a museum. She's out there every day on the corner, been there for 23 years now.

Going to the BBQ Competition was a blast! We ate BBQ almost three times a day (some days more!).  But what impressed me even more than the BBQ (cooked "low and slow"), was the camaraderie that the teams have for each other.  When the judging comes down to the final three in each category, all the other teams are present rooting on the finalists.  It's a true fellowship that these teams embrace.  And I can't wait to go back next year!

The Rain in Maine...

...falls mainly on our vacation. Apparently, the Jersey rain followed us north.But even though our vacation was a wash-out, and therefore, cut short, we still managed to get in some must-do eating. So, without further delay, here now, the promised follow-up to my Maine travelogue (apologies up front for the weird spacing -- a Blogspot quirk).

The first stop: a late dinner at Wo's BBQ on Verona Island. This was not on the original food itinerary, but after getting a much later departure out of NJ and 8 hours in the car, all we wanted to do was get something to eat and relax. Wo's popped up on the main thoroughfare from Rt 1 to Verona Island about two years ago. Just a man and his smoker by the side of the road. Of course, we had to investigate. It seems Wo relocated to Maine from Florida with a desire to bring real smoked pit BBQ to Maine. We skidded into their parking lot just as they were closing, but Mrs Wo took pity on us and offered us some dinner to go. Those pulled pork sandwiches, topped with cole slaw, and Wo's homemade, just-spicy-enough, chipotle BBQ sauce hit the spot. I was so delirious from the ride that I wolfed down the sandwich without taking any photos!

The next day we returned to our planned itinerary. Lunch at Crosby's Drive-in in Bucksport was first up. Crosby's is an old-fashio

ned kind of place (no web site): park your car, place your order at the window, wait for your number to be called, pick up your tray-o-food at the counter, and find a spot at a picnic table or eat in your car. Feast your eyes on the glorious

fried seafood in these photos. Fried seafood is a staple up and down the coast of Maine, and we have sampled it in many locales. But we keep coming back to Crosby's. The clam roll is my favorite - huge,

sweet clams with just

a light coating of breading to keep all those little clams together. Another big hit is the scallop roll - moist, delicious scallops, gently fried, not a hint of grease anywhere.

Later that same day, we drove north toward

beautiful Bar Harbor and had dinner at Red Sky in Southwest Harbor (view full menu here). Let me come right out with it: this restaurant and this meal rank in my top 5 dining experiences. They hit every note right. When I first read about Red Sky in the July issue of DownEast Magazine, I thought it sounded good, but I had no idea how good. Run by Elizabeth and James Lindquist (she of the front of the house and he manning the stoves), and a very capable staff, they welcome you into their "home," and make you feel like you never want to leave. The restaurant encompasses a beautiful, warm space - deep burgandy walls behind the bar, lovely muted pastels in the dining room. They have installed a wonderful "comfortable-ness" to this restaurant. The owners and staff exude a zen-like calm that pervades the building.

The night we dined there, James greeted us at the door and sat us. Not dressed in chef's whites, I had a pang of fear that he wasn't cooking that night and our meal might not be what I had hoped for. Not to worry, he apparently has trained his kitchen staff very well. James set about to offer us a cocktail or a sample of the Malbec he was pouring that evening and to tell us about the restaurant. Then he left us to relax, enjoy our wine, and peruse the menu.

A small basket of wonderful, crusty bread with a dish of perfectly softened butter appeared at our table delivered by our very pleasant waitress (you notice, I delightfully have no idea what her name is...) who returned to her home state after living in Austin, Texas for awhile. There was absolutely no rush on her part for us to order even though the restaurant was filling up fast for the evening.

We began our dinner with two outstanding appetizers: House-made Duck and Pork Sausage with a Cranberry Pear Relish and Spicy Whole-grain Beer Mustard, and the Sauteed Maine Shrimp over Sweet Potato Parsnip Latkes with Spiced Peanut Sauce (see photo of shrimp). Both dishes were delicious and we lapped up every morsel, but the stand-out ingredient was the mustard from the first dish. It was, by far, the most delicious, interesting mustard of its type we've ever had. When we raved about it and asked our server where it came from, she said it was house-made (I don't think there is much here not house-made).

With a start like that, I could hardly wait to see our entrees. We were not disappointed. Barry had a hard time deciding between the Baby Back Ribs slowly braised, then finished on the grill with a maple glaze, and the Grilled Round of Lamb marinated in Dijon, EVOO, Roasted Garlic and Rosemary, with a Cider Mint Reduction. Our server, based on her years in Austin, heartily recommended the ribs, but Barry ultimately decided to go with the lamb. Even though my Libra-like tendencies usually kick in at critical decision points, this evening I had no trouble making a choice. From my first pass

at the menu, I knew I'd be ordering the Seared Tuna with a "lively" Lime Ginger Glaze, Sesame Soba noodles and a Cucumber Salad. OMG - pay careful attention here, people: these two dishes were THE BEST of their kind either of us EVER had ANY

WHERE. I don't give in to superlatives easily, but it is so well deserved here.

The lamb was from Colorado where James lived for a time. The tenderness of the lamb combined with the unusual and delicious cider mint reductio

n was just outstanding. Now, about that tuna. I have enjoyed seared tuna many times, and at some of the best seafood houses around, but this was unlike anything else. First of all, the size of the portion was huge. Grilled perfectly rare, butter-soft, and seasoned just right, there was not a bite left when I was done. Not to mention, the soba noodles and cucumber salad. I was a little wary of the soba noodles as I ordered, given previous experiences with them, but these were incredible - delicious flavor and light, light, light.

Room for dessert? What do you think? You people know me so well. There were several good choices on the dessert list, but using my laser-like dessert-scoping abilities, I zeroed in on "James' Gingerbread." With a description like this: "served toasted with our own caramel sauce and cream cheese whipped cream spiked with apple brandy,"

how could I choose anything else? It had me at "hello!" I am not normally a big fan of caramel, but this was so soft and mellow; and when grouped with the other ingredients, I was hooked. I'm sure you've had gingerbread before -- the plebian versions served around the winter holidays. I've had my share of those, too. This just wasn't on a different plane, this was from another galaxy. This was GINGERbread - emphasis on the fabulous, biting ginger taste at the back of your throat. But wait, there's more. The whipped cream cheese? This was ethereal. I've been a baker for many years (and a cheesecake baker at that) but I've never had cream cheese like this. It was like little clouds of sweet air lightly landing on my plate.

There are very few restaurants (most of them are in Italy) where before the meal is over I'm exclaiming, "I can't wait to come back here." Red Sky has been added to the list. Scratch that: I must come back here. I'm already scheming to see if I can wrangle a birthday dinner here in October (ah, Fall in New England...).

When the waitress brought our check, she deftly planted a small to-go container on our table. What did it contain? Some of that terrific mustard...which I am hoarding for a virtual trip back to Red Sky to tide me over until I can return.

A Virtual Dine-Around

Greetings, Culinary Friends.

I've got so much to write about today I just don't know where to begin! This will sort of be like those old-fashioned "dine-arounds," but rather than restaurants, we'll do quick stops at a few different topics. How does that sound?

First up: Friday night, we went "down neck" with some friends. Now, for those of you not from north Jersey (and not familiar with local slang), "down neck" refers to the Ironbound section of Newark. This section was once populated mostly by Italian immigrants (including some of my ancestors), but in the early 70s, a large influx of Portuguese arrived. With their arrival, came small restaurants focusing on fresh seafood and traditional Portuguese food. I haven't been to this section of Newark (let alone almost any part of Newark other than the airport) in about 25 years. So it was good to see the Ironbound alive with restaurants and activity on a pleasant spring evening.

We ate at Seabra's Marisqueira. I felt like I left the US and was indeed in Portugal. From the beautiful sea-blue tiles that cover the walls, to the wonderful Portuguese bread, to the waiters serving us, it was an authentic experience. It was recommended that we try their house specialty, Pork with Clams (photo above). I've never had clams as sweet. All around, a delicious evening. BTW: I have no idea what "down neck" means. If anyone knows, please write in!

Next stop on our dine-around: Low-Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread. Tooling around the various blogs that I read, I happened upon this terrific recipe from Joy the Baker. I actually wasn't planning to bake anything Sunday night, but when I read this recipe (see below) I quickly remembered that I had three very ripe bananas sitting on my counter. And, it looked easy (remember my rule?). De-lish!

Next: so much for low-fat. Today, my friend Melissa brought me a surprise bag from her excellent Mother's day brunch adventure to Brooklyn. Melissa took her mother and grandmother to Sweet Melissa Patisserie. Melissa (the bakery one) is the award-winning author and baker. Melissa (my friend) shares my love of sweets and brought me an incredible, to-die-for, little bag of Chocolate-Orange Macaroons. If you live anywhere near Brooklyn, and have a penchant for fine baked goods, you must visit Sweet Melissa.

Rounding out our trip are two stories from the May 18th issue of Time Magazine. The first is a terrific article by the always amusing Joel Stein as he reviews a new book about eating locally and America's culinary heritage - a virtual Americana dine-around.

The second article has nothing to do with food, but you should read it anyway. It's titled "Do-It-Yourself Heroes," written by Nancy Gibbs, probably one of the most gifted writers out there. In this piece, Gibbs eloquently tells us that in "tough times, the virtues that inspire us are old-fashioned, unglamorous and hiding in plain sight." Among others, she calls out Captain Richard Phillips, Susan Boyle (she of Britain's Got Talent recent fame), and Barack Obama. Ordinary heroes doing the extraordinary.

I hope you enjoyed our little tour. Come back next week to see where our travels take us.

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread (Joy the Baker)

adapted from the Weight Watchers site

makes 1 loaf of 10 slices, 4 points per slice

- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-

- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-

- 1/2 tsp salt
-

- 1/2 tsp baking soda
-

- 1/4 tsp baking powder
-

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-

- 3 tsp canola or walnut oil
-

- 1 large egg, beaten
-

- 2 medium egg whites, beaten
-

- 3 large bananas, ripe
-

- 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.

In a medium sized bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.

Two for One

Greetings, Culinary Friends.

I must apologize for being "off-line" for the past couple of weeks. Between a head cold, some kind of stomach bug, and the usual daily chores that creep in, I was derelict in my blogging duties.  But I am back now.  And I feel so bad about being AWOL, that I am submitting today for your approval a restaurant review and a cookie recipe. Sort of like two weeks in one.

First, the cookies.  I am not a Martha Stewart watcher, but a couple of weeks ago I saw a promo for an upcoming show where she was raving about these cookies.  Being a cookie lover, my ears perked up. She was making "Cowboy Cookies;" she wasn't sure of the origin of these cookies but they have so many luscious ingredients in them that I was intrigued.  I had planned to make these last weekend and bring them to you, but what with the above-mentioned maladies, I didn't get to it. This recipe has some of my favorite things in it: oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut - what could be bad? They go together very quickly and there is really not alot of fuss. They come out on the other end light and crispy. For my taste, I would add a little more coconut and maybe some additional brown sugar - they could use a touch more sweetness. Other than that, these are very nice and they would make a great addition to a packed lunch or for a hike. Here is the recipe. The restaurant review follows below.

Cowboy Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

2 C all-purpose flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1/2 t baking powder

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 C granulated sugar

3/4 C light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

1-1/2 C old-fashioned oats

6 oz semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 C)

3 oz (3/4 C) pecan halves

1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment or nonstick baking mats; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.

Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until combined. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days).

Using a 1-1/2 inch ice cream scoop or a small spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart.

Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11-13 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks. Let cool. (Cookies can be stored up to 3 days).

Bay Avenue Trattoria, Highlands NJ

The Highlands area is what alot of us (New Jerseyans) might consider the beginning of the shore. Heading down the Parkway, it's not too far off of exit 117, right before Sandy Hook.  I love the Jersey shore, but in the summer (when it's at its most appealing) you can't get near it. So we're forced to go in the dead of winter. But going to places like Bay Avenue Trattoria make it much more pleasant.

A little store-front in a little waterfront town, this is a little gem. The owners used to run Joe & Maggie's in Long Branch.  I was never able to get to that restaurant but now that I've found this place, I will be back. Staffed by very efficient, friendly waitresses, our server read off about 6-7 terrific-sounding specials, in addition to the ample menu. I began with Crispy Artichokes a la Romano (see photo above) - crispy, light, fried hearts, on a bed of arugula, parmesan, and served with a lemon aioli. My friend thoroughly enjoyed a special appetizer (photo above) of beets and white asparagus, on a bed of greens with pistachio-crusted goat cheese. This goat cheese was one of the best I've ever tasted.

They offered several specials that sounded good until I read Pork Shank Osso Bucco on the menu. The only other place I've ever seen this is at Melissa Kelly's famed Primo in Rockland, Maine (one of my all-time favorite restaurants). Bay Avenue's dish is served with fennel sausage, white beans, and broccoli rabe. It was delicious and I've got half of it in the refrigerator here at home for a much-anticipated leftover. Another delicious entree was Hoisan and Ginger Glazed Duck Breast served with Crisp Duck Leg, Sweet Potato Puree, and Citrus Mango Relish. Seared Day Boat Sea Scallops with Forest Mushrooms, Crisp Bacon, Leeks and Brown Butter Sauce were exactly what you would want in a shore dinner - plump, tender, sweet scallops.

Only one dessert was sampled but it was terrific: Polenta Citrus Pound Cake with a Lemon Glaze served with a Blackberry Coulis and Lemon Sorbetto - delicious (no photo - it went too quick!). It reminded me of a recipe sitting here on my desk that I've been thinking about making: Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Cake.

If you are in the area, put this restaurant on your list. You'll need a reservation -- we could only get a table at 5:30 - on a 20 degree night in mid-January. The economy may be lagging, but at least there are some bright spots.

One more thing.  Not to get all political on you, but I have been captivated by the inaugural festivities happening this weekend. Right before sitting down to write this post, I watched the "We Are One" inaugural celebration from the Lincoln Memorial in DC. Not that I would expect anything less, but this had to be one of the most stirring, inspiring, and well-produced events I have ever seen (and I was very happy to see New Jersey well represented). From Bruce Springsteen's solemn "The Rising" that opened the concert, to the duet by Betty LeVettye and Jon Bon Jovi of "Change is Gonna Come," to dramatic readings by some of our great American actors, to the final, unbelievable, rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung with incredible grace by Beyonce, and then backed up by the entire star-studded cast, this was an amazing two hours.  Oh, and let me not forget the song tribute (In the Name of Love) to Martin Luther King, Jr by none other than U2, who said they were incredibly honored as "4 boys from Dublin" to be part of this. If you get the chance, catch a repeat on HBO. If you are a music lover, you won't be disappointed. As an American, you'll be proud. 

Bringing this all back around to food (because it is all about the food), there is a great article in today's Washington Post on some of the Obamas' favorite Chicago restaurants and where the Obamas might want to eat in DC once they settle in. Two of their favorite Chicago spots -  Spiaggia and Topolobampo - a Rick Bayless restaurant - are definitely on my short list for when I get to Chicago. I think it's pretty safe to say that Barack and Michelle like good food and they like to dine out, and that's gotta be music to the ears of DC restauranteurs. 

Have a good week.

 

Pork Fat Rules!

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a delicious New Year's Eve and Day.

Astute readers will recall that my traditional New Year's Day menu calls for Hoppin' John (the recipe was posted in my December 26 blog). And true to my word, I did whip up a batch today.  I was going to make this yesterday (New Year's Eve) just in case I wasn't "up to the challenge" today, but our New Year's Eve plans got re-routed due to the weather and I didn't get to it yesterday.  So after a lazy start this morning I set about to get this on the stove. 

Non-meat eating readers should skip the next paragraph and jump to the salad...although the title of this post was probably a pretty good indication of what was to come.

Yesterday during the snow storm, we ran around gathering up the remaining ingredients - some of which you see pictured above. There are a couple of wonderful butchers in the area (Haledon Pork Store and Stefan and Son Butcher in Clifton) and that's where we headed to get the andouille and smoked ham.  In addition, we bought a small piece of smoked, cooked bacon on the bone to saute the onions and celery in. These meats were incredible and really gave the Hoppin' John a wonderful, smoky flavor.  The house smelled di-vine!  There really is nothing like the aroma of sizzling pork fat cooking on the stove.

All we needed to go along with the Hoppin' John was a nice green salad.  I had some lovely Bosc pears that were just perfect for a pear, pecan salad-type thing. I found a great recipe (see below) on the web. I didn't have the goat or blue cheese called for and I wasn't running out for it in 17 degree weather. It also called for endive - wasn't going out for that either. The salad was great without either of these items.

We served a hearty Zinfandel with dinner (7 Deadly Zins), some delicious Polish rye bread from Stefan and Sons, and for dessert an Almond Banana Bread (thanks to Joy the Baker (www.joythebaker.com). When I was rooting around yesterday for a recipe, I really wasn't thinking of needing a dessert for New Year's Day. I just wanted to use up the four very ripe bananas on my counter (rather than freezing them, which is what I usually do with our over-ripe bananas). Love this recipe - a) no mixer required, b) it uses melted butter so you don't need to wait for the butter to come to room temp, c) it calls for bourbon. Need I say more?  Recipe below.

May 2009 bring you health, happiness, and fabulous food!

Pear, Endive, and Caramelized Pecan Salad

2 endives

a nice handful of green salad medley, such as mesclun or mache (I used Bibb)

2 red Anjou pears

3.5 oz fresh goat cheese or blue cheese

1/3 C pecan halves

2 TB butter

dash of cinnamon

1 TB honey

Vinaigrette

1.5 TB balsamic vinegar

3 TB walnut oil

salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 385F.  Take a non-stick frying pan and melt 1 TB butter. Coat the nuts in it and add 1 TB honey. Continue to coat for 1-2 minutes. Place pecans on a baking sheet and cook for about 10 minutes in oven, checking to be sure they don't turn too dark. Place on a cooling rack.

Wash, peel, core the pears. Cut in quarters and then cut once more in half. Coat them gently in cinnamon. Heat 1 TB butter in non-stick frying pan and cook the pears over high heat for 1-2 minutes each side. Remove and keep on the side.

Wash the endive and salad greens. Dice the cheese. Remove the cone base of the endive and their yellow leafy parts. Cut them in long sticks. Place the endive sticks and salad in a bowl and season with the vinaigrette. Toss well. 

Take individual plates and assemble your salad. Lay the salad greens on the plate, then add a few slices of pear, the pecans, and cheese. Serve immediately.

Almond Banana Bread

3-4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 C melted butter (or in a 1/3 measuring cup measure out half almond oil and half melted butter)

3/4 C brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 t vanilla

1 TB bourbon

1 t baking soda

pinch of salt

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

1-1/2 C flour

3/4 C coarsely chopped almonds

No mixer required. Preheat oven to 350F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter (and almond oil if using it) into the smashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix. Add the almonds and stir until just incorporated. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.