Gorgonzola, pecan and cranberry salad with chicken

This is my favorite salad of the moment.  I had it at my sister-in-law's house and it was so good I went right home and made it the next day.  You can make it to your own liking, use arugula, spinach or spring greens.  You can also change the dressing to suit your tastes, I'm going to give you a recipe for a nice and sweet, easy to make honey mustard vinaigrette (it's not heavy on the mustard and isn't your typical honey mustard dressing).

 Basically you just put some salad greens in your bowl, sprinkle in some pecans*, some gorgonzola cheese, and some craisins.  Then slice some cooked chicken on the top, pour on some dressing and have a great lunch or dinner salad.

Mmmm.. .  gorgonzola, it's a beautiful thing

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

3 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

2 teaspoons honey

6 Tbsp. olive oil

Throw all the ingredients in a jar, screw the lid on and shake. . . makes enough for a few salads.

*toasted pecans would be even better - you can toast them in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes checking frequently, you'll be able to smell them when they're done. You can keep them in a sealed container for quite a while

Cranberry Apple Walnut Muffins

There is a restaurant in Dorchester Massachusetts that serves the best muffins.  It's run by the Twelve Tribes (a religious group) and the inside is all carved out of wood, there is a fireplace, and dim lights and it's so cozy.  Everything they make is made with spelt flour and no refined sugar, but it's all delicious.  Service is slow though and it's sometimes torturous to go with kids, so I don't go very often.  I've been wanting to make a cranberry apple walnut muffin that was similar to theirs for 10 years.  Then, last year they stopped making that flavor - and I haven't had one since. 

Well I have finally found a recipe that is similar, and delicious.  It's partially whole wheat, and there is refined sugar, but I was more interested in flavor than exact replication.  The muffin isn't too sweet, but the apples are nice and sweet and the cranberries are deliciously tart.  I found this recipe (and altered it slightly) in The Family Baker by Susan G. Purdy (which is on sale for 5.98 at jessica's biscuit - wow! No, I don't work for them, but I do love them).  This book has a few other recipes you'll probably be hearing about. . . a nice lemonade cheesecake and a Swedish butter cake among others.

washing the cranberries. . . they float

peeled and chopped apples (I used a Jonagold)

this microplane grater zests an orange beautifully

Cranberry Apple Walnut Muffins

1 large egg

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 stick melted butter

grated zest of one orange

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup whole fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 peeled and chopped apple (about 1/4 inch cubes)

1. Preheat Oven to 400, spray a 12 cup muffin tin with baking spray.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together, toss in the walnuts and cranberries
3. Mix the wet ingredients and the orange zest together and fold into the dry ingredients. . . it will be a stiff batter.
4. Scoop into muffin tins, fill them right up, you can top them with brown sugar if you want, I didn't want them too sweet.
5. Bake them for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes then take out and place on the rack. 

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