Apple and Fennel Salad with Salted Caramel Pecans

When I made this recipe recently, I actually wasn't so sure I wanted to try it.  Caramelized pecans and apples seem so autumn-centric to me...and I'm in full-time spring mode lately.  However, when spring comes, I tend to eat much lighter, skipping the "entrée" and eating the salads and side dishes as main meals.  So this recipe actually began to seem just right for how I like to eat in April.

I found this salad in a Donna Hay magazine quite some time ago; after scouring her website, I can't find the issue number anywhere so, alas, no direct link - I've looked all over the web.  But I didn't change anything - the recipe I'm sharing here is hers exactly.

Lastly, apologies for the photos, which were taken with my phone.  That said...not bad for my phone, right?

Apple and Fennel Salad with Salted Caramel Pecans
Recipe from Donna Hay

Serves 6

12 slices prosciutto
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup superfine (caster) sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes (kosher salt is fine too)
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 small red apples, thinly sliced
4 bulbs baby fennel, thinly sliced (regular fennel is fine too; just use 2 large bulbs)

Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Place the prosciutto on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with maple syrup, and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Set aside.

Place the pecans, sugar, water, and salt in a bowl and toss to coat.  Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Add the pecans and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally or until caramelized.  Set aside to cool.

Place the vinegar and oil in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Place the apple, fennel, prosciutto, and pecans in a bowl, drizzle with the dressing, and toss to coat.

NOTE: For presentation, I layered it.  Stack the apple slices, prosciutto, fennel; start again.  Add pecans on top and around plate as garnish.  I also saved some of the fennel fronds, chopped them, and sprinkled them on top last.  Finish with a fresh grind of pepper.

Eat, drink, and embrace lightness.

Golden Globes Party

I was beside myself to watch the Golden Globes this year; somehow, I've missed it the last couple years thanks to travel and work.  And even better that Mr. and Mrs. Soul Twin were going to be here to watch with us!

The first order of business, of course, was to decide our menu and, since Soul Twin had yet to read through Ina Garten's new one BAREFOOT CONTESSA: HOW EASY IS THAT?, it seemed we chose most of our recipes from there.  Here was the menu:

• Chipotle and Rosemary Nuts
• Baked Fontina 
• Fennel Slaw with Pistachio Pesto
• Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
• Celery Salad with Parmesan

We also got the ingredients for Ina's Fresh Salmon Tartare but, unfortunately, in all the hubbub we forget to even make it.  Which worked out fine because BELIEVE ME this was more than enough food.  The photos:

We ate on our new plates that my mom got me for Christmas: faaaabulous NYC dishes with all the important monuments around the rim.  And we poured lots of bubbly:

The awards were a hoot, as usual, and...I have to confess...I adored Ricky Gervais.  I mean, if you can't laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at?  And I hear that Anne Hathaway and James Franco have been tapped to host the Oscars?  Wha....huh?!  

And the fashion...oh, the fashion!  My initial favorite was this one (all Golden Globe photos from one of my favorite blogs, Go Fug Yourself):

 But then she showed off her shoes and I about died:

Um, anyone agree that they DON'T MATCH?!  Soul Twin and I had a few choice words to say when Olivia Wilde showed these things off.  So then my fave was this:

On a red carpet doused in mourning black, I found Claire Danes to be refreshing, age-appropriate, and well-fitted.  Completely classy.

Eat, drink, and throw themed dinner parties.

The One Where I Re-Create Fig and Olive's Fennel Dish

My soul twin/BFF/partner-in-crime came for a visit last weekend, and we had a proper night out on the town: a 3 ½ hour dinner at Fig and Olive, drinks at The Campbell Apartment, dancing down the street and curtsying to passers-by after one cocktail too many, the Chrysler building (or “the chandelier building”, as my BFF calls it) twinkling in the background. Completely fabulous.

At Fig and Olive, we had the Grilled Fennel with Lemon and Rosemary and I truly don’t know if I can find the words to express its wondrousness. The texture was perfection – cooked through but still resisted a bit when we bit into it. The flavors were complex – the anise, obviously, was predominant, as was the rosemary, but there was something else in there. What was that flavor? What is that? And the fennel was sliced super thin with that pale cream color. Where were the grill marks? It drove us to the brink, trying to figure out how it was done. We asked our adorable server, but he said, “Maybe the chef grilled it whole and peeled away the outer layers.” Hmm…perhaps. But then how did it get sliced so thin once it was cooked? Our server also told us there was “a touch” of grapefruit juice. Hmm…really? Intriguing… Analysis aside, there were gorgeous moments when my BFF and I would take a bite, close our eyes, and sit in orgasmic silence. Wow.

Naturally, I had to try to make it on my own. Last night, I made Nigella Lawson’s Potato and Mushroom Gratin. It was so simple and so delicious, especially since I was able to improv a bit with the ingredients I had on hand: I used red new potatoes instead of the “baking potatoes” Nigella calls for. I also couldn’t find any cremini mushrooms so I used baby portabellas instead. Now the dish was fine on its own, but it could be fabu with bacon. Or maybe even a blue cheese crumbled on top before serving. I dolloped some crème fraîche on it, and that was perfection.

So the fennel…well, I put the whole bulb in a baking dish, rubbed it with oil, salt, and pepper, and baked it at 425 for 40 minutes. I had to do it for only 40 minutes because that’s how much time I had left for the gratin. When the fennel came out, I peeled the outer layers away and did a pretty decent job of slicing it thinly. But it definitely was underdone. So I sauteed it in olive oil and lemon juice for about 20 minutes (while my gratin just sat in a 200° oven. Unfortunately, that still wasn’t enough time, and it was definitely too crunchy still. And I forgot the rosemary. So I’m chalking this up as a failure, even though I still enjoyed it and ate every bite. I consider it a failure because I didn’t have the outcome I was trying for. It’s back to the drawing board.

I just wish I was somebody in the food world, and I could go into the kitchen at Fig and Olive and find out how it’s done! Anyone know anyone who can get me in?