Wegetarian Wednesday

Three Course Romantic Meal - Part One

So, the Hallmark Holiday is upon us. Are you going to attempt a romantic meal? Going out? While we don’t make much of an issue of Valentine’s Day in my house, I always like an excuse to make some fancy food. One of our favorite family meals is a 3-Course stunner worthy of Mom’s fancy china:

Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Salmon Frites with Grilled Belgian Endive

Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting

Today, I’ll share the recipe for my favorite vinaigrette. Friday, I’ll be posting my chocolate cake recipe. To make a delicious Salmon Frites, follow this simple recipe from the Food Network. I do oven baked fries, this version is fantastic!

I have an addiction to crunchy slaw and worked for a very long time to come up with a really great Asian Slaw recipe. After trying four to five different vinaigrettes and finding each one lacking a little “je ne sais quois,” I decided to make my own. The result was a dressing that I could use for almost anything, including a fresh Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad.

Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 10 minutes

Wasabi Vinaigrette

1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

3 TBSP Sesame Oil

1 TBSP Soy Sauce

1 TSBSP Lemon Juice

2 tsp Wasabi Powder

1 tsp Sugar

Pinch of Salt & Pepper

Combine VINEGAR, SOY SAUCE, LEMON JUICE, WASABI, SUGAR, SALT, and PEPPER. Slowly whisk in OLIVE OIL and SESAME OIL. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. I always taste my dressing my dipping a piece of lettuce or cucumber into it. This way, you can see how it's going to taste when used on your salad, not just on its own where it might be too tart or bitter.

Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad

1/2 head of Red Leaf Lettuce

Large handful of Baby Greens

12 slices of English Cucumber

12 Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 Cup of Bleu Cheese – Crumbled

1 Pear – Cored & Sliced

Assemble each salad on a small plate, garnish with pear slices and bleu cheese. I usually allow each person to add their own dressing instead of tossing the lettuce.

Come back on Friday to hear all about my fabulous Mocha Cake and what inspired me to create the recipe!

Thanks for reading,

Sara