This pear gorgonzola and candied pecan salad, or some variation of it, has been around for ages. Usually it’s made with walnuts, but I swapped them out for pecans. Normally, the pears aren’t grilled, but I find that little touch of smokiness from the grill gives the pears great flavor and I’m all about tons of flavor. Why eat something boring when you can eat something super tasty?
Grilled Pear Gorgonzola and Candied Pecan Salad is one of our “go-to” weekend lunches. Sweet, salty, candied pecans are the perfect compliment to sharp gorgonzola. This salad is perfect anytime of the year, but we find ourselves eating a copious amount of salads when the signs are spring are all around us.
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Gluten-Free Granola Breakfast Cookies
Breakfast cookies are a thing, I swear. And they’re delicious. You don’t have to feel guilty about eating a cookie for breakfast. These have no refined sugar, they are gluten-free and one breakfast cookie will keep you going.
Whether you grab one for a breakfast on the go, pack one for a hike or bike ride or need a mid-morning snack, these healthy cookies are the perfect option.
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Oven Roasted Potatoes, Herbed Pecans and Honey Mustard Pecan Dressing
This post for Oven Roasted Potatoes with Herbed Pecans is sponsored by Idaho® Potatoes. As always, all opinions, recipe and photos are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that support Pook’s Pantry.
Idaho® Potatoes roasted until crispy then tossed with toasted, herbed pecans and a honey mustard pecan dressing. These potatoes are packed with flavor and just a little spice. This is a delicious side dish that would go beautifully with your holiday dinner.
Oven roasted potatoes are an everyday side, but add toasted pecans tossed with herbs and a little spice and drizzle a honey mustard pecan dressing over it and now you’ve got a new holiday side dish. Taking something ordinary and jazzing it up for a holiday meal is a great way to serve a familiar ingredient while making it a little special. If you have picky eaters, or family members that are reluctant to try new foods, this is one way to please (mostly) everyone. Mixing in purple and red potatoes makes it more pleasing to the eye and the punch of green from the herbs brightens it up, making it more visually appealing.
Food Friends
Greetings, All! I am away in Idaho this week with my friends from Idaho Potato! In lieu of posting a new recipe, I wanted to share some awesome recipes from my super talented friends.
I do hope you will check out their recipes, as I happen to think they are pretty great! Besides being amazing in the kitchen, they are good humans and I am lucky to know them. I can’t wait to tell you all about Idaho and the fun things happening there right now! I’m updating and sharing pics on social media every day, so if you want to see what we’re up to, check out my Facebook page, Instagram account or Twitter feed for the latest shenanigans.
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Fruit and Nut Chocolate Bark
I try, I mean I REALLY try to eat a healthy diet about 90% of the time… but, there is this issue I have with sweets. I don’t limit myself to candy a few times a year like most reasonable people… I limit myself to chocolate a few times a month (ok, a WEEK!), it’s a problem but honestly I don’t care. Chocolate Bark is one of the easiest treats to pull together and this one has fruit and nuts in it, so it’s practically health food.
We have all seen the peppermint bark for sale around the holidays. Why limit yourself to peppermint and why limit this deliciousness to only the holidays? While we’re on the topic, why pay $20 a pound when you can double that amount for half the price?
This treat is perfect for those times when you want a little something (which for me, is always), but you just don’t feel like turning on the oven, or getting the big stand mixer out, or cleaning up a huge mess (does anyone ever want to clean up a big mess?!). During the summer months, I’m especially inclined to make something that allows me to have my sweet fix without having a 400 degree box of heat cranking in the kitchen.
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Shrimp & Slaw
Recently I posed a question on the Facebook page asking what people wanted to see and one of the requests was “a meal that can be made in about 30 minutes, when I get home from work”. I get it, life is crazy busy and the last thing most people (most sane people) want to do after coming home from work is stand in front of a stove for any length of time.
This is a meal I made for a client of mine and it took well under 30 minutes to make, she loved it and requested I make it again. I probably need to get in the habit of sharing what I cook for clients…
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Salchichoc (Chocolate “Sausage”)
Disclaimer: I received a pdf version of “Charcuteria: The Soul of Spain” . Any links to book are affiliate links.
Chocolate Sausage? No, it isn’t a recipe for actual sausage made with chocolate, it is a dessert fashioned to look like sausage and it is made out of chocolate. Kinda brilliant… but then again, I do love Spain, Spaniards and their whimsical sense of humor 🙂
Charcutería: The Soul of Spain
is an in depth look at Spanish charcuterie, unfortunately most of which is completely unavailable to us here in the United States. This book covers every facet of it and is peppered with anecdotes from the author’s experiences in Spain, which also make it a fun and engaging read as it connects to recipes in the book. The writing and explanations are descriptive and never feel like the author is talking “at” you instead of “with” you.
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