Cookbook #60 Martha Stewart Living Christmas

Martha, Martha, Martha.  Conspicuous consumption.  Over the top, completely unachievable perfectionism.  A compulsion to correct every guest on her show.  And still, I can't turn the channel or pass on the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.  She's just so clever when it comes to the domestic arts.

Her Martha Stewart Living Christmas compilation cookbook?  Well, it's all good, minus the part where all the photos sit in the front of the cookbook and the recipes section has no photos at all.  I hate those layouts. That gripe aside, this cookbook sits on my shelf without about eleventy gajillion sticky flags, just waiting for the day when I have nothing to do but cook, bake and cook some more.   Mini panettones with ultra cute little ribbons?  It's in there. Uber schmance brie on croute?  Yep. Butternut squash cannellini with sage walnut cream sauce?  Oh my.  So which recipe did I choose?  Salad. 

Some would argue that preparing salad is not cooking.  I would agree.  But the ingredients in this escarole with persimmons and pomegranate salad with lemon-shallot vinaigrette were that fascinating. 

Persimmons are one of my top 70 favorite fruits. They are sweet and tangy and have the perfect crunch...if you buy the Fuyu kind that is.  Mistakenly pick up a Hachiya persimmon and you are in for rude awakening.  Luckily they look as different as night and later that night.  Fuyus are rounder and look an awful lot like an orange tomato.  My version of this salad would have to start with the word spinach rather than escarole, because apparently I feel all greens can be replaced with spinach.  And fennel?  That's a personal choice.  If you hate black licorice, you may want to shy away from raw fennel in a sald.  Pomengranates however, are universally likeable aren't they?  They should be sprinkled on everything because they are just that happy.

Spinach Salad with Persimmons, Fennel and Pomegranate

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook

5 cups baby spinach

5 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and cut into wedges

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

1 fennel bulb, sliced thin

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 tbsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp fresh maroram finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Prepare salad with first 4 ingredients. Toss with vinaigrette

To Make Vinaigrette:

Combine lemon juice, shallots, mustard and marjoram.  Season with salt and pepper.  Whisk in oil in slow, steady stream until emulsified.