Cookbook # 78 Bar Americain; Chopped Apple Salad

Where does the work week go?  It seems like one day you're rolling over in bed on a Monday morning wondering how the weekend went by so quickly, and the next day, it's the end of the week and it's time to get ready for a couple of days away from the office.  I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already, but I am definitely not complaining.

The weeknights go by in the same frenzied blur as the weekdays, but every once in awhile, I feel a little ambition to crack open a cookbook...a new cookbook in this case.  Yes, it is the newest Bobby Flay cookbook, Bar Americain.  It's not that I intend to pick up these new cookbooks, it's just that I belong to The Good Cook cookbook club.  It's one of those clubs where you get a bunch of books free and then agree to buy a book or two in the next year.  It usually turns out the be a phenomenal deal for a cookbook lover like myself...4 books up front for $1 plus free shipping (I got Dorie Greenspans French cookbook for just $1!) I buy one at half price when I sign up, and I have just one more cookbook to buy in the next year.  I do that easily.  But I digress...the book club just offered up cookbooks at $10 and I can't resist Bobby Flay cookbooks as it is, let alone newly released $10 cookbooks.

Oh is this cookbook just yummy...Roasted Corn Soup, Cauliflower and Goat Cheese Gratin, Smoked Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust, Brooklyn Hash Browns, Blackberry Souffle and Thin Apple Tart just to name a few. Bobby is a genius.  Imagine the pain when my coworker asked if I went  to the Bobby Flay book signing when he was at one of our properties a couple of weeks ago.  That's why you should read memos really.

For a weeknight meal, I went with two of the easier recipes.  In this case though, easy does not mean less flavor....grilled cheese with cheddar, goat cheese, bacon and green tomato and a chopped apple salad with pomegranate vinaigrette.  The sandwich was a great combo of salty bacon and sweet green tomato with melty cheese to pull it all together. And the salad...I think toasted nuts in salad are just heavenly.  Add into that the sweet popping crunch of pomegranate seeds and tart apples and the salad is a perfect light and clean weeknight dinner.

Chopped Apple Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Adapted from Bar Americain by Bobby Flay

Ingredients

Pomegranate Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey, or more to taste
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:

• 6 apples cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 cups baby spinach, sliced
• 2 heads endive, thinly sliced
• 1 cup toasted sliced almonds
• 3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled 
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 
  

For the vinaigrette:

Directions

Whisk together the pomegranate molasses, vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

For the salad:

Combine the apples, spinach, endive, walnuts and blue cheese and half the pomegranate seeds in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat.  Serve and sprinkle remaining pomegranate seeds on top.