Cooking Tips:

• Roast fresh garlic cloves in olive oil to remove the harsh raw garlic flavor and give them a nutty taste.
• Always tear salad greens by hand and never cut them with a knife. Cutting with a knife will discolor the lettuce.
• Make sure your sauté pan is very hot before you add a food product to the pan.
• Whip heavy cream on medium speed to get a smoother whipped cream.
• Never boil a stock as this will make your finished stock appear cloudy.

Roquefort and Pear Salad with Grapes and Spiced Pecans
Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients:
½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Ground cumin
¼ cup Brown Sugar
3 ounces Walnut oil
3 cups Pecan halves
2 pounds Mesclun Mix
1 ½ pounds Haricot vert, blanched and shocked, coat with some dressing to flavor
6 each Red Bartlett pear, cut into 12 wedges per pear. Coat with some dressing to prevent browning
2 pounds Red grapes, rinsed, removed from the stem
2 each Red onion, sliced thin, soaked in ice water
TT Kosher salt
TT Black pepper, fresh ground
1 ½ pounds Roquefort cheese, crumbled
½ cup Chives cut into 1" lengths

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine the cayenne, cumin and sugar. Add the oil and mix thoroughly. Add the pecans and toss until thoroughly coated. Spread the pecans on a paper lined baking sheet and bake until toasted but not burnt. (About 10 minutes). Stir halfway through the cooking process. Set aside to cool. Can be made two days in advance.
2) Make the apple walnut dressing and reserve
3) In a large bowl, combine the greens, and about ½ the dressing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Mix the dressing and greens no more than 15 minutes before service to prevent wilting.
4)Portion on salad plates. Garnish with the pears, pecans, green beans and drained red onion. Top with the Roquefort cheese.

Favorite Links:
Turley Wine Cellars
Food Network
Food and Wine Magazine