Jacob’s Signature Salad (and $45 CSN Giveaway)

The generous people at the CSN stores have given me a great opportunity to give back to all of you, by offering a $45 gift card giveaway!!! Yay!!! If you are not familiar with the CSN online stores they have everything you could ever possibly need and more, like these beautiful dutch ovens. I have purchased many a kitchen gadget from them, and have lots of other wish list items to go. They are fabulous! You can peruse their entire selection from all of their stores here, and I encourage you to do so.

To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite fall inspired recipe (a brief description will suffice).

For additional entries you can:

1. Follow Jacob’s Kitchen on facebook and/or twitter.

2. Subscribe to Jacob’s Kitchen via email/rss (you will find a link on the upper right hand side bar)

3.Retweet: “Check it out: $45 CSN gift card giveaway from @Jacobs_Kitchen http://tiny.cc/aycd9“

4. And, last but not least (in a transparent and shameless act of bribery) you can vote for Jacob’s Kitchen in Project Food Blog challenge 2 by clicking here.

Please leave one additional comment for each additional entry, telling me which you have done. Unfortunately, only US and Canadian readers are eligible to win. (For the rest of you, check back soon for more giveaways!) Comments can be received up until 11:59pm on Tuesday, October 5, 2010. One winner will be randomly selected and announced on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.

In the meantime, I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you one of my most requested recipes, which I call Jacob’s Signature Salad.

In order to give credit where credit is due, this salad was actually first invented by the culinary genius Kristi Chauvin Baker, a deeply fabulous friend from college. I have, of course, put my own little spin on it over the years, replacing the toasted walnuts in her recipe with glazed walnuts, and by re-imagining the dressing.

The salad itself is very simple, but packed with the great flavor. Baby greens are topped with sliced fuji apples, dried cranberries, glazed walnuts, and crumbled blue cheese, and then drizzled with a tangy balsamic blue cheese dressing. People really go crazy for this salad, and it’s not difficult to understand why. The combination of flavors and textures make it feel really special.

To make the dressing… in a blender I combine one cup of crumbled blue cheese, three tablespoons balsamic vinegar, one tablespoon mustard (preferably Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Honey Spice, though dijon works equally well), one tablespoon of granulated sugar, one third of a cup of extra virgin olive oil, one third of a cup of apple cider, and some freshly ground black pepper. I then blend until smooth. (Be casual about making the dressing. If it is too thick, add a little more cider; if it is too thin, add a little more cheese. Taste it, and adjust to your own palate. In your kitchen you get to make the rules.)

As a first course, side dish or light lunch this salad is always a big hit. It is elegant in its simplicity, and since everything can be prepared in advance  and dressed right before serving, it is perfect for entertaining. (Simply toss the sliced apples in freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.) Enjoy!