I’m baaaaaaaaack! When I posted my last recipe back in May for the very delicious whiskey drink, The Thirsty Crow, I had no intention of taking a major break from the blog. But here we are over 5 months later and I’m thrilled to be writing and creating again. To be fair, a lot has happened since May and taking a break from the blog just felt like the right thing to do. I, for one, started working at one of my favorite bakeries in Portland, Standard Baking Co., and even though I was hired as a Front of House employee and not a baker (I’m still too amateur!), it was still my dream job working for a company that is such an institution in Portland. The amount of bread and baked goods that I consumed while working at Standard was staggering, and although I didn’t regret eating the best sourdough breads and croissants that Maine has to offer, the last thing I wanted to do was go home and bake some cookies. Additionally, Alex and I moved back to California and got married! So yeah, we’ve been busy.
I’m not going to get into that many details for our wedding since this isn’t exactly a lifetsyle blog, but I will say that it was absolutely perfect and we’re both beyond happy. The micro-wedding took place at our friend’s vacation home in Scottsdale, Arizona, a home that we ourselves have vacationed at about a dozen times. The property is gorgeous and we had always said that it would be our dream to get married there, so luckily we were able to! I’ll share a picture from our wedding at the bottom of this post if you’re interested.
It was actually the night after our wedding where I found inspiration for today’s recipe. With some of our family still in town for the wedding, Alex and I decided to thank them for all the help they gave us during our wedding process by treating them to dinner at our favorite restaurant in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, Pizzeria Bianco. This spot is known countrywide for its perfect wood-fired pizzas and its use of the highest quality of ingredients (the owner, Chris Bianco, even produces his own supply of canned tomatoes) and can be typically found on “Best Pizza in America” lists. We always order a few different pizzas along with an order of the “Market Salad” which changes quite frequently to reflect what’s in season. The night we took our family to Pizzeria Bianco, the Market Salad was pretty much exactly the salad recipe that I’m giving you today. It had thinly sliced red cabbage. sweet candied pecans, salty crumbled gorgonzola, fresh pomegranate seeds, and slices of crisp Honeycrisp apples, finished off with a balsamic red wine vinaigrette. It was the perfect autumn salad and all seven of us at the dinner table agreed that not only was it the best salad that we had had in a long time, but also that it would make for the best Thanksgiving side. Not too long after we got back from Scottsdale, I recreated it at home and I’m happy to report that it’s just as good, if not better, than what I had at Pizzeria Bianco.
The salad comes together very quickly with minimal prep work and zero cooking. For slicing the red cabbage, I strongly suggest using a mandoline because not only is it quicker than using a knife but also ensures that you’ll have uniform pieces. This is the one that I use and love, just be careful to not slice your fingers off. For the pomegranate portion, you can save time by buying a package of just the seeds/arils, but it’s actually cheaper to buy a whole pomegranate and remove the arils yourself. My favorite technique for deseeding a pomegranate is by doing it in a bowl full of water so that juice doesn’t get everywhere. For the candied pecans, you can buy those at Trader Joe’s like I did, or you can even make them yourself; I have a recipe for them embedded in my Maple Pecan Ice Cream post. Candied walnuts are also a great option. As for the apples, if for some reason you’re not a fan of Honeycrisp apples, Pink Lady, Jazz or Fuji apples are good alternatives.
Lastly, the balsamic red wine vinaigrette that goes with this salad is amazing and very easy to throw together. The only tips that I have for the dressing are: 1) use a microplane for grating the garlic since it gives you a very fine mince; 2) when it comes to what kind of Dijon to use, I prefer whole grain (the seeded kind) because I like the texture that it adds and I believe it’s more flavorful; and 3) make the dressing by adding all the ingredients to a mason jar with a lid and shaking it until combined. This method is much easier than whisking the ingredients together in a bowl and there’s the added bonus of using the mason jar as tupperware if you have any dressing leftover. Just make sure to give the dressing another few shakes before using it up.
I hope some of you make this salad for Thanksgiving this year since I certainly will be. I promise that it’ll get a lot more attention than the mashed potatoes or brussels sprouts that we see time and time again. Also, the salad is inately a showstopper with its bright, beautiful colors so it’ll stick out amongst all the beige foods that are typically on display. Let me know if you give it a try!
Red Cabbage Salad
Recipe inspired by Pizzeria Bianco
Serves 6-8 people
Ingredients
6 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup pomegranate seeds/arils
1 large-sized Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese, plus more for garnish
1 heaping cup (5oz.) candied pecans, roughly chopped, (I get mine from Trader Joe’s)
Balsamic Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe below
Freshly cracked black pepper, to finish
Directions
Combine the red cabbage, cheese, apples, pomegranate seeds and pecans in a large bowl. Add as little or as much dressing as you like and mix with tongs or two wooden spoons. Transfer to the serving bowl/platter of your choosing. Finish it with freshly cracked black pepper and some more gorgonzola cheese if desired. Taste for salt. Enjoy!
Balsamic Red Wine Vinaigrette
Yields 1 cup of dressing
Ingredients
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon, preferably whole grain
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. kosher salt
Directions
Add the olive oil, vinegars and Dijon to a mason jar. Using a microplane, grate the garlic cloves straight into the mason jar and add the salt. Put the lid on the mason jar and shake very well until combined. Taste to see if more salt is needed. The dressing will keep for a few days in the refrigerator.
