Ingredients
2 bunches endive spears (red or green)
1 round of Camembert or your favorite washed rind cheese
1/2 cup lightly toasted or candied walnuts
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
2 cups fresh mache or arugula, rinsed and dried
Olive oil
Champagne or white wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

You will also need:
Paring knife
4 salad plates

Instructions
Cut off the ends of the endive bunches and separate into 16 spears.

Cut the cheese into 16 small wedges.

Place 4 pieces of endive onto each plate. Put a wedge of cheese onto each endive spear. Pile greens on the top. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar lightly over the top.

Note: I like to serve this dish at the end of the meal.

Ingredients
4 medium fillets of fresh Alaskan halibut
2 Meyer lemons, sliced paper thin
1/3 cup grapeseed oil (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet)
Paprika
Sea salt and pepper

You will also need:
Medium skillet

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425^oF. 

Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.  Press the paper-thin slices of Meyer lemon onto the fish.  Sprinkle both sides with paprika.    Pour grapeseed oil into the skillet and heat it until fairly hot.  Place the pieces of fish into the hot skillet.  Sear well on one side, then flip to the other side.  Place into a hot oven (425^oF) and finish cooking the fish – about 5 minutes, depending upon thickness.  

Serve with a salad and roasted potatoes. 

Serves 4.

Ingredients
24 scallops, blotted with paper towel
Paprika
Salt and pepper
3-4 T. olive or grapeseed oil

About 40 unshelled fava bean pods
1½ cup water
Fleur de sel (sea salt)

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

You will also need:
Small saucepan
Slotted spoon
Bowl of ice
Serving plates
Paper towels
1 large sauté pan
Heat-proof spatula

Instructions
Prepare fava beans by shelling them. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Once the water is boiling, add the fava beans and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until the beans are tender-crisp. Remove beans immediately from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and place them quickly into a bowl of ice to cool. When the beans have cooled enough, remove the skin and place the beautiful green beans in a decorative pattern on your serving plates. Sprinkle with a little Fleur de sel to season. Set aside.

Blot scallops lightly with paper towels. Sprinkle liberally on both sides with paprika. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat oil in sauté pan until nice and hot. Add scallops and cook for 2-3 minutes until nicely browned on one side. Turn each scallop and cook on the other side until nicely browned, being careful not to overcook. Remove from heat and place the scallops on the serving plates with the fava beans. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the scallops and beans.

Serve immediately.

Ingredients
Approx. 1 lb. arugula, washed and air-dried
2 small pumpkins
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh ricotta, strained
1 cup pecans, chopped
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup Vinaigre du Banyuls or your favorite artisanal vinegar
1 T. honey
Sea salt
Pepper

You will also need:
Knife
Cutting board
Baking sheets
Skillet
Small sauté pan
Small mixing bowl or glass
Paper towels

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425oF (218oC).

Cut the pumpkins into quarters, remove the seeds and peel. Cut into ¾” squares. Place the pumpkin squares onto the baking sheets. Pour on the olive oil and mix until each piece of pumpkin is coated well with the oil. Roast in a hot oven for 20 minutes. Using a spatula, turn the pumpkin and stir it around on the baking pans. Then bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

.Place the pecans  into a small, ungreased sauté pan. Toast over medium heat (watch them carefully – they burn very easily!) until lightly browned and aromatic. Set aside.

To make the dressing, mix ½ cup olive oil with the vinegar and the honey until the mixture comes together. Set aside.

Set out eight salad plates and spread out the arugula onto each plate. Top with the roasted pumpkin. Sprinkle the ricotta onto the salad. Top with pecans. Just before serving, drizzle with the dressing. Enjoy with freshly baked country bread.

Serves 8.

This is a simple salad but you will find yourself serving it often – with chicken, fish, sandwiches or maybe just by itself. Add some crostini with goat cheese for a nice treat!

Ingredients
2-3 cups arugula leaves (organic, if possible), washed and dried
1 cup fresh, local tomatoes (the tiny sungolds are my favorites but any sweet, fresh tomato will be fine), coarsely chopped
2 T finely chopped sweet onion
3 T olive oil
1 T vinegar (champagne, chardonnay or red-wine vinegar will work fine)
1 t dijon mustard
coarse sea salt (such as fleur de sel) and pepper, to taste

You will also need:
Medium mixing bowl or salad bowl
Glass for mixing salad dressing
Salad tongs

Instructions
Place the arugula and the tomatoes into the bowl.

In the glass, mix together the onion, olive oil, vinegar and mustard. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mix well until you have a nice consistency. Pour over the salad and serve immediately.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients
2 cups arugula (organic, if possible), washed and dried
2 fresh pears, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 pieces each
1/3 lb. prosciutto or serrano ham, thinly sliced
2 T sweet onion, finely chopped
3 T olive oil
1 T vinegar (champagne, chardonnay or red-wine preferred)
Coarse sea salt (such as fleur de sel) and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

You will also need:
Glass for mixing salad dressing
Spoon
Chopping knife
Nice platter for serving

Instructions
Put the arugula onto a serving platter.

Wrap each piece of pear with a thin piece of prosciutto or ham. Place each one on top of the arugula. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the onions.

In the glass, mix together the remaining onions, olive oil and vinegar. Add a generous sprinkling of the sea salt and the pepper. Stir until it comes to a nice smooth consistency. Drizze the oil mixture over the prosciutto and pears.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

This chopped apple And broccoli salad is a nice, simple treat.  It is a good size for one person.

Ingredients
One apple, washed, cored and chopped (I love tart apples from the farmers market)
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
One 2″ piece of celery, washed and chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins chopped
1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 T creme fraiche

You will also need:
Paring knife
Spoon
Small bowl

Instructions
Mix all ingredients together and stir to combine.

As an option, you can make this salad in the food processor.

Ingredients
6-8 medium beets, washed and tops removed
1 ½ T lemon juice or nice vinegar (such as Vinaigre de Banyuls
4 T walnut oil
Sea salt to taste
6 cups mache
3 medium sized oranges, peeled and sliced crosswise
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Freshly ground pepper to taste

You will also need:
Aluminum foil
Roasting pan
Large bowl
Small bowl
Whisk
Colander or salad spinner
8 individual serving plates

Instructions

Roast the beets:

Preheat the oven to 425^oF (218^oC).  After the beets have been washed and the tops removed, wrap the beets in aluminum foil and seal the packet.  Place into a roasting pan and bake for about 1 hour.  Test the beets for tenderness with a fork.  When they are done, remove from the oven, reseal the packet and allow the beets to cool at room temperature.  When they are cool, open the packet and rub the skins off the beets.  Cut the beets into 1/2 inch slices.

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and walnut oil.  Add the salt to taste.  Set aside.

To serve: Wash the mache and spin dry in a salad spinner, if available.  Place the sliced beets and sliced oranges onto the salad plates. Top with the mache. Sprinkle on the walnuts. Drizzle the dressing over the top.  Season generously with pepper.  Note:  You can add red onions, bleu cheese, endive or other ingredients to this versatile salad, as well.  Serves 8. 

This week I found the most flavorful snap peas at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza farmers market.   These peas are so delicious when just eaten as as snack, but I wanted to do something different with them.  I decided to make a salad out of ingredients that I had in my kitchen.  It was a hit.

Ingredients
2 cups raw snap peas, washed and dried
2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup Marcona almonds, coarsely ground
1/4 cup Piave or parmigiano reggiano cheese, finely grated
2 Tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
2 Tablespoons great-quality extra-virgin olive oil (I like to use Miller’s Blend from California Olive Ranch in this recipe.)
Sea salt (I use fleur de sel.) and cracked pepper, to taste

You will also need:
chopping board & chef’s knife
mixing bowl
small bowl for dressing
whisk

Instructions
Remove and discard the stems and the strings from the peas.  Coarsely chop the peas.

Place the chopped peas, the crumbled bacon, the ground marcona almonds and the grated cheese into a mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, combine the Meyer lemon juice and the olive oil.  Whisk together until well-combined.

Pour enough dressing over the salad to coat the ingredients (you may not need all of the dressing).  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3 people.

This dish features some of nature’s best produce – super sweet Sungold tomatoes, sweet red onions and arugula.  These fresh ingredients, combined with your favorite toasted bread cubes and a sweet-tart vinaigrette, create a salad you will want to have several times a week.  Some of the sweetest and best Sungold tomatoes can be found at the farm stand of Everything Under the Sun at the SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Ingredients
2 cups favorite bread cut into 1″ cubes (I use rustic bread from Della Fattoria.)
2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I use California Olive Ranch’s everyday olive oil for this.)
1 small sweet red onion, such as torpedo onions
1 small clove garlic, peeled
2 cups Sungold (or your favorite sweet cherry) tomatoes
1 handful of arugula
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Vinaigrette:
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I use Miller’s Blend or Arbequina from California Olive Ranch.)
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (You can substitute a favorite dark balsamic if you don’t have white.)
2 large pinches Fleur de sel sea salt
Freshly-cracked pepper

You will also need:
Large baking sheet
Large salad bowl
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Small bowl for mixing vinaigrette
Large spoon

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Toss the bread cubes with 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until crispy and browned.  Remove when toasted.

Meanwhile, slice the onion into very thin slices and put into the bottom of the salad bowl.  Slice the garlic into thin slices and add that to the bowl (be sure to remove the green shoot in the middle, if present).  Slice the Sungold tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl.

Add the arugula and the chopped basil to the bowl.

Add the toasted bread cubes to the bowl.

Meanwhile, mix together the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour over the top of the salad.   Toss gently.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a starter salad.