Winter Waldorf with Roasted Grapes

.
The weather forcaster just informed me that she expects the weather to be 80F at the beaches today.

A siren song if I ever heard one.

But I promised to take in an exhibit at the Getty Museum with the fam. Who I love. And am always excited to spend time with. (Because they rock.)

That said...I'm wondering...

What if I show up at the wrong Getty museum (the Getty Villa, which is in Malibu and therefore closer to the beach) and then feel oh-so-sorry and traipse off to get some rays instead?

Nah.

Better stick with the plan. The beach will be there tomorrow too...

Lucky I have a plan to keep my beach-body (ha ha) through the winter, so it will be there tomorrow too.

What's my plan, you ask?

More salads!

Like this one. A variation of my beloved Waldorf. Crunchy, tangy, full of flavor and with the excellent addition of roasted grapes. Gots to love it.

Try this my peaches, and taste the joy

1 cup red grapes
1/4 cup walnuts
2 stalks celery, sliced
Leaves from celery, torn
1 small fennel bulb, sliced
1/2 teaspoon minced winter savory (or other winter herb)
1 tablespoon mayo
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sour cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Turn your oven on to 400F.

Toss the grapes with a tiny amount of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the grapes in an oven proof pan (I used my trusty cast-iron). Arrange the walnuts on a sheet pan. Put both into the oven. Toast the nuts until just browned (about 8 minutes.) and the grapes until just bursting (about the same, but they may need a turn or two.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Toss together the rest of the ingredients. Season to taste. Add more or less lemon juice as needed.

Add the walnuts and grapes after plating. (They don't look as pretty when they are coated in mayo. And this way the nuts won't get soft.)

(This was 99% local for me. Even the eggs and olive oil for the home-made mayo. The salt and pepper were the only imported items.)



© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________

© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" http://www.freshcatering.blogspot.com
If you are not reading this at the aforementioned URL or in your RSS feed, the site you are looking at are violating my copyright. And that's rude.

The Franciscans planted California's first vineyards the 1700's.

Today, the average person in the U.S. consumes about 8 pounds of fresh grapes per year. 98% of these grapes come from California.

The name fennel originates from the Greek word for "marathon” which is the famous battle at Marathon in 490 B.C. where the Greeks fought against the Persians on a field of fennel. - Food Reference.com