RECIPE :: Chef Debbi Dubbs Apple Pecan Salad with Goat Cheese

 

Recently I’ve started collaborating with Melissa’s Produce which is headquartered in Los Angeles.  It’s funny how things come full circle as I had contacted them over 20 years ago on behalf of a Japanese company I worked with who sold medicinal mushrooms.  Of course I love the name of the company (ha), but honestly I appreciate that they offer such a large array of unique and delicious produce.  Last week, I had a chance to meet Chef Debbi Dubbs at her “A Little Book of Cheese” book launch event held in Melissa’s Produce demo kitchen and sample some of her recipes.

We tasted several of the dishes listed in the new cookbook, and one of my favorite recipes is the one I am sharing with you.  It is really fresh, light but with the addition of goat cheese, fills you up!  We made it last night and even the kid ate some!

Other dishes they featured included the Italian Chopped Salad, Cheesy Stuffed Shells, Chicken Parmigiana and Minestrone Soup.

 

Check back this next month as I share more recipes from her cookbook which can be found here.

 

And you can check out Chef Debbi’s cheese board tutorial on our dandelion women Facebook page here.  Some fun facts she shared with us include:

~ If you are going to serve cheese, be sure to leave it out at least an hour before serving.

~ Keep cheeses wrapped in special paper.  Can be found at most grocery stores.  It is a cross between parchment paper and a paper bag.

~ Cheese is best sliced cold.

~ When creating a cheeseboard, she recommends using an odd number of cheeses.  And start with them first on the board and build around them.

 

Apple Pecan Salad with Goat Cheese

Dressing:

1/2 cup Sherry or red wine vinegar

1 pinch dry mustard

3/4 cup olive oil, approximately

Sea salt and pepper to taste

 

Salad:

3 cups organic spring mix or baby lettuce

4 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked crisp, chopped

1 large apple, chopped  (I used a Honeycrisp)

1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

3 oz. goat cheese crumbled

 

Directions:

Whisk vinegar, dry mustard together with a little salt and pepper.

Whisk in olive oil to taste and adjust seasonings.

Toss lettuce with a little dressing and season with salt and pepper.  Add remaining ingredients and toss lightly with a little dressing.

Voila!  Can be a meal in itself or a side dish.  Enjoy!

 

About Debbi Dubbs:

Debbi began with a restaurant background and went on to owning two catering companies, private chef services, managing an upscale gourmet deli for Spaghettini Restaurant to working as a corporate chef for Melissa’s Produce.

You can find Chef Debbi here:

www.debskitchen.com

Instagram: @chefdebbi

 

Note:  We were hosted at this event by Melissa’s Produce, but all opinions are my own.

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